A Te Puke businessman severely burnt when a petrol drum exploded in the back of his ute remembers fleeing the vehicle with his hair on fire.

Don Bayliss was working at his Commerce Lane clothing store on Saturday when he decided to transport a drum of petrol to his family orchard on No.1 Road.

As the 63-year-old got in his Nissan 4x4 the drum of petrol exploded into flames leaving Don with burns to his face, neck and arms.

Speaking from his Tauranga Hospital bed today, Don told SunLive he had a 20litre drum contained by a milk top, where it would normally have a fitted seal.

'I closed the door, started the engine and it just exploded.”

He believes fumes seeping out of the drum had built up causing it to combust when he started the engine.

'I got out and tried to put the fire out with an extinguisher but I had no flesh on my fingers so I couldn't pull the pin.”

Don went for a hose at the back of the store to try and put the fire out. 'I looked back and saw the flames had died down, so hopped back in and moved it away from the building.”

Staff at Don Bayliss Clothing store came to their boss' aid, drenching his head and arms in water and cold towels until emergency services arrived.

'All I remember after that is getting the happy juice and being away with the fairies for the rest of the day.”

The only thing running through Don's mind at the time was staying alive.

'I had a cotton shirt on, so didn't get any burns on the top of my arms, just on my forearms, face, back of my neck and in my ears.

'When it first happened I couldn't see, but now I can. The doctors will be moving me to the burns unit in Waikato Hospital tomorrow and they suspect I will be hospital until at least Thursday.”

Don hopes his experience will make other people think when transporting fuel.

'Having a proper seal is crucial. Don't be complacent about things. Being from a rural background I knew that once the drum had exploded all the petrol fumes had been burnt up and with the car being diesel, there was no chance of a second explosion.”