Matlock Bath bonfire explosion leaves party-goer in hospital

People are being warned about the dangers of putting petrol on their bonfires after a serious explosion left a bank holiday party-goer in hospital.

On the afternoon of Sunday, May 5, firefighters were called to a property in Matlock Bath after reports of an “extremely loud” explosion.

Mark Redford, Watch Manager at Matlock Fire Station, said: “We were attending what we thought was a building fire. But upon arrival, we discovered it was actually a party, with many people in attendance.”

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What had in fact happened was that one of the guests at the party, unbeknown to the hosts, had put a quantity of petrol on the fire in a bid to get it going.

Mr Redford said: “This resulted in an explosion at the party and a man being taken to hospital with superficial burn injuries.

“The man is very lucky that his injuries weren’t a lot more serious and that none of the other guests, some of which were children, were hurt in the incident.”

Derbyshire Fire and Rescue ask that nobody puts any form of accelerator on fires – including petrol, diesel and lighter fluid – as the they are “extremely unpredictable” and dangerous.

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