Dan's Fund for Burns :: About us :: History

Dans Fund for Burns, a registered United Kingdom burns charity was established by Mrs Polly Miller in February 2003, following the terrorist bombings in Bali.

Polly’s husband of five weeks, her bridesmaid, and seven other friends were all killed by the terrorists on 12th October 2002, and Polly was the sole survivor of the party of ten.

Read Polly’s story:

Shortly after 11.30pm two bombs were detonated at Kuta Beach, and ripped Paddy’s Bar and the Sari Club apart.

Two hundred and two (202) people were killed and many more were injured on that fatal night.

The blasts created enormous devastation which has also had far flung implications for the Balinese people.

Many of those injured suffered severe burns and were flown to various burns units in the area, particularly Australia.

I was flown to the Royal Brisbane Hospital where I remained for over ten weeks.

I survived by pulling myself out of the burning night club, and running across the collapsed roofs to safety.

I was literally on fire and initially several Balinese were too frightened by the sight of a burning person running to give me any help.

My life was saved by Noel Ferguson, an Aussie Rules Football player, who took the photographs you see here.

Today, I still often wonder why I did survive; the battle for survival has not been easy.

Recovering from the excruciating burns which affected 43% of my body, I also had to battle the desperate emotional scars and unbearable sense of the loss of those I loved.

This combination was, and still is, totally overwhelming at times.

However, with the support, love and care of my family and friends and the various burn specialists, I have survived and am determined to make something good out of the evil which was perpetrated by the terrorists.

• Having being badly burnt myself, I learnt first hand just how painful and devastating, both physically and emotionally, it is to be burnt.

• At the same time I realized that there are many other victims much worse off than myself, receiving virtually no support from the health service once leaving hospital. The NHS services are badly stretched, and often support from families and friends is lacking or they don’t fully comprehend the difficulties faced by survivors. It is very lonely out there.

• In the United Kingdom we have spectacular Burns Units, nursing staff and surgeons, however I quickly discovered that once out of the intensive care of the hospital there was little or no support for burn survivors.

• After considerable research and discussions with others in the Burns Sector, it became abundantly clear that burns awareness throughout the United Kingdom is extremely poor at the moment, as well as follow-up support both physically and emotionally.

So, Dans Fund for Burns (Charity No. 1098720) came into being - to offer practical help in a wide range of circumstances to burns victims in the UK.

Some good out of the evil is the creation of Dans Fund for Burns as a permanent tribute to Polly’s husband, Dan Miller.