Man in coma after Napier fire

File photo / NZH

A man has been flown to Lower Hutt Hospital's burns unit after a fire in a Napier house yesterday afternoon.

The man received full-thickness burns to his upper body and was in an induced coma, Hawke's Bay Today reported.

A blaze broke out at the three-flat property on Shakespeare Rd about 2.30pm.

The cause of the blaze had not been confirmed but Napier fire station officer Peter Draper said it was a possible cooking fire.

Nearby resident David Hodges was at the back of his home two doors down when he heard a boom and the sound of glass smashing.

Mr Hodges saw the man, in his 20s, smash his way out of the address with the "skin all peeled back on his arms" and cuts and burns to his neck and head.

The man's condition was listed as critical.

- NZPA