The mother of a young girl who caught fire after her knock-off Oodie caught fire has urged parents to bin highly flammable dupes bought on Temu.
The mother of a young girl who caught fire after her knock-off Oodie caught fire has urged parents to bin highly flammable dupes bought on Temu.
A young girl is lucky to be alive after she was left with horrific third-degree burns when a knock-off Oodie brought from Temu caught fire, sticking to her body and melting her skin off.
Queensland girl Daniella Jacobs-Herd was celebrating her mother’s birthday with family and friends when embers from a firepit touched the Temu hooded-blanket replica, set it on fire and “wrapped” her in melted plastic.
Panicking at what was unfolding, the 8-year-old, who has autism, was running in fear. Her horrified father chased after her to put out the fire before putting her in a cold shower where parts of her skin began to fall off.
Daniella suffered burns to 13% of her body, and third-degree burns to her face, chest, arms and hands.
She was rushed to hospital where she has had 14 surgeries in less than eight weeks.
On the girl’s Gofundme account, her mother Hannah shared details of the incident and the ongoing struggles her daughter faces.
Daniella suffered third degree burns to her hands, arms, chest and face.
“The wind blew and caught my daughter Daniella Jacobs-Herd’s Temu oodie take off on fire it melted to her skin ...
“She has undergone multiple surgeries including skin grafts she has just finished her 14th procedure in seven weeks and still has more to come. She is so brave.”
In an interview with 7 News Australia, Hannah said the material Daniella was wearing was full of “plastic”.
“[Her clothes were] made from so much plastic and they’re really cheap and nasty, it had melted to her hand, her forearm, upper arm and her chest and she got a flash-burn on her face,” Hannah told 7 News.
Daniella will need ongoing surgeries, including continued skin grafts and plastic surgery.
Hannah told The Daily Mail that the next 6-to-12 months will involve changing her dressings daily and the family will need to help their daughter through her trauma as the dressings come off and she’s exposed to seeing more of her burns.
“There’s trauma related to that because she remembers the skin falling off. She doesn’t think she’s going to be beautiful again,” she explained.
Mum’s warning over cheap knockoff clothing
Following the incident, Hannah has warned other parents to bin any highly flammable cheap knockoff clothing items from Temu, saying it’s “not worth the trauma”.
She revealed the item of clothing, a cheap knockoff of an Oodie, was purchased from Temu.
Hannah explained she has spoken to many parents in the burns unit who have had issues with items from cheap brands. She said a lot of them don’t come with warnings about being highly flammable other than a tag that says not to use in the dryer.
Daniella’s surgical team told the mother-of-two that knock-off dressing gowns like her purple one from Temu were notorious for burn injuries.
In a statement to The Daily Mail, Temu said it would launch an investigation into the incident and is saddened by the accident.
Daniella suffered burns to 13 per cent of her body.
“We are deeply saddened to hear about the accident involving Daniella and extend our heartfelt sympathies to her and her family during this difficult time,” said a spokesman.
“We want to assure them that we are taking this matter very seriously. Even though we have not yet received the purchase order details, we have already initiated an internal investigation.
“Our teams are actively reviewing product listings and seller records related to the type of product involved in the incident.
“We are committed to a thorough investigation and taking appropriate action.”
Daniella’s Gofundme has so far raised close to A$4000. They hope to reach A$10,000 to help cover ongoing costs of her medical care.
