Soul Fire Tribe
Safety Info
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Soul Fire Tribe
Safety Info
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Soul Fire Tribe HOME.EARTHLINK.NET/~SOULFIRETRIBE Fire Safety Information and Guidelines Authored by Pan and Lara The main purpose of this document
is to educate the Fire Artist/Performer and Safety personnel to ensure the safety of performers, audiences and venues. In addition to these guidelines, all regulations of local and state fire marshals
must be followed. The second purpose is to promote understanding and cooperation
among performers of the fire arts community, the community-at-large and fire prevention officials through our promotion of
responsible professionalism. I) Performer Guidelines Performing Fire Artists are expected to act in
a professional manner. They should be sober, well rehearsed, and safe each time they light up. Developing respect for Fire,
Each Other and for the Art itself must always be encouraged and expected by all of us. A) Sobriety o Never perform or practice
with lit tools while under the influence of any substance, including prescription medications that may impair concentration
or judgment. o Avoid lit spinning in any condition other than fully awake, aware and capable. B) Performer Safety Awareness o Be sure to have an open space to practice or perform with plenty of room for everyone to move without hitting each
other. o Before lighting up, the performer should be ready to spin the lit tool for its full duration. If due to unanticipated circumstances the spin must end before the poi has extinguished itself, the Safety
person should assist by placing the moist bath sized towel or fire blanket open upon the ground, laying the wicks upon the
towel and folding the towel over the wicks. o New moves should always be practiced with non-lit poi until proficient. o When spinning fire, always have a trained Safety person present. The Safety must constantly watch the performer, have
an ABC extinguisher handy, and a wet towel actually in their hands (not “nearby”). o If you notice a flame on yourself or your Safety calls, “YOU’RE ON FIRE,” almost certainly what is
burning is fuel. Stop spinning! Quickly
yet smoothly slide your slightly cupped palm with closed fingers along your body, over and then past the flame, away from
your face. If you are unsuccessful after three seconds or the fire is on your
back or head, your Safety should call loudly, “HOLD!” When you hear
this, you MUST stop all movement and hold your poi straight out to your sides, so the Safety can smother the fire with the
damp towel or fire blanket. (Not the fire extinguisher!) o If, however, your clothing or hair is actually burning or the term “Human Torch” comes to your mind - remember:
STOP; DROP; & ROLL while COVERING your face with your hands. Your Safety crew will
then cover you with a fire blanket/wet bath towel. While none of us will probably
ever witness this sort of accident, professionalism demands we be prepared to manage all worst-case scenarios. C) Costume and Clothing o Performance costumes and fire practice clothing should be made of Flame Retardant material such as 100% cotton, leather or other tightly woven natural fibers. Flame
resistant clothes used by Firefighters and stunt performers, such as Nomex, can also be worn. o Unacceptable materials include man-made fibers such as polyester, rayon, plastic, nylon or 50/50 cotton mix. No feathers or dangly bits. Thin or loosely woven, fuzzy wool
or cotton or loosely fitting flowing clothing are more likely to catch fire due to more oxygen around or within the fiber,
or between skin and fiber. o Hair should at least be sprayed well with water or covered with cotton hat or bandana.
Spray your head , the rest of your clothing, and exposed skin. Long hair
should be tied up before covering and wetting. Never cover wet cloth, skin or hair with another cloth layer as this can cause
steam scalding. Wet only the outer most layer.
Remember that water only slows down ignition of you by denying oxygen to the flames at the surface of your clothing,
skin or hair. Each performance and lit practice should have trained non-performing Safeties (spotters) present with an ABC fire extinguisher
and at least 1 square meter of Flame Retardant fire blanket, or damp terry bath sized towel. One safety per active performer
is preferred. Other responsibilities of Safety spotters include the loss of a
lit wick or audience or venue assistance in case of a fire accident. In addition,
a ‘Guard’ to separate audience members from the performance area may be needed, depending on the venue and audience.
A Guard may also be needed to provide for security of the Fueling Station (“fuel dump”). A) Fire Safety o Safety personnel should be well aware of the various aspects of fire performance and familiar with the routine to be performed. o Fire Safeties have the same clothing requirements as performers (see above). o Safeties should be trained in flame extinguishing, signals, untangling equipment, fuel dump safety, first aid and audience
control. o Simple command phrases or words should be agreed upon for communication from Safety to Performer. The Safety has absolute authority to stop the performer if the performer is unable to extinguish a fire
themselves. With Soul Fire Tribe, if the performer is aware of the flame on themselves
or the flame is in front where the performer can easily access it AND it does not involve their hair/head or back, the Safety
LOUDLY calls, “YOU’RE ON FIRE!” then gives the performer three seconds to extinguish the flame themselves. If after three seconds or if the fire involves their head/hair or back, call loudly,
“HOLD!!!” At this point, the performer MUST stop all movement
and hold their poi way out to their sides. o Fires upon clothing are extinguished by covering with the damp bath towel or fire blanket and sweeping downward away
from the face/head. Fires on hair are extinguished by completely covering with
the damp bath towel/fire blanket. Note that almost all performer fires are actually
burning fuels, not clothing, and will self-extinguish quickly if proper clothing is worn.
