Victorian boy’s burn accident sparks urgent warning on flammable clothing for parents

A 12-year-old Victorian boy suffered serious burns and required eight surgeries when his polyester jumper caught fire just over a month ago.

Now, his family wants the incident to help other parents spot dangerous clothing before it’s too late.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Victorian boy’s surgery nightmare after a fiery mistake, and his warning for other families.

And after his eight surgeries, young Levi Presland told 7NEWS.com.au he was finally feeling like himself again.

“I’ve been feeling really good,” he said.

The little boy was injured in a freak accident six weeks ago while in his backyard.

“He was just flicking a cigarette lighter and the jumper he had on at the time was made from quite flammable polyester material,” Levi’s mother Amie Presland said.

“And it just lit up.”

Levi’s 14-year-old sister Megan Presland saved his life, dowsing him with a garden hose.

“I kind of just went into action mode,” she said.

“I looked up and saw him engulfed in flames, trying to pull his jumper off.”

Levi suffered full-thickness burns to his torso and was airlifted to The Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne.

A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to help the family with his recovery.

“So they’ve taken the skin from all around both his thighs to graft his chest and under his arms,” Amie said.

More than 1000 children under 15 were admitted to burns wards last year, and parents are warned to beware of synthetic materials such as nylon and polyester, which melt once ignited.

“Choose clothing that has a low fire danger label (and) teach your children the stop, drop, cover and roll drill,” Kidsafe spokesperson Sarah Sexton said.

However, there have been multiple recalls of children’s clothing due to noncompliance with safety guidelines.

Kathmandu recalled its Kids Hooded Towel in 2022 after the ACCC found the product did “not comply with the labelling requirements of the mandatory safety standard for nightwear for children”.

Several sets of pyjamas were recalled from Target stores early last year for being a fire hazard risk.

The Oodie recalled its Kids Beach Oodie late last year after Product Safety Australia (PSA)found it did not comply with mandatory safety standard requirements for children’s nightwear as it did not have the necessary fire hazard labelling.

Kmart recalled a sleepwear set earlier this year as it posed a serious risk of burn injuries — but did not contain the correct fire hazard label.

In July, a one-piece pyjama set from recalled from clothing store H&M over a failure to meet mandatory safety requirements as it did not have the required fire hazard labelling.