# Small Fire Breaks Out at Rihanna Concert



## venuetech (Jul 9, 2011)

Small Fire Breaks Out at Rihanna Concert
BY MIKE FLEEMAN


Rihanna: Fire Breaks Out at Concert : People.com


> A Rihanna show got a little too hot in Dallas.
> 
> A small fire broke out in the lighting trusses Friday night while she was singing "California King Bed," showering sparks and burning debris onto the stage.


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## derekleffew (Jul 9, 2011)

From Rihanna concert ends early in Dallas due to fire - CNN.com :

> CNN affiliate KTVT, citing attendees at the concert, said the fire apparently started from pyrotechnics that were part of the show.
> 
> Dallas Fire-Rescue Captain Johnny Bates said a chair caught on fire, KTVT reported.


If it was a spot chair (the only reason I know for a chair being on a truss), what happened to the operator? Truss spot ops don't normally have portable fire extinguishers, but perhaps they should.


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## shiben (Jul 9, 2011)

I love the ML that kind of just does some random things up there... Also interesting, no one seemed terribly concerned... Further, what was burning for that long? I would assume a pyro thing would go off and thats it, not burn for that long and that large?


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## chausman (Jul 9, 2011)

shiben said:


> I love the ML that kind of just does some random things up there...


 
It was nervous and was trying to run away...but its "cord didn't have any slack, so it couldn't move". 

I'll see if anyone gets the joke...


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## gafftaper (Jul 9, 2011)

shiben said:


> I love the ML that kind of just does some random things up there... Also interesting, no one seemed terribly concerned... Further, what was burning for that long? I would assume a pyro thing would go off and thats it, not burn for that long and that large?


 
I bet the DMX line to that ML got caught in the fire and the mover started doing it's own thing.


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## lightingfreak (Jul 10, 2011)

a) how did it stay on fire that long? What was burning? I mean the breaker should go off stopping the current (fuel) from going to the device.
B) Chair on truss? interesting


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## Pie4Weebl (Jul 11, 2011)

lightingfreak said:


> a) how did it stay on fire that long? What was burning? I mean the breaker should go off stopping the current (fuel) from going to the device.
> B) Chair on truss? interesting


 
I'm curious about this mysterious electricity to fire converter you have, where can I get one and how does it work?


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## shiben (Jul 11, 2011)

Pie4Weebl said:


> I'm curious about this mysterious electricity to fire converter you have, where can I get one and how does it work?


 
Actually thats sort of/kind of what an arc welder is, except the fuel is not the electricity... Same with a laser. At any rate, it was probably a large hunk of plastic or possibly an unfortunate stagehand's jacket?


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## Les (Jul 11, 2011)

I see what Pie is getting at though. It looks like the power for the rig had been killed for some time, but that's not gonna stop that giant _whatever_ from burning. 

O/T, but the AA Center must have some rapid start ballasts or something, because those arena lights come on quick at 0:34!


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## shiben (Jul 11, 2011)

Les said:


> I see what Pie is getting at though. It looks like the power for the rig had been killed for some time, but that's not gonna stop that giant _whatever_ from burning.
> 
> O/T, but the AA Center must have some rapid start ballasts or something, because those arena lights come on quick!


 
Looked like the LED screens that usually advertise beer and show fireworks and bunting during national anthems made the big flare.


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## DrPinto (Jul 11, 2011)

IMHO, that whole incident was handled poorly by the stadium staff. The house lights should have come on quicker and instructions given to the audience MUCH sooner. When something like that happens, the audience is just looking for information, guidance, and especially reassurance. Without that, you may be looking at a stampede for the doors. 

During productions that I do, we have a microphone in the booth plugged into the last channel on our board "just in case". If it hits the fan, we can immediately communicate with the audience. Maybe more productions should do the same.

Also, I found pretty good video of the incident here:

YouTube - ‪Rihanna stage sets on fire BEST VIEW & (GAY) COMMENTARY‬‏


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## Nelson (Jul 11, 2011)

DrPinto said:


> ...During productions that I do, we have a microphone in the booth plugged into the last channel on our board "just in case". If it hits the fan, we can immediately communicate with the audience. Maybe more productions should do the same...‬‏


 
I also do the same thing now. Some years ago during a show we had someone pull the fire alarm by accident. No one in the audience moved! They just sat and waited while someone came and reset the alarm. Luckily it was a false alarm. Had it been a real fire, I would have needed to announce to the audience to calmly leave the auditorium. Since then I've always had a mic in the booth ready to go.


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## cpf (Jul 11, 2011)

Pretty scary flaming debris coming off of whatever that was, but, thankfully, whatever was underneath it (can't really tell) stood up fine.

I'd agree with DrPinto on the announcement issue, but at the same time you never wan't to go over the PA to an audience of tens of thousands of people in a confined space without being entirely sure you aren't about to make the situation worse. The phrasing and tone-of-voice are probably more important than the words themselves, so jumping on the PA before being sure of what you're going to say wouldn't be at all advisable. A calm, cool, and collected announcement that calms the audience's jitters and keeps things under control is what to aim for, no matter whether it's a "minor" electrical fire or a major life-threatening emergency.


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## Nelson (Jul 11, 2011)

cpf said:


> ...I'd agree with DrPinto on the announcement issue, but at the same time you never wan't to go over the PA to an audience of tens of thousands of people in a confined space without being entirely sure you aren't about to make the situation worse. The phrasing and tone-of-voice are more probably _more_ important than the words themselves.


