A senior BBC presenter and his wife were engulfed in a fireball which almost killed them and destroyed their home after their fashionable bio-ethanol heater exploded.
Nick Palit, 60, a veteran BBC presenter who fronted BBC Wales Today, and his wife Angela were both left with horrific burns after the environmentally friendly fire device in their living room blew up and set their entire house ablaze.
Angela, 59, was blown across the room by the force of the explosion which set her hair on fire and left her sure she was going to die.
But the pair managed to escape the blast only to then watch in horror from their garden as their three-storey home was gutted by the flames.
Angela and Nick were taken to hospital by ambulance and have been getting treatment at a specialist burns unit.
Angela said: ‘I thought I was dead when I was thrown across the room.
‘My hair was on fire, my face was boiling hot, it was just awful.’
The incident at the attractive house near Cardiff happened when Angela had just come home from work and was feeling the early autumn chill.
Angela is seen with horrific burns covering her face after the incident which saw an environmentally friendly fire device explode
Nick Palit, 60, a veteran BBC presenter who fronted BBC Wales Today, with severe burns on his arm
The senior BBC presenter and his wife were engulfed in a fireball which almost killed them and destroyed their home after their fashionable bio-ethanol heater exploded
The couple pictured before the incident, which severely injured them and wrecked their property
Nick lit the smokeless bio-ethanol burner to warm the house on Penarth Marina.
They had bought the heater five years ago and used it regularly without problem but on this occasion it started smoking so to be safe Nick went to shut it down.
He recalled of the incident: ‘There were still flames coming through so Angela went to get a damp cloth while I opened the window.
‘Suddenly it just exploded.
‘It blew Ange off her feet. I ran to her just thinking: “We’ve got to get out of here”.’
The couple were dialling 999 from outside when they watched in horror as their home of six years was engulfed by a large orange fireball.
Nick, who ironically has worked as an extra on TV’s Casualty after retiring from the BBC newsroom four years ago, said: ‘We were really lucky to both get out alive.
‘Another 30 seconds and we’d have been hit by the fireball.
‘It was really scary.
‘I’ve covered fires and explosions during my career but to be caught up in something like that was dreadful.
The house is destroyed, as a staircase is seen obliterated after the blaze
Nick’s arm is pictured severely blistered after the blaze which destroyed the couple’s house
Angela with a cooling cover on her face, which was left severely burned after her hair caught on fire
The incident at the attractive house near Cardiff happened when Angela had just come home from work and was feeling the early autumn chill
‘I was badly burned on my left arm and elbow and we both realise we are lucky to have survived at all.
‘It could have been much worse but we are both traumatised and we’ve lost everything.’
Angela said: ‘My face is getting better but the back of one of my hands is pretty bad.
‘It’s like living in a nightmare. I wake up in pain and I can’t get comfortable.’
The couple, who have five children between them, were treated at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff before being transferred to a specialist burns unit at Morriston hospital, Swansea.
They have moved into a nearby vacant rental property while their insurance company assesses the damage to their gutted property.
They were hit with a further blow when thieves realised their house was empty and stole four e-bikes from a garden shed.
Nick, who worked on Crimewatch and taught comedian Rhod Gilbert how to be a journalist in Rhod Gilbert’s Work Experience, went onto social media to praise family and friends who have rallied around them since the fireball ordeal.
He said: ‘We’ve been overwhelmed and humbled by the kindness, care and love of family, friends and neighbours – thanks to all of you we will get through this.’
Bio-ethanol heaters are sold as being a clean source of renewable energy and also produce a cosy real fire flame.
