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"don't worry too much, be happy mon!" well, worry a little before every spin. the big bang & earth's history of tragic fires warn us with "safety first!" when you're "playing with fire!" avoid serious damage, & give everyone a dope time, plants & animals included, by securing
5 basic safety areas
- equipment [scroll down]
- action [scroll down]
- people [scroll down]
- places [scroll down]
- conditions [scroll down]
but first, a true little story. . .
15 year-old's parents liable for Riverside blaze
sunday, august 10, 2002 ~ it cost $1.5 million just for the 4-day efforts of 1,300 firefighters to put out the 500-acre "Bryant fire" which started on a Sunday, destroyed private property & threatened homes in the Calimesa (Riverside County) & Yucaipa (San Bernardino County). the Orange County Register said Cherry Valley was also threatened before it was 50% contained. by friday the Los Angeles Times said they'd arrested a 15 year old suspected of starting the blaze, & the kid's parents were told they might be liable for costs. besides the firefighting bill, fire damage was not totalled.
familiar story, right?
but notice one thing: you've never heard of a California forest or city fire started by a fire arts performer of any age!
let's keep it that way! safety first.
because we're self-aware of intentionally starting & ending a session with fire, most fire players are more careful than the poor fools who start forest fires with cigarettes, the arsonists who go blow something up for the evil fun of it, unprepared for things when they get out of hand.
a responsible fire arts performer, including new spinners at practice, never lights up alone, & never light up before all their proper safety equipment is near at hand, in working order, in known positions. . . & with a trained spotter/ safety person ready & watchin out like a hawk to douse any stray flames, avoid dangers before they happen by shoutin out, & being in prime position all the time. as spotter, ya gotta move with your spinner, to fulfill your job as "safety." it's not just a title, it's a totally real identity, responsibility to everyone & everything for miles around. it's an athletic adventure, not for couch potatoes or naive fools who think you can just stand & watch with a towel over ya shoulder. that towel better be wet already, & ya better keep wettin it through every spin set. . . . & where's the major water source, with container or hose to bring it to the fire area & anything within firehead pop-off distance?
which is the same reason event & club clients gotta understand, a trained safety's gotta be hired along with any fire artist whose hands & eyes & attention are busy performing to give a lovin' thrill to da crowd!
 <-- Hayman, CO record fire, 2002
Orange coast California frequently misses rain. our sunshine makes our hills & fields go up easy, & we're densely populated all the way from Palos Verdes to Tijuana. we also have highly talented, pro troupes of fire spinners active from LA to San Diego. let's learn from the masters of the art, & keep our 'hoods safe so everyone can healthily enjoy givin' us "oohs" & "aahs" watching us perform, instead of runnin' us out of town like arsonists. practice safely, practice live fire together with educated pyros & sturdy equipment, & we'll be as eagerly welcomed all over SoCal as Disney & Seaworld's fireworks, Tony Hawk at the X games, or peformers at Santa Ana's Arts Village &Laguna's Pageant of the Masters. hey, Tony's sport caught on so much, towns around here are rushing to build skate parks now, as community features! we could also grow quickly into a tribe of perfomers like the Orange coast's favorite Cirque du Soleil, founded by fire swallower Guy Laliberté. here they are in action in their show {{O}} Expérience, whose tickets cost $100 when they're in the Orange coast:
and here's a complimentary write-up on our pyro neighbas, the OPA crew (Otherworldly Pyromancers Anonymous), in Washington state's Bellingham Herald on august 11, 2002:
It takes a wee bit more than coordination to fling fiery staffs, twirl poi or turn any of the tricks the group has mastered since forming as a Western Washington University student club in 2000. and it certainly takes something to do it in front of people - from crowds at WWU's Red Square to the Fairhaven Outdoor Cinema - without, group members say, anyone ever getting burned.
. . . It's probably a good time to mention that OPA's tricks should not be tried at home. Unless you're in OPA. . . . Neighborhood kids are advised to keep their distance.
Didn't work for Simmons, who caught the fire-performance bug in December when she saw someone spinning lit things behind Fairhaven College dorms.
"I was in awe," says Simmons, a former high school percussionist who particularly enjoyed Campfire Girls. "I went up to her and said, 'Must learn.'"
Although Simmons says she lit her first match a mere three weeks after picking up the trade, she hasn't had an accident. Lukeris says he once singed his beard, and Kaoz remembers a flaming poi piece landing uncomfortably close to tourists in Germany. Otherwise, no close calls.
