WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES
The traditional Australian dream of owning a quarter-acre block is evolving and people are now looking at creative ways to be in the open space without the million dollar mortgage.
With housing affordability a constant challenge, more Aussies are looking to alternative property investments, and the allure of a caravan as a mobile home, holiday retreat, or even a permanent off-grid dwelling is stronger than ever.
But it comes with risks — as one tradie has revealed as he issued an urgent warning to Aussie travellers after a freak caravan accident left him with severe burns across most of his body.
MORE: Woman’s $240k bill after neighbour’s act
Couple pays $39k after sad 25m dirt ‘regret’
Tradie’s warning after 6m Aussie backyard find
Tim Mellington was making breakfast in his caravan on New Year’s Eve when a freak accident left him with severe burns. Picture: Supplied
Tim Mellington, 52, was cooking breakfast at the Surfside Holiday Park in Warrnambool, Victoria on New Year’s Eve when tragedy struck.
“I got up and I put the kettle on the gas cooktop,” he told Yahoo News Australia.
“There was a frying pan as well. I was doing sausages and baked beans.”
After slicing the sausages, the dad-of-three put the knife he’d used on the bench, accidentally letting the blade’s tip hang over the counter’s edge by 10 or 15mm.
“Then I opened the top bulkhead cupboard to grab something, and a deodorant can that had dislodged and was sort of leaning on the door fell out, and it landed right on the tip of the knife, rupturing the can,” he recalled.
A “jet fire” streamed intensely out of the can, directed straight at the self-employed contractor, who was wearing only his underwear.
“I was just in a ball of absolute flames in a confined space.”
A deodorant can had dislodged. Picture: GoFundMe
In shock, Mr Mellington bolted from the “firework” and away from his caravan door.
Realising he had inadvertently trapped himself, he snatched the doona from his bed and raced toward the flames, trying to smother the fire and protect himself.
“I was fully exposed to the flame. It burnt my face. Burnt all the hair off my upper body. Burnt my belly really badly,” he told Yahoo.
He also suffered severe injuries to his left leg, and the top half of his right thigh.
Luckily, his friend Cameron McLiesh was sleeping in a swag just outside the door.
He quickly used Mr Mellington’s extinguisher to put out the fire, which protected other nearby campers.
“That van was going up — it was going to burn down to the ground. Tents next to my van could have gone up, it could have escalated,” Mr Mellington said, adding he’s so grateful his three children weren’t staying with him at the time.
Mr McLiesh also connected a hose to the caravan site’s water supply and started soaking his friend’s wounds while a couple nearby contacted triple-0.
A “jet fire” streamed intensely out of the can. Picture: GoFundMe
Mr Mellington was rushed to the hospital and is still there receiving assessment and treatment from doctors for his wounds.
The tradie said the degree of burns will “be more definitive” after physicians replace his dressings later this week, but it’s clear that he still has a long healing journey ahead.
Mr Mellington told Yahoo the freak accident should serve as a crucial warning to Australian travellers using caravans.
No flammables and or propellants should be stored anywhere near gas cooktops, he urged.
“The potential for fires has to be on the forefront of their mind,” Mr Mellington continued, noting the importance of an escape plan.
“A lot of the modern vans have two doors so you can enter and leave at either end of the van. But my van’s got one door, only one way in and one way out, and it’s a real death trap.”
The incident has left Mr Mellington temporarily unable to work. His friends have set up a GoFundMe campaign, raising almost $5000 to help him.
“The take home for me is how fortunate I am to have family and good people around me. It’s a good story in that sense.”
Mr Mellington suffered severe injuries to his left leg, and the top half of his right thigh. Picture: GoFundMe
A recent Money.com.au survey revealing 21 per cent of homeowners would consider downsizing into a caravan if living costs continue to climb, with 13 per cent even contemplating a permanent life on the road.
Fi Ahlstrom, finance expert at Money.com.au, notes: “With housing so expensive, especially in our capital cities, people are looking at options once seen as just for holidays, like living in a caravan.”
MORE: Horrifying reason tenant forced out of home
English (US) · 