Real Life Stories

SCOTT'S STORY
Scott was working in a theatre and the company was gifted a 5k fixture. The crew decided it could be used as a work light because, hung in the back corner, it would light the whole stage. So one day the crew hung the light and left, but later that day, someone who was unaware that the light had been hung, placed a new leg right in front of it.

The crew came in the next morning and turned on the work lights and got down to business. A little while in someone commented that it "smelt like smoke". Looking up, one of the legs had caught on fire! Luckily, thanks to fire retardant, it was only smouldering  but if it was not put out soon a lot of damage could happen.

Scott grabbed a fire extinguisher and told one of the fly people to lowly bring in the leg so that he could reach but not so quickly that the added oxygen would cause it to flare up.

In the end minimal damage was caused. Oddly enough, Scott was capable of managing this situation due to his prior knowledge of extinguishers from working at Canada's Wonderland, not from employer training.


EVAN'S STORY
Evan had a friend who happened to stumble upon a discarded fire extinguisher. Like most young men, Evan's friend immediately associated a fire extinguisher with the opportunity to rocket power something. So Evan's friend went out on a quest to find a wheelie chair. Thankfully for him, the fire extinguisher didn't work and no one was harmed, but without knowing if the extinguisher was damaged or properly functioning someone most definitely could have been injured.


BONNIE'S STORY
Bonnie was supervising on a set installation on stage of some 6" decking. The decking was used to create the illusion of hardwood floors. The head of carps went on lunch while the crew finished a few additional things on the set. The last thing they were doing was drilling a few holes through the top of the deck to slot other set pieces into.

While drilling a hole the sawdust caught on fire under the deck. There was also batting underneath to damped sound and there was a great fear that the fire would spread to the batting. Two staff immediately ran out of the theatre, past the fire extinguisher, to get water.

The first got to the bathroom to realise that they had nothing to transport the water in. The second ran into an office and found a jug of water, which actually had no place being there. They were able to pour the water into the hole and douse the fire.

If the staff members hadn't panicked and had known the layout of their workspace the situation would have been much less serious and more responsibly handled.

WILL'S STORY
On the large upright sander in the shop there is a clear sign that tells users to stop the machine if the sand paper drifts too far left or right. But apparently one student decided to ignore the sign. As they were sanding a piece the paper drifted too far to one side and the student continued on like there was no tomorrow. Soon enough the whole machine started to smoke, but would have stopped immediately had the student shut the machine off and fixed the paper. Instead another student panicked, grabbed the fire extinguisher, and sprayed it everywhere. It was a totally unnecessary reaction but always better safe than sorry.

CAIRO, EGYPT 
Roughly 1000 Egyptians gathered together for a night of entertainment in September 2005. A fire broke out, perhaps caused by a candle being held too close to a drape, and the crowded audience panicked. People were pushed and trampled and over 20 were killed in the frenzy and fire. Once again the panic of a crowd was more dangerous than the fire itself.

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH
A security guard was patrolling the Capitol Theatre early one morning when he smelt smoke. He soon found the source of the scent was a small fire caused by stage drapes being store to close to a light, exposed bulb. The guard immediately called 911 then located the nearest extinguisher and started to tame the flames. By the time the fire department arrived the fire was under control and they simply had to fully extinguish it. No damage was caused, except to the drapes in question, and all performances could continue as usual. The guard's calm demeanour and understanding of fire procedure saved this theatre from a lot of damage and set-backs.


MORAL
All of these stories point to an easily recognizable theme. If you remain calm and are knowledgeable in regards to theatre safety and the layout of your work environment many fire issues can be prevented, or worst case, extinguished.