WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT The trainee said he was undertaking a routine task burning rubbish, which turned into a nightmare when a huge fireball engulfed him, scorching his face, chin and hands
A teenage apprentice welder who was transformed into a ‘human fireball’ during a catastrophic workplace incident has revealed how he pleaded with medical staff to end his life. Dwayne Bell was merely 17 years old when he sustained appalling burns while employed at a steel facility in Wigan.
The trainee explained he was carrying out what seemed a standard task of burning waste, which descended into horror when an enormous fireball consumed him, searing his face, chin and hands.
He described how the explosion was so ferocious it melted portions of his nose and ear, resulting in third-degree burns. Now aged 22, Dwayne is speaking out to caution other young trainees about the hazards they may encounter on industrial sites, reports the Manchester Evening News.
He said: “I shouldn’t be here talking to you. I am lucky to be alive. It was so hot I feared I was going to be blinded – the heat was so intense.”
“This was an accident waiting to happen… I’m trying to move on. But I’m living in a body that feels like a prison. This shouldn’t have happened. I wasn’t supervised and no trainee should ever be put in that position. They were the adults and they didn’t look after me.”
Dwayne, from Ashton-in-Makerfield in Wigan, had barely begun his employment at Qualfab Steel Ltd when the incident occurred in March 2021. He recalls being directed to incinerate general refuse, including paper, cardboard and wooden pallets, within a metal container.
He said: “I was just a kid, doing what I was told. I was the youngest on site by 20 or 30 years.”
In court documents, Dwayne stated he felt he had not been given sufficient training for lighting fires to burn rubbish — something he described as “surprising”. Though he notes he did receive basic first aid and manual handling instruction.
He alleges he was frequently left without supervision despite his lack of experience, but had ‘seen the older lads do it a hundred times’. When a lighter wouldn’t ignite some damp timber, Dwayne says he grabbed a tin of paint thinner, as he claims he had witnessed others doing previously.
“I didn’t see the sparks that were already there as they were hidden by the wood,” he said. “The next thing I knew, the world just turned orange. The sound was like a jet engine. I was standing in the middle of a massive flame. As soon as I felt the whoosh of heat I shut my eyes as I didn’t want to go blind. It was like a bomb exploding in my face.”
He said his head and hands were ablaze and he threw himself to the ground in agony while his workmates extinguished the flames using a high-visibility jacket.
He said: “My colleagues came running over and tried to remove my gloves and overalls. As they did, my tracksuit bottoms underneath began to melt. But I opened my eyes and I was still alive and I was so thankful that I wasn’t blinded.”
Still reeling from the trauma, Dwayne even requested colleagues photograph his injuries before emergency services arrived. He added: “I had feathers on me from the jacket and my face was red with skin peeling off but I didn’t think it was that bad as I felt no pain. I never knew how bad it really was.”
He was airlifted to hospital and placed in an induced coma for a week after sustaining burns to eight per cent of his body. Upon regaining consciousness a week later in intensive care in March 2021, surrounded by ‘tubes coming out of him’, he believed he had only been asleep for a single night and was experiencing ‘indescribable pain’.
Dwayne said: “I looked at the nurses and I just begged them to let me die. I couldn’t see a future.
“I was wrapped in bandages, I couldn’t move, and the pain was the worst I had ever experienced. So I asked the nurses just to turn the machines off and let me go. But they wouldn’t. It was horrific.”
Following three weeks in hospital, Dwayne returned home, where his mother was required to assist him with getting dressed and even cutting up his meals.
He said: “My mum had to do everything I was helpless. The pain was so intense and my skin would break easily. I couldn’t sleep on my side because of my burnt ears so I hardly got any sleep – it was a living nightmare.”
Throughout the following year, he underwent three skin graft procedures on his hands, using skin taken from his stomach and thighs. While his facial wounds have largely recovered, his hands remain severely scarred and may necessitate additional surgery.
He has also been forced to abandon football and golf, as the friction involved triggers painful blisters. He added: “My hands feel really numb in the morning like a dead leg and I get extreme pins and needles. I get very anxious in social settings still as I have bad scarring on my hands, chin and forehead. The experts don’t know if they will get any better.”
Dwayne subsequently instructed workplace injury specialists Express Solicitors, and the case was resolved out of court for a substantial six-figure sum, with no admission of liability.
Senior Associate Neil Sagar, of Express Solicitors, said: “Dwayne has made a miraculous recovery from his life changing injuries. But he still lives with the consequences of what happened everyday and his ongoing scars will affect his future career. Businesses need to make sure appropriate supervision and training is given to apprentices especially when working with dangerous disposal methods.”
Dwayne has since returned to welding with a different company in the North. However, the heat and vibration from power tools can trigger painful blistering, restricting how long he is able to work.
He hopes that by sharing his experience, others may be spared from enduring similar injuries.
He added: “I have to live with the consequences of what happened there everyday. Now I just want to try and live as normal a life as possible.”
Qualfab Steel Ltd has been approached for comment.
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