Forums > Social Chat > 'Firebreathing is perfectly safe'
Login/Join to ParticipateMiss Whippy
1,262 posts
Location: Cornwall & Oxford
1,262 posts
Location: Cornwall & Oxford
Posted:
this is what the head of the 'extreme sports' society at uni said to me the other night.
Now, we all know this is untrue and i tried to explain the dangers to this guy but he didnt listen and seemed genuinely annoyed by my refusal to firebreathe. I spun some fire for them and they were impressed which was cool but while i was dunking my monkey fists, one of the vice presidents of the society shoved a lit torch in the dunking pot. I kinda thought that putting an open flame near, let alone in, a dunking pot, no matter how combustible the fuel, was a bad idea. please correct me if im wrong.
They also said to the group 'who wants to firebreathe?' several people put their hand up and the safety briefing they gave was, tand i quote 'dont swallow it and dont breathe it in'. The first guy (the president of the society) to breathe did it towards the crowd, the wind was blowing that way but he didnt ask the crowd to move and didnt move to the side himself.
I was also talking to the main guy about the fire shows they put on. I asked about insurance but he didnt seem to know what i was talking about, they put on public fireshows but have no insurance, the university may have it but the main guy didnt seem to know anything about it.
Im considering quitting the society but it does things like street luge, sky diving, bungee jumping, and i really want to try a load of their activities but im worried that if they show such a disregard for safety towards firebreathing that they will towards everything else.
this is what the head of the 'extreme sports' society at uni said to me the other night.
Now, we all know this is untrue and i tried to explain the dangers to this guy but he didnt listen and seemed genuinely annoyed by my refusal to firebreathe. I spun some fire for them and they were impressed which was cool but while i was dunking my monkey fists, one of the vice presidents of the society shoved a lit torch in the dunking pot. I kinda thought that putting an open flame near, let alone in, a dunking pot, no matter how combustible the fuel, was a bad idea. please correct me if im wrong.
They also said to the group 'who wants to firebreathe?' several people put their hand up and the safety briefing they gave was, tand i quote 'dont swallow it and dont breathe it in'. The first guy (the president of the society) to breathe did it towards the crowd, the wind was blowing that way but he didnt ask the crowd to move and didnt move to the side himself.
I was also talking to the main guy about the fire shows they put on. I asked about insurance but he didnt seem to know what i was talking about, they put on public fireshows but have no insurance, the university may have it but the main guy didnt seem to know anything about it.
Im considering quitting the society but it does things like street luge, sky diving, bungee jumping, and i really want to try a load of their activities but im worried that if they show such a disregard for safety towards firebreathing that they will towards everything else.
Aim high and you'll know your limits, aim low and you'll never know how high you could have climbed.
BRONZE Member
Retro Fyre Wizzard
538 posts
Location: Pietermaritzburg (KZN), South Africa
Retro Fyre Wizzard
538 posts
Location: Pietermaritzburg (KZN), South Africa
Posted:
Print this thread and take it to the union...
that should b enouf to spark some concern, without you having to actually say anything...
NYC... do you really think that will happen?
or perhaps if the "Darwin effect" comes into play then i spose it will!
But then it could be banned outright by the uni! You do not want that... Belonging to a campus can be valuable for a fyre preformer, for one you can arrange some awsome venues to perform/practice.
I would never recomend dunking a lit wich into your fuel tin... however, UglyCowsOfFrance does have a point, with paraffin ti can be done, and i have used this before to snuff burning wicks in a hurry! Paraffin has a very high flashpoint, so it's reletavely safe with flame around it (not for extended periods tho) ShellSol D60 (I finally managed to get hold of some) is also a great fuel (flashpoint 180degC). however naptha, colemans, whitegas, blah blah, do not neccessarily require a medium with which to burn. so I would seriously suggest NOT trying it with those... It's all relative to environmental conditions tho, if it's a cold night your fuel is safer to use, if it's a hot night you should be a little more carefull!... (like petrol... it'll still ignite at about -40deg) (yes, i've been experimenting)
With regard to the breathing... i will never recomend to anyone to breathe, however if someone approaches me, i'll teach them. The problem is that some people just have no respect for fire or other people... this w-end i had the unfortunate experience of having to intervien when sumone got a 14 year old kid breathing fire... No real explainations, no real warnings and no practice before hand!!! That's just highly irresponsible... Anyways, i hope i explained enough to the kid that he wont be killing/hospitalising himself in the future! People will always exercise their god-given right to be stupid!
okay i've drifed from topic...
