Four boys playing at a family home in Nerong, near Bulahdelah, were taken to hospital on Tuesday night with burns after an explosion involving nitro fuel for a remote-controlled boat.
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The group, aged between 11 and 13, had been playing with a drum of fuel around 7pm when they decided to light a small amount of the liquid that had been tipped onto the driveway of the Curlew Crescent home.
The flame then shot to the drum of fuel causing it to explode.
Two of the boys, aged 12 and 13, suffered burns all over their bodies and on their faces.
The Westpac Rescue Helicopter flew the pair to Westmead Children's Hospital in a serious but stable condition.
The other two boys, aged 11 and 13, were taken to John Hunter Hospital with burns to their legs.
Distraught family members comforted each other as children were treated at the scene.
The mother of one of the less-severely injured children said the group were playing together outside her home when the accident occured.
"I saw the explosion and I saw the boys coming out with flames all over them," she said.
"We ran straight to them and ripped the clothes off them and got them to drop and roll.
"A bloke down the road called triple-0 immediately.
"There were a lot of instant blisters and peeling of the skin – they were in extreme pain."
The woman said the boys had been playing at her home and got their hands on a two-litre bottle of fuel that was used for a remote-control boat.
She said they lit a bit of the fuel that had been tipped onto the driveway.
"They tipped it out and just lit a little bit of it and it spread up the driveway and ran straight up to the two-litre bottle and the bottle exploded," she said.
Her husband said it was a terrible accident.
"Basically it was just boys being boys," he said.
Neighbour Tracey Marjoran was one of the nearby residents who ran to help get the boys into a cold shower.
"We saw them across the road on fire after hearing the bang," she said.
"We raced up and my partner rang the ambos and was making sure they were breathing and giving updates on what their status was."
Ambulance NSW Inspector Pearce Benson praised the residents' quick-thinking.
"Paramedics arrived and continued the work of parents and neighbours in cooling off the children who were in baths and showers," he said.
"What those people did before they arrived definitely decreased the amount of burning to the tissue.
"The paramedics stabilised the patients with cooling, pain relief and some fluids before they were transported to hospital."
Port Stephens Inspector Craig Reid said police would be investigating the circumstances behind the explosion.
