Hard to tell from the picture and not knowing how long the animal has been in this condition, but you can definitely bet on burn or scale rot which means 2 things for certain

1# The husbandry needs to be re-assed IMMEDIATELY

2# Due to the extent the animal need to be taken to a vet ASAP

In the mean time your friend needs to make sure his heat source is controlled, replace the substrate with clean paper towel (keep the enclosure clean), clean the area up with some betadine and apply some triple anti-biotic ointment while waiting to have the animal seen by a vet.