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Great White Fire Video


Panzerman

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Just watched the first long-running real-time video I have come across of the nightclub fire the night Great White played (sorry, can't remember the location, date, but you all know what I'm talking about).

To say it is disturbing it is to put it mildly, even though I know how fast some stuff can ignite, that was something else.

 

Though I'm always H&S conscious, I like to think I'll just check I know where the fire exits and extinguishers are if any pyro is being used on anything I'm involved in. Perhaps I won't allow myself to be herded into rammed venues after a few sherberts anymore either, this is just the kind of show I would have attended.

 

The video is taken by a punter who keeps filming even when he gets out. DON'T watch it if you have lost anyone in something similar, the screams are haunting.

 

The site does have a few dodgy images which could be considered NSFW in the borders, so be aware! Also, every time I went there one of those "Your System Is Infected" pop-ups kept triggering, but with some nifty clicking and hitting the "Back" key, I got there eventually.

 

Watch it and learn something. It's certainly not entertainment, even if you love Ogrish-type stuff. In our industry, "It could have been you"

 

http://theync.com/m022607fire.shtml

 

 

 

Moderation: Please note the above link tiggers a lot of 'suspect' pop-ups.

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Just watched the first long-running real-time video I have come across of the nightclub fire the night Great White played
Well...

I was in two minds whether to watch this.

But I did.

I'm not actually sure whether I can say I should have or not. Whilst there was nothing specifically gory about what's on the film, it does demonstrate just how quickly a fire can take - something I've seen to my cost not so long back (non-theatre related).

What it certainly DOES show, right at the start, is how absolutely STUPID and totally NEGLECTFUL these guys were by using what looked like THREE long duration gerbs in a fan under a ceiling that was simply just not high enough!!!

 

I mentioned in another thread today about the fact that I confiscated a box of 20 ft gerbs from a group who came to our 17 ft venue - I did so with a cynical smilie, but had we not practiced our usual care with anyone bring pyro into the building (I was called in by one of the house crew) that could SO easily have happened to our house!!

 

As the OP says - grim watching.

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What it certainly DOES show, right at the start, is how absolutely STUPID and totally NEGLECTFUL these guys were by using what looked like THREE long duration gerbs in a fan under a ceiling that was simply just not high enough!!!

 

 

Especially when the ceiling, stage walls and stage door were covered with a flammable packing foam....

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I have seen bits of that video before, but not the full length. It really brings home the danger of fire and just how quickly it can spread. Reading on wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Station_nightclub_fire it makes you think about if something like that happened in your venue - how would you get your audience out quickly and safely. Apparently there wasn't a lack of fire escapes - everyone just used the same one.

 

You have to give credit to the fire service though, who were on the scene in just over three minutes!

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Unbelievable. The first thing that came to my mind was the height of that ceiling just above the drummer. How stupid can you be to light gerbs that large in an area so tight and think you could get away with it.

What surprised me was that it took a good while for the band/engineers to actually cut the sound or make a quick announcement and hit that fire alarm quicker. Now I understand that if there is a fire alarm, the case of powering down is a must, but we do (in our last false alarm) announce briefly that people should leave the venue immediately over the PA. I just don't think people realised what to do quickly enough.

It is scary yet tragic to watch. That footage was over a course of ONLY 10 MINUTES from the beginning of the fire.

 

 

 

Just a few questions for clarification:

 

What was happening at the entrance? Were people caught or being crushed even though the doors were open?

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I recently used stage flashes in an ameteur show (different I know) but I got hassle from some of the technically ignorant members of the cast for taking so much care with pyros. having watched that video I feel wholey justified in the time and care I took over rigging and rehearsing with them.

 

edit: correct terminology

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Just a few questions for clarification:

 

What was happening at the entrance? Were people caught or being crushed even though the doors were open?

Most of your questions can be answered by reading the Wikipedia article.

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A very harrowing video, makes you stop & think, this should be shown on all pyro training courses!

 

And all clubbers: Don't stop to watch the fireworks. Interestingly, the camera starts making for the exit almost as soon as the smoke starts. Very sensible, and gives us a powerful teaching aid.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I couldn't watch that video beyond the first couple of minutes. I just find the thought that so many people you see at the start enjoying their night, getting drunk, whatever, are no longer with us more disturbing than I can even come close to expressing in words. Tragic... Just tragic.

 

Paul

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I think this should be put on moogle; who do I give credit to for the video ? Moogle is a new thing for teachers to give information to students via the Internet, this would be excellent for teaching about pyrotechnics.

 

We had an EXTREMELY close call at a school using pyrotechnics when some lazy tech crew member didn't do his checks and just planted the pyro and walked off. When the pyro went off the curtains caught fire. It was put out but it was a close call.

 

A really good wake up call for all techs that use pyro really.

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... who do I give credit to for the video ?

You question can be answered by reading the Wikipedia article linked to a few posts up.

 

However, I have to question whether using it as a 'learning' tool for teachers is the right thing to do. I don't feel showing a video in which one in four of the people you see in it ends up dead and one in two ends up injured is appropriate for that age group.

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... who do I give credit to for the video ?

You question can be answered by reading the Wikipedia article linked to a few posts up.

 

However, I have to question whether using it as a 'learning' tool for teachers is the right thing to do. I don't feel showing a video in which one in four of the people you see in it ends up dead and one in two ends up injured is appropriate for that age group.

 

Trouble is these days when you want to teach safe practices, in my opinion, they are not hard hitting enough at all. We recently had a road safety course that I believe was not hard hitting enough to get through the mass of 15-16 year olds.

 

In my opinion this is just the right thing to teach pyro safety.

 

But I could be a harsh teacher ;)

 

James

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You question can be answered by reading the Wikipedia article linked to a few posts up.

 

However, I have to question whether using it as a 'learning' tool for teachers is the right thing to do. I don't feel showing a video in which one in four of the people you see in it ends up dead and one in two ends up injured is appropriate for that age group.

 

I think for people who wish to use pyro and are aged between 16+ (usually around 18 ) should be showing the video to show them how quickly something can go wrong however I wouldn't add how many died I would say that there were fatalities due to the fire but then again people who would see the video would guess that.

 

I mean come on these people aren't children now they know when things like this happen someone dies.

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