Candle blamed for Movie World fire

Mayhem

Senior Team Emeritus
Premium Member
Candle blamed for Movie World fire - Saturday June 26 2004

A candle being used on a film set is believed to have started a fire which destroyed a studio at Movie World on the Gold Coast, Australia.

Studio Eight was engulfed in flames about 6.40pm (AEST) Saturday, causing a smoke hazard for motorists travelling between Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

Police said a huge candle being used on a film set was believed to have set other props alight, forcing actors, producers and production crew to flee the building.

The stage was being used to shoot some final scenes for the film House of Wax.

(Full Story - http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=11161)

Source: National Nine News
 
And the moral of the story, never use real fire unless you are licensed for pyro. It is just as easy to get one of those fake candles and use that, and save yourself burning down a theater/movie set.
 
I will be keeping my eye on the reports that come out of the investigation. I did see a brief news bulletin a couple of hours ago (just after making the initial post) in which they referred to it as being a "special effects" accident. As such, I would imagine that the person responsible for this was trained and qualified. Even if it was an overseas tech, a local tech is required to supervise and ensure that everything meets the local regulations. Based on early accounts, it behaved unexpectedly and the video footage supported this.

Once there has been a thorough investigation and the results have been reported, I will get the information sent to me as I am a licensed pyrotechnician. However, this could take some months.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back