ABC host Charles Brice burned after horrific bathroom incident
A popular ABC presenter has urged travellers to be careful when using accessible toilets abroad after burning his arm in a horrific accident.
Charles Brice was showering in a Berlin hotel last week, preparing for the Paris Paralympic Games, when he put his hand on a metal rim.
The journalist and digital producer did not realize that the seemingly innocent structure was a mixer transporting hot water.
Mr. Brice had no idea of the serious damage until he got out of the shower and discovered his hand was covered in burns.
Blisters formed on his forearm and parts of his skin had cracked or melted.
His good friend Shane Hryhorec later posted a video on TikTok showing the nasty burns he suffered.
“Don’t let this happen to you,” Mr. Hryhorec warned on his Wheel around the World account.
Mr Hryhorec, a well-known disability advocate, explained that in Europe and the UK, shower mixers are mounted on the outside of the wall, unlike in Australia.
Charles Brice (pictured) was taking a shower while staying in a Berlin hotel last week when he put his hand on a metal rim
“The hot water tap and the pipe that mixes the hot and cold water are actually outside the wall,” Mr. Hryhorec warned.
Shower mixers are bathroom systems that mix hot and cold water to set the correct temperature and water flow.
Mr Brice was then told by several pharmacies in the German capital that it would cost him thousands of dollars to have the burns treated.
“He said, ‘Whatever you do, never lean on the mixer,’” Mr. Hryhorec said Yeah.
‘Anyone with a disability, children or anyone else, needs to be careful.
“One pharmacy said the equipment would cost him $3,000, the other pharmacy said the equipment would cost $500.”
The ABC presenter discovered his arm was covered in burns before blisters formed as parts of his skin burst open (pictured)
Mr Brice (pictured with News Breakfast presenters Lisa Millar and Michael Rowland) urged Australians not to lean on the edge when using accessible showers while travelling overseas
The pair have urged Australians not to lean on the edge when getting in the shower.
“The moral of the story is: you can’t shower in Europe,” Mr Hryhorec joked.
Mr Brice was in Berlin for a short holiday ahead of his reporting duties for the Paralympic Games, which started last week.
He is a disability advocate and public speaker, and began his career at the ABC in 2019.
His passion for television news was sparked after he spent a gruelling 14-month stint in rehab in 2010 following a horrific motorcycle accident.
Mr Brice broke two vertebrae in his neck and completely severed his spinal cord after hitting a bumpy road while riding his motorcycle.
He flew off the bike and landed on his head on the ground.
Mr. Brice is also a co-founder of the Wheel To Walk initiative, which has raised more than $300,000 for spinal cord injury research.
