OK... I'm taking down my "eggcrate foam" bounce absorbers...

**theblue1** · 02-21-2003

Like a lot of cheapskates, I've been using "eggcrate" style foam mattress pads from Target to absorbe high frequency bounce in my control room (and have a couple of rolls of it I put up and take down in my "solo booth" hallway).

The nightclub fire tragedy last night that killed 60 people apparently started when the band's pyrotechnic display ignited a probably similar foam on the walls behind the band. (Judging from the looks of the club they probably didn't pop for Auralux.)

I don't recall if the foam I put up six or seven years ago had a fire retardant on it (I think it might have) but I suspect that its retardant properties may have faded in the intervening years. As I type this and look around, it all looks pretty ominous (and I neverd did like the faded yellow color, anyhowhow). I mean, I don't have pyrotechnics in the c.r., as a rule, but stuff happens.

At the very least I may take a swatch out into the back yard and run my own fire retardancy tests.

Something new to worry about...

**theblue1** · 02-21-2003

PS...

Back in the mid-80s I went to a big punk rock/art-damage show in an "underground" warehouse show in Orange County, California. The people who put it on went all out on decorating their illegal club. They must have been trying for some kind of post-apoc bat cave thing because the most striking motif was created by hundreds or thousands of black plastic bags shredded and hanging from the low ceiling (from which hung no sprinklers.)

Since the billowing fingers of the shredded bags hung to just about 8 feet feet from the floor all it would have taken was one drunk waving a Bic lighter to start the whole thing on fire.

There were two narrow doors... both about 120 feet from the stage in the front of the warehouse space.

We left very early and, thank goodness, nothing apparently happened besides the typical drunken fights.

(On top of that, they were using an industrial laser for the light show -- I suffered a nasty (presumed) retinal burn that caused my eye to sting and itched for days [the kind of thing where you just keep using visine and it doesn't help]... and the smoke machine was pretty noxious, too. The club was shut down by the F.D. a week or so later. I wish it had been me that dropped the dime on the a--holes. I should have done it that night.)

**Carnage** · 02-23-2003

Just to let you know Blue, if it had fire retardent when you put it in 7 years ago then the retardent wont have faded.

**theblue1** · 02-23-2003

Cool... of course, I don't know if it did or not...

So, I guess I'm gonna run my own very controlled test.

I saw a RealVideo of the cameraman's video footage and that place went up like that.

OTOH, I don't usually use incendiary "sparklers"...

I guess there's a numbe of club owners lining up who say that G.W. didn't ask any of them before using the sparklers... bad scene.

**Tim20** · 02-23-2003

I bet if it is mattress pad it has some kind of fire retardent in there, but then again most people don't sleep with fireworks.

That was certainly a tragic incident, but it would seem the cause was total common sense flying out the window.

I thought it was common practice these days to have a couple of people standing by with fire extinguishers when doing these stunts? Of course that might have only slowed the rate of fire.

This reminds me of the video I saw right before Thanksgiving on the hazards of deep frying turkeys:

A guy is standing on his wooden porch with the cooker going. Anyone figured out where this is going? He drops the turkey into the 375 degree oil, it boils over, fire erupts, porch is gone.

Luckily he ran due to the natural fight or flight response, however I think his common sense was still in the refridgerator.