By STACEY BODGER
ROTORUA - Rotorua grandmother Apikaira Hapimana scolded her grandson when he yelled that his 5-year-old sister was on fire in the street outside.
"I told him, 'No, don't be so silly.' Then I heard Telesia screaming and saw massive flames coming from her shorts."
Mrs Hapimana had given Telesia and
her 6-year-old brother, Bam-Bam, an iceblock as they went to play with friends in Harold Crescent, Fordlands, about 6.30 pm on Monday.
The pair had been outside only a few minutes when another 6-year-old produced a box of matches and set fire to Telesia's denim shorts.
The youngster was screaming and flapping her arms at the flames when Mrs Hapimana rushed to her.
A 9-year-old neighbour grabbed the Hapimanas' garden hose and tried to douse the flames, while Mrs Hapimana wrestled with the button and zip on Telesia's burning shorts.
"I could not get them to budge and she would not get her hands out of the way.
"I never knew things could burn so quickly and knew if I did not get them off quickly her stomach would burn, too," she said.
Once the clothing was removed, Mrs Hapimana rushed her granddaughter inside and ran a cold shower over her until an ambulance arrived.
Telesia's mother, Theresa Hapimana, said the children should never have had matches. "I could not believe another child would do this to her. It could have been so much worse."
Yesterday, Telesia was in a stable condition in Rotorua Hospital with third-degree burns to her thighs and groin. Once swelling diminishes, she will undergo a series of skin grafts.
The brave youngster would say only that the flames were hot and she had been very scared. But now she wanted to go back to school.
Telesia received a teddy bear from the Rotorua Fire Service, who attended the incident. Friends at Whakarewarewa School sent handmade cards.
Rotorua police youth aid are investigating.
