By TONY WALL
A 24-year-old Merrill Lynch worker who suffered severe burns when his fancy-dress costume was allegedly set alight at a staff Christmas party has died.
Garreth MacFadyen, of Remuera, had been in a critical condition in the Middlemore Hospital burns unit since his synthetic Hawaiian skirt caught fire on Friday
night.
He sustained horrific burns to about 70 per cent of his body and died yesterday at 5.45 pm.
"It's terribly sad and we're all terribly upset," Merrill Lynch managing director Peter Brook said last night.
"It goes without saying that everyone in our company feels absolutely distraught about this. He was a fantastic guy. He had a bright career ahead of him. It's just a tragedy."
Mr Brook said Mr MacFadyen, originally from Invercargill and a graduate of Otago University, joined the Auckland office about six months ago and worked as a sales trader on the institutional equities desk. Before that he had worked in Tokyo.
His father Ian, a former policeman in Invercargill for many years, and his mother Sue, a teacher, flew to Auckland to be by his bedside.
The Herald understands that the fire broke out in a cubicle of the men's toilets in a function centre on the fifth floor of the Quay West Hotel.
A cigarette lighter is believed to have started the blaze, which triggered the hotel's sprinkler system.
A 29-year-old Merrill Lynch customer services representative, Angela Offwood, suffered serious injuries when her costume also caught fire.
Her husband, Craig Offwood, said last night that his wife had undergone skin grafts in Middlemore Hospital and was resting comfortably.
Mr MacFadyen was initially able to speak to friends and firefighters who helped him as he lay on the toilet floor, but his condition deteriorated rapidly.
The director of the hospital's burns unit, Dr Stephen Mills, said a major burn was one of the worst stresses that could be put on the human body.
A 26-year-old man has been charged with two counts of assault in relation to the incident.
Police spokeswoman Noreen Hegarty said last night that no further charges had been laid but the investigation was continuing.
