Traumatised witnesses watched in horror as a man became engulfed in flames inside Cairns Hospital’s emergency department.
A woman who witnessed the incident unfold in the emergency department just after 2am on Thursday said was left shaken after the shocking event.
Kelsey Meyers and her husband were waiting for treatment when she said a man, who came in and after waiting to be seen by staff, poured a large amount of hand sanitiser over himself.
‘It honestly feels like a movie,’ Ms Meyers told the Cairns Post.
‘I’m so grateful there were nurses there to help him. A male nurse grabbed the bottle and said, “Come on, mate, we don’t need to do that”.’
Ms Meyers described the scene as ‘absolutely horrific’.
‘The smell, the screams, I will never forget it. It was bloodcurdling,’ she said.
‘My partner tried to shield me, but even in the reflection of a window, I could see it.’
Traumatised witnesses have reacted in shock horror after a man became engulfed in flames inside Cairns Hospital’s emergency department (above)
Ms Meyers recalled several people who were moved to a back area of the emergency department were confined to a small room.
‘We were trying to get away from the smoke and the smell,’ she said. It’s stuck in my nostrils.’
‘My partner was telling the nurse to close the door because the smell was making us sick, we just wanted to get out.
‘One of [the nurses] who put the fire out was burnt all over his hands and all over his arms.’
Ms Meyers said she was still very shaken.
‘Every time I close my eyes, I see that gentleman,’ she said.
‘It would be nice if the hospital could reach out, tell us it wasn’t okay what we saw, and offer to speak with someone. That would help.’
Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service Leena Singh confirmed a staff member was injured during the incident employees were ‘offered assistance and counselling support’.
‘As per established protocols, at the time of the incident, our staff quickly and calmly decanted a relatively small number of people from the main ED waiting room into a secure, safe alternative area within the department,’ Ms Singh said.
‘This was done both to remove everyone from any physical risk and, importantly, to shield them from having to witness a potentially traumatic scene.’
Ms Singh said a full incident review was conducted.
‘To ensure we continue to learn and strengthen our already robust emergency response protocols,’ she said.
Ms Singh could not provide further details due to patient confidentiality and the ‘active clinical situation’.
‘We ask for understanding that we are unable to provide any further personal details at this time,’ she said.
