"I'm not going to make it."
Mr Scally said he remembers his foot catching on the couch and falling towards the flames.
The next few minutes were a blur as he rushed around Hyde St looking for a garden hose to alleviate the excruciating pain. Then some students came to his aid.
Mr Scally said the Hyde St residents took him into their flat and sat him under a cold shower for 20 minutes while he waited for an ambulance.
"I don't know who they are . . . but I am very grateful."
Yesterday, not long out of surgery to remove dead skin from his left arm, Mr Scally said from his bed at Dunedin Hospital he planned to thank the students when he recovered from his injuries, which could be several weeks.
Doctors told him without their quick thinking his injuries would have been much worse.
He may still require skin grafts.
The heat from his burns were a constant reminder of his injury, but Mr Scally said he hoped any scarring would be limited to his left arm, which bore the impact of his fall on to the couch.
A student at Telford Rural Polytechnic, he said he had travelled from Balclutha specifically to be part of the Undie 500 weekend in Dunedin, which he had heard "was a fun time".
He also hoped to meet friends who had travelled from his hometown of Christchurch for the event, but instead of meeting in the student area, they visited him in hospital.
Mr Scally said he did not know what made him jump over the couch, but regretted his decision.
"It was pretty stupid."
A sentiment echoed by his mother, Sue.
"What can you say." she said.
