Newbies! FIRE SAFETY!

well I have been noticing the recent flood of new people lately, including a lot of glowstickers who now may be inspired to do fire. I have been reading stories about battlewounds, fire breathing with alcohol, failure of wicks to go out on their own...etc...etc...and people are seemingly not doing their homework before doing something which is inherently dangerous to people (yourself and others) and property. maybe not as dangerous as somethings, but its still fire. now here in the US as we all know its hard enough to get anybody to let us do fire legally without a lot of hoopla now, imagine how hard it will be when somebody actually does something really bad, burns something down and makes it impossible for the rest of us. this is the real danger of the "fad" mentality. how many people know that throwing water on a burning person will result in steam burns? water on a fuel dump fire is useless and will just spread it around and you really need a fire extinguisher? coleman fuel fumes will ignite from a spark and kerosene won't really...and so to save you from working too hard, read: https://www.homeofpoi.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000075.htmlcurrently
our safety procedures for a group of social poi twirlers (also applicable to staff) include:-several towels, at least one damp (not dripping wet) for smothering wicks when they are done and for putting out people who might catch. towels held by an alert safety person while people are twirling. the safety person should know how to put out a wick and a person, some groups have safeties trained in first aid as well. towels soaked with fuel after several uses as smothering towels will not be effective and have to be washed off before use.-fire extinguisher for fuel fires/burning stuff like grass etc. also useful to know how it works.-spin-off excess fuel away from spinning area so you dont cover your audience and fellow twirlers with hot burning oil droplets, and you dont make a big slippery oil slick where you will be twirling. if you can spin off into a container, its more environmentally friendly. you'd be amazed how much fuel you waste otherwise.-no smoking/fire zone around the fuel containers (including smoldering towel wicks which can light the coleman fuel) fuel kept in metal containers, (paintcans, coffee can, metal bucket, etc.) not glass or plastic.- have a clear area to twirl in not containing flammable stuff, things to trip on, overhead objects like trees/wires to get tangled on, etc. be aware of your audience if you have one and make sure they are a safe distance away from you. this is another responsibility of the spotter.personal responsibility of people includes dealing with hair, wearing non-flammable clothes, checking gear for wear and tear. I don't currently have any split-ring links on any of my chains since there seems to be a general consensus that they can fail (never happened to me). if you make your own gear make sure that the swivels you use can withstand the force you will put on them, and avoid non-welded chain which can pull apart. be careful to make sure cable links/ ball chain links are secure, check those gromits on handles. be aware that as towel wicks burn down they send off sparks and bits of burning towel which can land on your clothes, dry grass, etc. you are more likely to be burned by exposed metal parts than the actual fire. we assume that you know how to do a move well and confidently before you try it with fire.you may think that you spin better while drunk but really, believe me, you don't. as far as i am concerned, spinning while intoxicated is incredibly stupid, like driving, and i do not lend my gear out to intoxicated people. and that's just for poi! which is probably the safest thing you can do with fire. and not even everything...i'm sure i have forgotten stuff. it sounds like a lot but after a while it should just be second nature. safetwirling,Pere

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