A fuel explosion at a Marlborough Sounds holiday home that fatally burned an 80-year-old man was caused by a contaminated mixture of kerosene and methylated spirits in a kerosene fridge, a coroner has found.
The explosion occurred on January 26, 2019, at the family’s Endeavour Inlet property where Picton man Anzac MacDonald was staying with his wife, daughter, and grandson.
The family had owned the home for generations and the kerosene fridge, a rare appliance generally used in remote areas, had been in place for more than 40 years.
Kerosene fridges operated without electricity, using a flame created by a wick in a fuel reservoir to heat a combination of ammonia and water. This cooled the interior by absorbing heat.
According to findings released by associate Coroner James Buckle, MacDonald was showing his grandson how to light the fridge when the fuel mixture ignited and exploded, covering his hands in flames and setting his clothes alight.
Despite the family’s immediate efforts to extinguish the fire and stabilise him – including spraying him down with a fire extinguisher, cutting his burnt clothes off and placing him in a cool bath – he suffered burns to 55% of his body and died six weeks later at Auckland’s Middlemore Hospital.
Fire and Emergency NZ risk reductions and investigations manager PJ Gallagher found the explosion was caused by the accidental ignition of a mixture of kerosene and methylated spirits.
The addition of methylated spirits lowered the flashpoint of the fuel, creating an ignitable vapour that exploded during MacDonald’s second attempt to light the fridge.
The coroner said the source of the contamination remained unknown. The fridge had been used by multiple members of the family and both fuels were present at the property.
“The inappropriate combination of the fuels was done by a person or person unknown and was not done with the intent to cause damage or harm,” Buckle said.
The coroner adopted safety recommendations from Fire and Emergency NZ, including that users should only use approved lighting kerosene or recommended proprietary fuels, that other flammable liquids not be used or mixed with approved fuels, that the burner be extinguished when removing the fuel reservoir and that any spillage from overflow be cleaned up.
“I extend my condolences to Mr MacDonald’s whānau,” he said.
