Petrol burns peak on public holidays
Alarming new research from the Victorian Adult Burns Service (VABS) at The Alfred has found a clear link between petrol burn injuries and public holidays, showing petrol burns are 20 per cent more likely to occur on a public holiday.
A research team led by Dr Stephen Goldie, Burns Fellow at VABS, has analysed national data from the Burns Registry Australia New Zealand (BRANZ) and discovered the concerning correlation.
The data also shows people are admitted to hospital with severe petrol burns on 95 per cent of public holidays.
Petrol burns account for 13.7 per cent of admissions to burns centres nationally, with young men in their 20s and 30s representing most hospital admissions.
“Petrol burns cause significant, life-changing injuries, requiring a long length of hospital stay and extensive rehabilitation and recovery time,” Dr Goldie said.
“The rate of deaths from petrol burns is higher than burns from other causes. Most commonly, we see these injuries occurring in social settings around fires, where petrol is added as an accelerant.”
With the upcoming long weekend, burns experts are particularly worried about seeing an increase in patients seriously injured in preventable fires.
“Time and time again we see people – particularly young men - injured in fires where petrol has been used. These accidents that are largely preventable. This long weekend, the message is simple – don’t use petrol anywhere near a fire.”