Fire Dancing in bars

[Flo]

I am interested in twirling fire inside some of our local bars here in small town Canada. I am going to approach the local fire inspector but want to have my homework done before I do so. What kind of things should I know about doing this other than the obvious safety issues. Anybody have any experience with this sort of thing?
I have twirled inside buildings many times before and even a bar in Colorado. I know that we were only allowed to use white gas as it didn't stink or smoke that much.

Thanks
Flo

[Jim]

Fire Rips Through Peru Disco, 24 Dead
BY JUDE WEBBER
Reuters
Posted on Sat, Jul. 20, 2002

LIMA, Peru - A fire ripped through a packed illegal disco in the Peruvian capital on Saturday after a fire-eater set curtains ablaze when he blew out a plume of flames, killing at least 24 people and a lion and tiger that were part of the show.

Tulio Nicolini, head of Peru's volunteer fire service said 24 people were confirmed dead and more than 40 injured in the blaze at the Utopia disco in an upscale neighborhood of Lima.

"We've checked the entire disco now, there are no more dead other than the 24 who died of asphyxiation," he told Reuters.

But he said around 50 people were hospitalized, some in critical condition, with asphyxiation and injuries sustained as they rushed to get out.

"I am profoundly upset and I send my condolences to the families of these young people," President Alejandro Toledo told RPP radio as he prepared to board a plane for the southern city of Puno, which is in the grip of a chill that has killed 59 people in the lowest temperatures in a decade in the Andes.

"I know these words cannot heal the pain many families are feeling," he said. "I have taken the decision ... to act with a firm hand and the full weight of the law against the irresponsible people who manage these illegal establishments."

The fire started around 3 a.m. local time (4 a.m. EDT) during a party, also featuring a lion and a Bengal tiger in cages, to celebrate the disco's second month of operation.

Police said the blaze, which was brought under control by morning, was started by a fire-eater who set curtains alight during his act. Earlier reports had said a juggler could have started the fire.

It was the second major fire in Lima in less than 12 months. In December, Peru vowed to step up fire safety standards after more than 300 people died when a fireworks store in a poor shopping district of central Lima caught fire.

"DISASTER WAITING TO HAPPEN"

"This was a disaster waiting to happen," Nicolini said, adding the disco had no water sprinkler system that could have helped douse the flames. "It was a terrible tragedy that could have been avoided with adequate safety measures."

He said emergency exits were not signposted and there were no fire extinguishers.

"When the emergency started, some waiters tried to put out the flames by throwing the drinks they had in their hands, which caused the fire to spread," he told Reuters.

Moises Gordillo, who escaped the blaze, told RPP radio people had thought it was part of the show when the ceiling caught fire. Another witness described the ensuing panic.

"It all happened incredibly quickly, everything happened in a matter of seconds. It was so fast people didn't realize," the man, who declined to give his name, told Canal N. He said he had been among the first of about 1,000 revelers to escape.

"There were too many people inside, you couldn't move," he said, adding some had jumped from the second floor to flee.

Both of Peru's vice presidents were among groups waiting at hospitals for news of loved ones caught in the blaze.

Carlos Dargent, mayor of the residential Surco neighborhood where the disco was located, said it had been an illegal establishment with no building or operating license.

He said there had been a show with animals and he could see a dead lion and tiger, apparently choked by the smoke, lying in their cages.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miami/news/world/3702169.htm

[Flo]

Hmmmm.

That's enlightening.

Flo

[Stretch]

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/12/02/1038712836360.html

NZ fire eater burned in bar.


Even when you are carefull . . .

Bill