FIRE PERFORMERS Q & A
Here is a rundown of some of the important basics for Fire Performance and Conclave in particular for Lakes of Fire 2011: Anima Mundi

Thursday, June 23rd, – Sunday, June 26th

To become a fire performer at Lakes of Fire, please fill out the questionnaire below!

Fire performers, we love you and we want you involved. But this fully-permitted and insured event is too legit to quit, so you gotta please get on board with our safety protocols!! Please read this page carefully, get plugged in, and avoid potential problems!

Q: Why do you ask for groups of 3 or more fire performers in the Conclave? Can’t I perform by myself?

A: Every performer in Conclave needs some fire Safety person who knows them and is watching them . . . .and doing nothing else but watching them! So LoF Fire Co-ordinators will take all the “loose” individual Performers and Safeties, and arrange them in groups of three performers. These people will perform near each other, so each group of three performers has a Safety who knows them and knows who to watch.

Q: Why the mandatory Safety Meeting before the Conclave? I know all about safety, why do I have to go?

A: There are many ways to do fire safely, but there is one way that satisfies the NFPA Fire Codes, which is part of our agreement with the Township. So that is the way we will use. Many parts may seem like common sense, but there is still more to learn: the unified safety calls we will all use for the event, how to safely store fuel in the depots, our cues to enter and leave the area, how to avoid the “no man’s land” around the Effigy and not be tackled by Rangers, and so on. This is a big show with dangerous things around, and we all need to be on the same page with the safety rules so we do a safe show.

You will get a pamphlet at the gate telling the times of these meetings. We anticipate the meetings to be held Friday at dusk and Saturday mid afternoon. After you attend one of these meetings, we will take down your name as a Trained Flame Effect Operator (yahoo!) and issue you a laminate that lets you enter the performance area on
Burn Night.

Q: Why can’t I just show up at performance time and walk into the Conclave?

A: This completely jeopardizes our deal with the Township and the trust they have in us. If we are not following our own procedures on something as small as having a Safety Meeting beforehand for our fire performers, they will not be able to trust us with something like an Effigy. They could close all fire performance down.

Q. Can I just show up at LOF without writing to you in advance, and take the safety training on site, and then perform in the Conclave?

A. You can, but it’s better for you if you wrote in. If we don’t know in advance how many fire performers are coming, we might not have enough fire Safeties to go around. We might not have a spot for you in the beautiful choreography. We might not have enough laminates to give you one. Fire performers, please write to shin@LakesOfFire.org and tell us your name or your group’s name, how many people you have, do you have a routine worked out or are solo, and how many Fire
Safeties you are bringing.

Q. What is all this about choreography? Isn’t this just a big spin jam?

A. This is a major public event. People are working on choreography to make the Conclave an amazing show. There will be parts for groups and parts for individual spinners to do their stuff. Then we clear the area, and burn the Effigy. The outline is still tentative, more details later. We want to include all performers who want to be in the Conclave.

Q: Why are you doing the LoF Conclave like Burning Man? We usually spin fire in a more informal way.

A: LoF is an official Burning Man Regional event. Burning Man follows the same national fire codes as we do. So do other official Regional events. It is part of Civic Responsibility–keeping on the good side of the Township so we can do this event for years to come. It doesn’t matter how large or small an event is, to be fully legal with the
Township’s Fire Marshal it has to follow certain codes. Most of it is common sense, but we all have to know it, newbies and experienced performers alike.

Q. What does that matter? Isn’t this a private event, just for Burners?

A: Anyone can buy a ticket to Lakes of Fire. For all we know the Mayor might show up, or the Fire Chief. Who knows? The Fire Chief always has a right to visit the site and make sure we are doing fire in a safe way.

Q: I don’t want to spin in the Conclave, but just do my own thing outside of that. Do I have to write in ahead of time, check in, and go to the safety meeting, too?

A: No, but we encourage it. When it comes to fire, we want everyone to be safe and to have good common sense about fire safety. It won’t hurt to attend the Fire Safety Meeting before you light up. This helps you and those enjoying your performance.

Q: Is LoF and the Fire Safety and Performance Team being too exclusive?

A: Only to people who jeopardize the whole event by doing fire in an unsafe or illegal manner. Like it says in the Survival Guide, we ultimately reserve the right to shut down, or even eject, anyone who is doing fire in a way that threatens other people or the whole event. But that’s our last ditch option – we don’t want to have to do that
and we’re trying to avoid it. We’d much rather work WITH you and see you having fun, performing safely with your fire art.

Q: If I skip reading the Survival Guide and everything else before I get there, how can I find out what I need to know?

A: There will be emails before the event. There will be a pamphlet at the gate. There will be signs telling about the safety meetings. The meetings will be listed in the What When Where guide. There will be a Fire Safety/Conclave booth near the entrance to the event. If you miss all of this and just show up at Conclave at the last minute, we are
very sorry that you will not get to spin in the show. So please get the word out to all fire spinners you know. We don’t want them to miss the fun!

Q: What about artists that bring flame effects?

A: You, too, should write in ahead of time to save yourself the trouble of being hunted down onsite. We need a signed waiver and a photo of every propane effect for our files. We will then tag and map each piece on our Fire Safety map. This is part of the fire codes, too. Propane effects shoud be manually controlled, and controlled by YOU or another operator under your direct supervision. When you are away from your piece it should be disabled. It should not be possible for some drunken yahoo to show up at 3 a.m. and start blasting fire all around! Please write to fireconclave@lakesoffire.org so we know about you ahead of time.

Q: Who should I contact if I have any questions about spinning fire in Conclave?

A: Please send an email to shin@lakesoffire.org