Veteran BBC presenter Nick Palit and his wife, Angela, have spoken out about the moment a fireball engulfed their home, leaving them with serious burns and narrowly escaping death.
The horrific incident happened at their three-storey home near Cardiff earlier this month, when a bio-ethanol heater, promoted as an environmentally friendly alternative, suddenly exploded, destroying their property and landing both in a specialist burns unit.
BBC presenter Nick Palit opens up about house explosion
Angela, 59, had just returned from work and was feeling the early autumn chill when her husband, Nick Palit, 60, lit the smokeless bio-ethanol fire in their living room. Within minutes, the seemingly harmless heater began to smoke.
Nick tried to shut it down as a precaution.
“There were still flames coming through, so Angela went to get a damp cloth while I opened the window,” Nick recalled in an interview with the Daily Mail. “Suddenly, it just exploded. It blew Ange off her feet. I ran to her just thinking: ‘We’ve got to get out of here.'”
Angela was thrown across the room by the blast.
“My hair was on fire. My face was boiling hot. It was just awful. I thought I was dead,” she said.
Despite the shock, the couple managed to escape. From their garden, they could only watch as a massive fireball consumed the home they had lived in for six years.
Nick retired from BBC Wales Today four years ago. He admitted that the reality of the situation only hit once they were outside.
If the couple had stayed inside just half a minute longer, they would have been directly caught in the blast. He described the moment as “terrifying” and “dreadful”.
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‘It’s like living in a nightmare’
Nick suffered severe burns on his left arm and elbow. Meanwhile, Angela continues to recover from facial burns and serious hand injuries.
“It’s like living in a nightmare,” she said, adding that she often wakes up in pain and struggles to get comfortable.
The couple, who share five children, were rushed to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff. They were later transferred to the specialist burns unit at Morriston Hospital in Swansea.
They’ve now moved into a temporary rental property. However, their ordeal didn’t end with the fire. Thieves later broke into their garden shed and stole four e-bikes after realising the house was empty.
Nick shared photos of the bikes on his Instagram and asked people to keep a lookout. The TV presenter has since turned to social media to thank those who’ve offered support.
“Everyone has been so lovely to us following the devastating fire last week,” he posted earlier today. “Angela is recovering so well, and her face is looking so much better.”
He included a photo of Angela, showing that her burns had calmed down and she was left with bruising and redness as the skin healed.
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