Burns won’t stop boy smiling
He needs his burns dressings changed every four days, but his family feel they have ‘‘dodged a bullet’’.
Four-year-old Mason Timaloa was among six people were hospitalised when fireworks exploded into the crowd at the City Church Christchurch-organised event on Manchester St on Friday night.
The church has renounced future fireworks displays, deciding it is not worth the risk, lead pastor Garth Chin Poy said.
Mason, who suffered third degree burns, has been recovering at home since Saturday. He will likely require surgery for the burns on his right arm.
His father, Leon Timaloa, defended the church. While there was still a risk of infection, the family felt Mason ‘‘dodged a bullet’’.
‘‘You’ve got to remain optimistic, it could have been his face and this would have been much worse.
‘‘We’ve still got to watch where he plays and he’s starting to get itchy, but his spirits are high and other than that he’s good as gold.’’
‘‘It was a freak event which was unintentional. The risk of this happening can be at any public fireworks display.’’
Leon Timaloa said the church took steps to ensure public safety, including setting up a first aid station and communicating with the crowd.
He thought the safety barrier – which his son was sitting directly behind – about 15 to 20 metres from the fireworks was too close.
Timaloa hoped other organisers of public firework displays would learn from the incident and set minimum restrictions on how close people could be.
The church received messages of support and criticism on its Facebook page, with some people saying they felt the fireworks were set off too close to the crowd.
‘‘I hope you are prosecuted to prevent you being so stupid and reckless with public safety next year,’’ one man said.
A WorkSafe New Zealand spokeswoman said the agency was still making initial inquiries to determine whether it would launch a full investigation.