The reason? Buckets of sand, wet rags and Melissa Helzer. She's the safety.
here's OPA's Melissa Whitman passing you da torch, as a sacred trust. keep it safe, will ya?:
OrangeFire spinners & our buddies enjoy certain San Diego gathering places where we're unofficially tolerated by authorities, especially if a master or intermediate spinner's in the group. when authorities cruise by & check out a burn, they usually say, "you guys look like you're in control," & leave us spinning. it's up to you to build confidence in your local authorities so fire arts can safely grow into warmer welcome throughout the Orange coast! start by impressing everyone, your family, friends, audience, authorities & - let's not forget - yourself what care you take, what skills you've picked up in keeping it peaceful, loving, & safe, by da way ya look out for your:
1. equipment
inspect your toys before every spin. "a chain is as strong as its weakest link," so check every connection. examine connectors between every link of ball or link chain, check for nicked strands of twisted cable, tug on everything which should be firmly attached. don't use parts which are too worn for another safe spin. when your toy's spinning, forces which pull it apart get pretty strong, which is why parts will eventually wear out. guaranteed.
got tools, in good working order, on hand at your spin site, to make all those adjustments & repairs which fire spinning requires? or ya gonna try to bite things off with ya teeth, scrape with sharp rocks, & use coins as screwdrivers? carry a regular kit, or keep a written list of tools to bring, if ya have to borrow them out of da garage sets each time.
what dangers do your fuels pose, especially if you mix them? make sure you have a firm grasp of the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for each fuel you use; click on the links in the left sidebar for typical samples, & get the ones for the brands you actually use. manufacturers are required to provide these to you by law, so most retailers give 'em to ya if ya ask. do you have proper containers for carrying them, pouring & mixing, & soaking wicks?
wet towels are key for most spins. carry towels big enough to throw over a suddenly spreading wildfire on ground or furniture. make sure they're wet & in easy reach before spinning. fire extinguishers appropriate to your fuels & firetoys are excellent, pros always have them nearby. they include powder spray, garden hoses, blankets of flame-retardant cloth. a lake or pool nearby isn't enough. ever see footage of people trying to scoop water with buckets out of a watertank while a building's blazing? make sure you can take your extinguishers to anything which could catch fire, say if your poi's firehead swings off out of the ballpark; not all fires can be taken to the extinguisher.
tests show natural fibers, cotton & even silk when it's thick enough, withstand fire longer than synthetics. you'll have several seconds when some burning fuel or a piece of wicking lands on your clothes to brush it off safely. do you need gloves or other body-part protectors for ya firetoys? are ya still learning & hitting yourself during practice? for dudes, get a protector cup & if it doesn't have its own elastic, you'll need smaller-cut briefs or a jockstrap to keep it on. & you'll be very glad, for years & years.
your body's your most important piece of equipment. it's got lots of working parts, hundreds of of joints, muscles, even a brain, ears, mouth, & heat-sensing nerves. are all the needed body parts in good condition for what you're about to perform? good enough to save the day if disaster threatens, get help, & escape danger? those little wounds we sometimes get, are any in the way of your next moves? clothing protects your body, but if you're going to risk skin-surface flames, is your skin cleanly shaved in those areas? if ya use a wheelchair or other props, or need special attention, make sure you & all your body's equipment, internal & external, are prepared for a safe spin.
in emergency, if a fire gets out of control or you're hurt ("i've fallen. . . and i can't get up!") make sure you can get word out. carry a pen, a flare if you're on deserted roads at night, & a phone. or be near one in an easy walk. know where the nearest hospital is, particularly one with a burn center, since fire's the chief danger, but night-time hazards are another, including running into harmful animals & plants. & make sure you don't spin live fire alone, always have a spotter with you, in charge of extinguishers & communicators, including keys to da car!
2. action
3. people
4. places
official Orange coast beach fire rules
Salt Creek Beach (Dana Point), Tablerock & Thousand Steps (Laguna Beach), are run by Orange County, not local cities. US Ocean Safety Lifeguards, who seem to be a private company made up of local career beach doggs, contracts to the county. here's what they say about beach fires:
"what is considered a hazardous beach activity?
. . . any activity, game, contest, or use of equipment that presents a danger to either the person or people participating in the activity, or to the surrounding public. . .The following is a list:
Large organized games on the beach involving tackling, ball throwing or kicking, setting up nets or courts, or general rough-housing
Digging holes in the sand larger than three feet wide by two feet deep
High performance kite flying in crowded conditions
Using barbeques or fires on the beach outside of designated fire rings
Any activity that is not listed above could still be considered hazardous.
FIRES
Fires are permitted at beaches where there are proper fire rings and/or controlled, designated areas. Otherwise, fires are not permitted on the beach. The primary reason fires are prohibited on the sand is because smoldering embers can become buried and superheat the sand. Many people will attempt to extinguish illegal beach fires by throwing sand over the top of them. The sand acts as an insulator of heat and can remain extremely hot for hours after the fire has been extinguished. It is possible to receive severe burns from hot sand left over from a fire the night before. Always extinguish camp fires with ample water before leaving them unattended.
At many beaches, there is also a high fire risk due to dry shrubbery on the hills and sand bordering the beach. Glowing embers can be blown onshore by westerly winds and start brush fires. It is extremely important to have all fires and barbeques in the proper designated areas, and to keep the flames at a modest level to avoid the risk of the fire spreading out of control."
5. conditions
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