Beekeeper lucky to keep eyesight after freak fire

Carlo Snyder feared he might not be able to work again when the smoker he was lighting exploded in his face. Photo / Wairarapa Times-Age

A Masterton beekeeper is thankful he can still see after an accident left most of his face covered with burns.

Carlo Snyder, 28, who works for Steens Honey, was lighting his bee smoker at a remote site near Pahiatua on Saturday.

As he was lighting the methylated spirits inside the smoker, a gust of wind blew flames into his face.

Mr Snyder said he panicked after the flare-up and struggled to extinguish the flames. "I was so shocked, I used my hands to put it out."

His colleague called 111 and an ambulance paramedic was soon treating him at the scene.

He was then flown to Palmerston North Hospital by emergency helicopter, where he was treated for first degree burns to much of his face.

He said he was scared that he might not be able to work or see again.

"I asked my co-workers how it was ... and then I asked the doctors what would happen after this accident and they said maybe after a month I would be fine. I feel very lucky."

He said "Out of 10 [for pain], it's a 10. It was very painful."

Mr Snyder, a Filipino, has been a beekeeper since 2005.

He was discharged from Palmerston North Hospital on Saturday night.

General manager of Steens Honey, Carl Humphries, said they were not sure exactly how the incident happened.

"There were two of them on site and they went through the normal course of things [lighting the smokers].

"There must have been a gust of wind, and the wind blew into his face."

Mr Humphries said he could not remember hearing of a similar incident, calling Mr Snyder's case a freak accident.

The accident happened while the beekeepers were setting up their equipment and before they had put their hats and veils on, he said.

"It missed his eyes and his nose, and he didn't breathe anything in.

"It looks like he's going to have a good recovery. He was very lucky."

He said many beekeepers in Wairarapa were Filipino, who had often graduated with science degrees in apiary from a university in Manila.

A friend of Mr Snyder, Ryan Soriano, who spent time with the beekeeper after the accident, said the burns were mainly superficial.

"He is very lucky. If he had inhaled the meths it would have burned his throat. It would have been nasty."

He said the local Filipino community was banding together to support Mr Snyder.