Thus, remember that the highest risk is breathing in super-heated air if the flame is near the face. Hold your breath when near the flaming performer. o Venue fires are extinguished with an ABC fire extinguisher, pull pin, squeeze and sweep the extinguisher back and forth
at the BASE of the fire. “A” type extinguishers are designed for
Trash, Wood & Paper. “B” types extinguish Liquids & Grease. “C” types extinguish Electrical equipment. Fire performers should use
only “ABC” extinguishers, which are effective on all types of fire. Water used on flaming fuel will splash and
spread the burning fuel. o Remember the “Fire Triangle:” FUEL must be converted into a vapor, mixed with OXYGEN and IGNITED with a
heat source. Remove any of these three and no fire starts or remains. o Hands-on training handling all types of fires must be obtained from an approved team trainer. B) First Aid Standards o Safeties should have first aid training, especially in burn care and CPR. o Specific first aid measures are covered in Soul Fire Tribe’s publication, “First Aid for Fire Performers
and Safeties.” o A cell phone must be present as well as having specific information of venue’s address. If you must call 911, send someone to the street to direct emergency crews to the site. III) Tools Our standards for fire tools are to insure that
fire does not accidentally leave control of the user. Attachments should be secure both lit and unlit, and the tool should
be designed to easily withstand the rigors placed on it by the performer. Stainless
Steel chains and connecting hardware is preferred as Stainless is stronger and does not heat to as high a temperature as coated
steel or other metals. A) Wick Attachment and Construction o Wicks should be attached to the fire tool via some hard limiting method, such as a locking nut. Wire, screws or bolts should be run through the wick and device. Glues and friction (such as a non-locking
nut or a knot) should never be the method of wick attachment to any swinging device. o Wicks must be constructed in such a way as to prevent loss of any part during use, such as only using fire-proof material
such as Kevlar and industry standard construction of the wick. An unacceptable
example would be a knotted cotton cloth wick. B) Handle Attachment o The main body of fire staffs, wands, fingers, palms, fans and other shafted fire tools should either be made of fireproof
materials (metal, carbon fiber, etc) or have a protective covering that extends at least 4 inches beyond typical flame contact
zones (for a spinning staff, this is 4 inches in either direction of a wick). o Poi handles should be attached with much the same care as wicks. Tether loops should not depend on glue or friction
to remain on the connector; some hard device should be employed to maintain attachment, such as a locking stainless steel
quick link. o Chain handle loops should be made of leather or stitched nylon and should be vigorously checked before each use. Any
sign of leather cracking, nylon fraying or tearing should be considered cause for replacement.
Leather and nylon attachment holes must be augmented with metal grommets to prevent tearing. C) Connectors o If the device has multiple connected parts or chains, the connectors attaching all parts together should be of a sealed
ring type rated above the maximum possible stress that can be applied to the device, such as a stainless steel quick link. No split rings or direct chain-to-poi connections are permitted. o Any connectors that could be exposed to heat should preferably be made of Stainless Steel, however, zinc or nickel
coated steel is also acceptable (no plastics, aluminum or springs).
D) Chains The options are 1) welded oval link chain; 2) ball chain; or 3) 7x7 SS wire rope. Soul Fire Tribe almost exclusively uses stainless steel ball chain, size 15. The advantages of ball chain are that it’s smooth and will not catch on clothing; it won’t
kink and is easy to untangle; and each link acts as a swivel and thusly spins the most smoothly. The main disadvantage of ball chain is that it is not as strong or durable as oval link or 7x7 SS wire
rope; this is why we highly recommend only using stainless steel, frequently checking links for wear or opening balls and
reversing ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ ends of your chain after about 100 burns.