Print this thread and take it to the union...
that should b enouf to spark some concern, without you having to actually say anything...
NYC... do you really think that will happen?
or perhaps if the "Darwin effect" comes into play then i spose it will!
But then it could be banned outright by the uni! You do not want that... Belonging to a campus can be valuable for a fyre preformer, for one you can arrange some awsome venues to perform/practice.I would never recomend dunking a lit wich into your fuel tin... however, UglyCowsOfFrance does have a point, with paraffin ti can be done, and i have used this before to snuff burning wicks in a hurry! Paraffin has a very high flashpoint, so it's reletavely safe with flame around it (not for extended periods tho) ShellSol D60 (I finally managed to get hold of some) is also a great fuel (flashpoint 180degC). however naptha, colemans, whitegas, blah blah, do not neccessarily require a medium with which to burn. so I would seriously suggest NOT trying it with those... It's all relative to environmental conditions tho, if it's a cold night your fuel is safer to use, if it's a hot night you should be a little more carefull!... (like petrol... it'll still ignite at about -40deg) (yes, i've been experimenting)
With regard to the breathing... i will never recomend to anyone to breathe, however if someone approaches me, i'll teach them. The problem is that some people just have no respect for fire or other people... this w-end i had the unfortunate experience of having to intervien when sumone got a 14 year old kid breathing fire... No real explainations, no real warnings and no practice before hand!!! That's just highly irresponsible... Anyways, i hope i explained enough to the kid that he wont be killing/hospitalising himself in the future! People will always exercise their god-given right to be stupid!
okay i've drifed from topic...
Regards 
Shu
(Ice-E FyreStorm - Group Manager & Performer)
You know those people your parentals warned you about?... I'M ONE OF THEM! 
Yes, i do bite!!
journeyman
91 posts
Location: Manchester
91 posts
Location: Manchester
Posted:
It's been said already in the thread but print out Pele's article and the fire breathing safety stuff and write a covering letter to the union. Say that it is a matter of when not if that someone will be hurt. You have then carried out your duty of care. If someone does get hurt they will be in a much stronger position and the union and university a much weaker one. They should realise this and probably stop people playing with fire.
You may be ostracised from the society. Easy solution, start your own - The Safe Extreme Sports Society. You can be the chairperson - looks good on your CV too!
As a side note - I have been burnt twice this year and required hospital treatment both times. The advice given in the articles mentioned is good. Especially the bit about listening to your instincts. I should have listened to mine. Luckily for me, neither of my burns were firebreathing accidents and have left me with only minor scarring. The bit about always treating fire with respect is very true. Through our art we overcome our instincts to keep fire at arms length. Try to remember what that instinct is there for.
It's been said already in the thread but print out Pele's article and the fire breathing safety stuff and write a covering letter to the union. Say that it is a matter of when not if that someone will be hurt. You have then carried out your duty of care. If someone does get hurt they will be in a much stronger position and the union and university a much weaker one. They should realise this and probably stop people playing with fire.
You may be ostracised from the society. Easy solution, start your own - The Safe Extreme Sports Society. You can be the chairperson - looks good on your CV too!
As a side note - I have been burnt twice this year and required hospital treatment both times. The advice given in the articles mentioned is good. Especially the bit about listening to your instincts. I should have listened to mine. Luckily for me, neither of my burns were firebreathing accidents and have left me with only minor scarring. The bit about always treating fire with respect is very true. Through our art we overcome our instincts to keep fire at arms length. Try to remember what that instinct is there for.
He's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy!
Similar Topics
Using the keywords [firebreathing perfectly safe] we found the following existing topics.
- Forums > 'Firebreathing is perfectly safe' [32 replies]
- Forums > Oh dear, no insurance. [12 replies]
Show more..
© 1998 - 2024 Home of Poi
All prices converted to United States dollars using XE.com