Woman’s DIY sauna ‘left skin hanging off’ after horror explosion turned her ‘into fireball’

A woman who went into a homemade sauna was airlifted to hospital last year after it exploded with her inside it, and she fortunately survived.

41-year-old Katja Grosse, from Albany, spent three weeks in hospital and had a number of surgeries including skin grafts and treatments over 50 percent of her body.

Doctors said they were surprised Katja hadn't been more injured in the explosion and praised her for getting an 'incredible result' after there'd been a 'big burst of flame' which she'd been caught in.

The homemade 'sweat lodge' had been built over 30 years ago, 7News reports, and functioned like a kitchen stove with a gas bottle and lighter.

One time while using the sauna the fire had gone out but unbeknownst to Katja the gas remained on and when she tried to reignite the stones in the sweat lodge she ignited the gas and was caught in an explosion.

Katja Grosse was hospitalised when her homemade sauna exploded (GoFundMe)

"Because it was filled with gas the whole room was, yeah, started to be in a big burst of the flame," she explained to the outlet.

"I was sitting literally completely in it."

Suffering serious burns to more than half her body, Katja crawled out of the sauna and was airlifted to Fiona Stanley Hospital in Perth and spent almost three weeks undergoing treatments to repair the damage done to her skin.

She said: "Once I was out I looked back, still seeing the flame come out, I was breathing again and looking down, seeing the burned hands.

"The skin was burned off so pure flesh. I just knew I needed to go to a hospital."

Doctors called her 'a very motivated patient' who was set on making a good recovery, with the woman herself later saying that even when she was in the emergency room she had been joking that since the explosion happened in early November last year she'd just missed Halloween and would have won a best costume competition.

Those who treated Katja's burns also stressed the benefits of getting cool running water on a burn within three hours, as they said it could reduce the amount of surgery someone needed by up to 50 percent.

She spent almost three weeks in hospital and had to undergo numerous treatments (GoFundMe)

Katja's friends and family set up a GoFundMe to help support her recovery, the most recent update thanked people for their donations with Katja saying 'the light at the tunnel's end is already here', telling her supporters that she planned to write a book.

The homemade sauna is no longer being used as a sweat lodge, and Katja intended to turn it into a meditation spot instead.

Her situation is similar to another case where a sudden explosion left someone hospitalised, as was the case when former U.S. Navy helicopter search-and-rescue swimmer Anthony Trevino was trying to refuel a garden fire pit.

The fire pit exploded and caused burns all over his body in a blast that court documents claim was so severe that it melted a nearby light and charred some fences.

Trevino expected his injuries to stay with him for the rest of his life.