Goodness, Gracious, Great ...

Generator Sets Man On Fire At Florida Nudist Park
FORT PIERCE, Fla. -- Paul Kuschel would have been better off naked -- like many of the folks at Sunnier Palms Nudist Park.

Instead, he was wearing a pair of nylon shorts Sunday when a generator he was working on backfired and sprayed him with starter fluid, setting him ablaze.

"I would have been better off wearing nothing on at all," Kuschel told Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers. The fire seared his shorts to his backside.

"It's a good thing I wasn't wearing a shirt," he said.

Kuschel, 43, suffered second-degree and third-degree burns.

He was taken to a hospital with non life-threatening wounds and was treated and released.

Authorities said the fire erupted as Kuschel was trying to start the generator on a motorhome in the park, which was also damaged in the blaze.

Kuschel reported to his carpentry job Monday morning, even though he can't even swing a hammer because of his injuries.

"I'm just a tough old mule," Kuschel said. "And I don't want to lose this job."

He said he and his wife, Carol, have lived in a tent since moving from Dayton, Ohio, in February and had planned to move into the motorhome, which he just bought Saturday.

"Guess we'll be back in the tent until I can get (the motorhome) fixed," he said.
Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press.