When Adele Lisa Tamati moved into her new home, she envisioned a future filled with comfort and joy. However, an unexpected mishap turned her dream into a nightmare, leaving her with life-altering injuries.
On a chilly Friday evening in May 2022, Tamati, 53, was eager to settle into her recently purchased house in Perth, Australia. As the temperatures dipped, she looked forward to enjoying the warmth of her fireplace for the first time.
With anticipation, Tamati filled the fireplace with ethanol and leaned in to ignite it. What followed was a scene reminiscent of a horror film.
“The whole fireplace exploded,” Tamati recounted in an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail. “All I remember is a big fireball coming towards me.”
In an instant, Tamati found herself engulfed in flames. Despite her efforts to stop, drop, and roll— a safety technique taught in schools — the fire persisted.
Suddenly, Tamati was engulfed in flames. She tried doing what everyone was taught in school by stopping, dropping and rolling but that didn’t work.
‘My son and his friend grabbed the dog blankets and started trying to put the flames out with those but because I was covered in accelerant, they caught light too,’ she continued.
Thankfully, her son Dene’s quick thinking ultimately saved her life as the then-20-year-old told her to jump in the pool.
Adele Lisa Tamati had just moved into her dream home when a freak accident with her ethanol fireplace left her permanently disfigured. She’s seen before the accident
33 percent of her body – including parts of her face, neck, chest, torso and her full right arm – were covered in third degree burns, leaving her ‘disfigured’
She bolted outside and dove into the water, which put out the flames.
‘This is when the pain set in,’ Tamati said. ‘When I looked down I noticed all the skin of my right arm floating in the water and leaving my arm. Everything then went black and I woke up in [the hospital].’
Tamati suffered third degree burns all over her body. And recovery would not be easy.
She ultimately spent five weeks in the hospital and had to undergo two skin graft operations.
She also had to have extensive physical therapy to regain the use of her hands and arm.
‘Once I returned home, I could do nothing for myself. [My fiancé Dion had to] wash me, dress me, wash my hair, help feed me,’ she shared. ‘He did absolutely everything for me, he was an angel.’
In addition to her physical pain, Tamati struggled mentally, as she has had a hard time coming to grips with the way she looked.
33 percent of her body – including parts of her face, neck, chest, torso and her full right arm – were covered in scars, leaving her ‘disfigured.’
She filled up the fireplace with ethanol and leaned in close to turn it on when it ‘exploded.’ The fireplace is seen
She ultimately spent five weeks in the hospital and had to undergo two skin graft operations
‘When I first saw the way I looked, I was horrified,’ she admitted.
When she would go out in public, she recalled strangers staring at her, which often left in tears.
‘Gradually, I started going out. But I felt very self conscious and people did stare,’ she explained.
‘This was hard… one woman stared so much in a shop, she actually stopped to completely stare at me … I went home and cried my eyes out.’
Now, four years on, Tamati has learned to accept her scars, and despite the incident she feels ‘very blessed’ and ‘super lucky’ to be alive.
She has since married her fiancé, Dion, and she now has two grandchildren with two more on the way.
‘We had an amazing day surrounded by our family and closest friends,’ she said of her wedding.
‘We got married in the sun and I wore a sleeveless dress, I have accepted my scars and I wear them with pride.
‘I should not be alive to tell the tale, but thanks to the amazing team at [the hospital], I am living a full life and have almost all movement in my limbs.’
But she is still receiving laser treatments for the burns and battles PTSD from the horrific accident.
In addition to her physical pain, Tamati struggled mentally, as she has had a hard time coming to grips with the way she looked
When she would go out in public, she recalled strangers staring at her, which often left in tears
Now, four years on, Tamati has learned to accept her scars, and despite the incident she feels ‘very blessed’ and ‘super lucky’ to be alive
![She shared: 'I should not be alive to tell the tale, but thanks to the amazing team at [the hospital], I am living a full life.' She's seen with her husband](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2026/04/04/20/107659197-15706495-Now_four_years_on_Tamati_has_learned_to_accept_her_scars_and_des-m-44_1775331550035.jpg)
She shared: ‘I should not be alive to tell the tale, but thanks to the amazing team at [the hospital], I am living a full life.’ She’s seen with her husband
‘It’s still ongoing. My burns are still tight, but I massage and moisturize twice daily to help them and if this is how they are for life, I am still so very lucky [to be alive],’ she added.
‘When I talk about the accident I will have nightmares for a few nights and I do suffer with PTSD.
‘I struggle to sleep every night, but again, hey, I am here to tell the tale so am very grateful.’
Her advice to others? Never use an ethanol fireplace.
‘My message to anyone with an ethanol fireplace is please, please, please get rid of it,’ she urged.
‘The paramedic that attended to me said it is not the first accident of this type he had been to.
‘There can be a tiny blue flame, invisible to the naked eye that explodes when accelerant is poured on. They are so dangerous.’
