Ex-BBC reporter and wife flee bioethanol fireplace explosion in Wales

A couple, including former BBC Wales reporter Nick Palit, 60, and his wife Angela Palit, 59, were forced to flee their Penarth Marina home after a bioethanol fireplace exploded, turning the downstairs into an orange fireball. The incident, which occurred last Tuesday, 16 September, left the couple badly burnt and prompted an emergency response that saw them treated at the scene, then transported to hospital before being moved to a specialist burns unit. The downstairs of the couple’s home was described as severely damaged and will require rebuilding, with insurers telling them to expect a lengthy recovery period at a temporary residence.

Angela Palit described the moment of the blast in stark terms. "I caught a fireball really that I was not expecting," she said on BBC Radio Wales. "I was trying to put it out with a damp cloth, and it just exploded at me as I was walking towards it, and just blew me across the kitchen. "My hair was on fire, my face was burning, I thought I was going to die." Her husband recalled the speed of the blaze and the shock of watching the fireball engulf the home. "We lit it as we always have done," Nick Palit said, adding that they probably had not used the device for about five months because of the summer. He described a rapid escalation: smoke, then a full orange fireball that consumed the downstairs as he dialed 999 and the couple fled through the garden gate. "As we were on the phone to the emergency services, within less than a minute it was engulfed in an orange fireball, the whole downstairs of the house." It was a frantic escape, with Nick pulling Angela to safety before the blaze widened beyond control.

The couple were treated by paramedics at the scene, then at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff before being transferred to Morriston Hospital’s burns unit in Swansea. Angela suffered burns to her face and hands, while debris from the blaze left Nick with burns on his arm and elbow.

The flames have left the lower level of the home uninhabitable, and the couple are living in temporary Airbnb accommodation while insurers assess rebuilding options. Insurers have told them it will take at least six months for the home to be rebuilt. In the meantime, the couple faced a second setback in the aftermath: four e-bikes chained outside their home were stolen in what Nick described as a "double whammy." He said the bikes, worth hundreds of pounds, were taken after they had returned from treatment. The thieves are believed to have used a van, and security cameras and lights around the property were not functioning at the time. A security tracker later indicated the bikes were at a property about two miles away, but police were unable to pinpoint which flat they were in, hindering a grab-and-go recovery.

"The security cameras, the security lights, all of that stuff that would normally be protecting it, wasn't there," Nick Palit said of the thefts. The incident underscores vulnerabilities often faced by households in the wake of a serious fire, even when the blaze is contained. South Wales Police have been asked to comment on the thefts, while South Wales Fire and Rescue Service has been asked to comment on the blaze and on bioethanol fires, such as the one that caused the explosion.

As the investigation continues and the couple begin the long process of rebuilding their home, they remain focused on recovery and safety. The incident serves as a reminder of the potential dangers of bioethanol fireplaces, which can ignite rapidly if mishandled or if a malfunction occurs. Authorities have not indicated any formal findings about the cause beyond the device’s behavior on Tuesday, and no information was provided about whether the model involved complied with safety standards. The family’s immediate priority is securing a stable living situation and ensuring access to medical care and rehabilitative services as they recover from their injuries. The community has offered support as the Palits navigate the path back to a secure, permanent home.