Acceptable sizes are: #13 (1/4th inch ball diameter with tensile strength of 90 lb) and #15 (5/16th
inch ball diameter with tensile strength of 120 lb) or #20. Cautions: Fast
spinning, wraps, kicks and quick direction changes will increase the effective weight stress between 30 to 100 times, compared
to a poi head’s weight at rest. Never attach the end “A link”
directly to the poi head or handle, only to quick links. A direct attachment
will cause undue side pressure and premature failure of the first connecting rod. Inspect,
inspect, inspect! E) Safety
Checks o Before each use, the performer should look over each device to insure that all parts are in good condition and connections
are tight. A quick test is to grasp each wick and tug it away from the normal point of contact, then tug the handle using
the same method. o Before each lit performing event, special care should be used to insure all nuts, screws, and wires are tight and secure.
Grips and handles should be thoroughly checked for security and the wicks should be tested thoroughly. Ball chain should have
each link visually inspected in good light by the performer. If performing for
an audience, after the performer thoroughly checks her/his equipment, a second detailed check of equipment, clothing and mental
status should be checked by a second performer or Safety person. F) Soaking Equipment o Soak tools in a container that can be securely covered between soakings. o Always spin off excess fuel, in a zone secure from audience members and far from ignition sources (including smoking)
before performing. o Excess fuel should be “spun off” with a bucket over your wicks (unless flaming excess fuel is to be spun
off onto a safe surface as part of one’s performance - such as “Ring o’ Fire” or “RR Tracks”,
Spin off in the safest area possible. Inside spin offs should be avoided, but may cautiously be done with a heavy-duty plastic
bag over the spin off bucket and wick to prevent accidents. Recover the fuel
in the bucket to sealed containers. Mop up any spilled fuel before ignition. o Always mop up oily fuels before leaving. Remove oily residue from performance area between performances. IV) Fuels Fuel Safety should insure that an uncontrolled
burn does not occur and that the audience and venue remain safe and secure. High flash point (150 degrees +) fuels do not usually pose a threat of flashback, but often burn smoky or with toxins that could pose a threat
to public health in poorly ventilated areas. Low flash point fuels, which do burn clean, could form a vapor cloud at ambient temperatures or in direct sunlight that could be ignited
by a flame source very far away, so should always be covered. Low flash point
fuels also burn at high temperatures, which could activate some sprinkler systems
and ignite otherwise fire safe materials. Fuels have different properties that make them
safer and/or more effective compared to other fuels in various circumstances. Performers
should be fully informed as to the diverse characteristics and hazards of each fuel before deciding on the ‘right’
fuel for you, in your circumstance. 1) Alcohol o aka: 151, Everclear, Isopropyl, ETOH o low flash point: fast lighting, requires vapor limiting. o Clean burning: no burn toxins, safe indoors o Low, cool flame: self-extinguish easily, low visibility. 2) Naphtha o aka: white gas, Coleman’s, lighter fluid o low flash point: fast lighting, requires vapor limiting. o Clean burning: few burn toxins, fairly safe indoors o Strong, hot flame: high visibility, dangerous flame 3) Kerosene o aka: K1, diesel fuel o high flash point: slow lighting, minimal vapors at room temp o Dirty burn: leaves smoke and toxin residue after burn o Weak, hot flame: takes several seconds to form full flame. o Can burn in very low oxygen environments such as high altitude. o Burns longer than Naphtha, but not as bright. 4) Paraffin o aka: lamp oil, mineral oil o high flash point: slow lighting, no vapors at room temp o Dirty burn: leaves smoke or toxin residue after burn o Weak, hot flame: takes several seconds to form full flame. o Can burn in very low oxygen environments 5) Others: Obtain MSDS’s (Material Safety Data Sheets can be found online, such as
at: http://siri.org/msds/) for all fuels used and always have with you when burning. B) Storage and Transport o A fuel's original retail container is usually the best choice for storage and transport. o If the original container is too bulky or unavailable, then a sealed metal container is the best overall choice, such
as a brand new gallon paint can, which can easily be opened with a bottle opener and closed tightly with a rubber mallet. The container must be air sealed, a loosely closed lid is a time bomb, literally! o Regardless of flash point, fuels should be kept out of direct sunlight, and away from heat sources, sparks or flame. C) Onsite handling o Never place or handle fuels near the performance or audience area. Post temporary warning signs and/or a Safety person
around fuel area. o Always seal fuel containers (regardless of fuel type) when not in use. o When at all possible, place the fuel area outside, behind a hard wall, and have a clear corridor from the fuel area
to the stage. Never move fire or wet wicks through the audience. o If you can't have a hard wall between fuel and fire, place a safety with a wet towel and ABC extinguisher at fueling
site and insure that fuel containers are sealed before any ignition. If your
fuel dump can’t withstand a flaming poi thrown towards it from the performance area, it’s not safe! V) Indoor specifics VI) Outdoor Specifics VII) Traveling Guidelines VIII) Terms |
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