 
I've given that a lot of thought. You definitely wouldn't want to say "Fire!!! Everyone leave now!!!". More people would be injured or killed because of trampling than the fire. It would be very important to speak calmly, slowly, clearly, and reinforce the need to remain calm.

What do you think about raising the house lights? Should you first make the announcement before turning the lights on? I'm concerned that if you raised the house lights first, people would start running for the door.


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## chausman (Jul 11, 2011)

Nelson said:


> What do you think about raising the house lights? Should you first make the announcement before turning the lights on? I'm concerned that if you raised the house lights first, people would start running for the door.


 
I'n my opinion, while they may not like it, I'd leave them in the dark. When lights come up, it doesn't matter what for, people start standing up to leave - and talking, texting, updating their Facebook status. Until we know what is going on, and what everyone is doing, they can sit and wait.

And just thinking "aloud", while being in the dark may hint to something being wrong, the houselights coming up mid-scene or at a point where you just "know" that it isn't intermission is more horrifying then waiting.

(Oh, I like the commentary in the video DrPinto linked to! From the comments: )

> > > "Don't they have a fire extinguisher?"
> >
> >
> > " even if they did, how the hell would they get up there?"
> ...


Have fun!


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## shiben (Jul 11, 2011)

chausman said:


> I'n my opinion, while they may not like it, I'd leave them in the dark. When lights come up, it doesn't matter what for, people start standing up to leave - and talking, texting, updating their Facebook status. Until we know what is going on, and what everyone is doing, they can sit and wait.
> 
> And just thinking "aloud", while being in the dark may hint to something being wrong, the houselights coming up mid-scene or at a point where you just "know" that it isn't intermission is more horrifying then waiting.
> 
> ...


 
Actually 3 minutes is a pretty good response time to get a fire extinguisher onto a truss, its faster than the police or fire department here by a significant factor... I did notice a lot of hands on stage wandering around looking up like "well, nothing is going to get spread to by the fire, so its kind of contained... Well, we need to put that out... Look at the pretty fire!" type of look on them. I also loved the "it is going to burn thru all those wires! The whole thing will fall!" Is that a significant risk in this type of situation?


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## derekleffew (Jul 11, 2011)

shiben said:


> ...I also loved the "it is going to burn thru all those wires! The whole thing will fall!" Is that a significant risk in this type of situation?


It used to be, when only polyester round slings were used. Current practice is to use either GAC Flex, or back up the SpanSet with 3/8" steel cable. In a fire, the aluminum alloy truss will melt before the GAC.


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## chausman (Jul 11, 2011)

derekleffew said:


> It used to be, when only polyester round slings were used. Current practice is to use either GAC Flex, or back up the SpanSet with 3/8" steel cable. In a fire, the aluminum alloy truss will melt before the GAC.


 
That line still made me laugh though.


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## cmac (Jul 11, 2011)

> I see what Pie is getting at though. It looks like the power for the rig had been killed for some time, but that's not gonna stop that giant whatever from burning.



The power was NOT killed if SEVERAL MLs began doing whatever they wanted... even if the DMX was caught in the fire, that wouldn't somehow power the lights that went AWOL on SR. 

Also, I applaud the crew for how quickly they got the arena lights on, considering that someone was probably not sitting next to the switch. 

I think 3 minutes is an incredible response time to get an extinguisher as well!!! If we had the same problem, we would need to wait for someone to find a winch key, and would have to slowly winch the electric down to the stage (which takes 1.5-2 mins)... total time 4-5mins+


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## derekleffew (Jul 11, 2011)

PLSN-Rihanna Concert Fire PLSN by Debi Moen.


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## Footer (Jul 11, 2011)

derekleffew said:


> PLSN-Rihanna Concert Fire PLSN by Debi Moen.


 
At least the truss chair in question was over hung on the truss and not underneath. I could not imagine what would have happened if the person had to go down on a hoist/circus ladder. So the real question is, how did fabric and foam get into the air that did not comply to NFPA 701? Added to that, would NFPA 701 treated fabric and foam prevented this?


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## MarshallPope (Jul 12, 2011)

Also, WHO would want to be over the stage ANYWHERE near enough pyro for it to get to you?


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## Les (Jul 12, 2011)

cmac said:


> The power was NOT killed if SEVERAL MLs began doing whatever they wanted... even if the DMX was caught in the fire, that wouldn't somehow power the lights that went AWOL on SR.



By "the rig", I meant the section on fire. I didn't see the _better_ video, but from the angle I saw, the section with the fire was either powered down or not doing anything. Either way, it's a moot point since it wasn't an electrical fire (though it could have ended up being one if this section of the rig was in fact live).
Edit: I watched the other video and I'm still somewhat inconclusive. Several other lights did go crazy, while others appeared to be lamped on (but doused), but they seemed to be on neighboring trusses. I couldn't tell with the truss in question due to the brightness of the fire. 

The arena lights are likely managed by a PC. I'm not sure how cumbersome it is to get all the lights on, but I'll bet the system was attended. Most arenas like the AAC have panels throughout the space which can control the lighting to some extent (much like architectural stations in a theatre). At least, I know the Cowboys Stadium does. I'd imagine AAC does too as it's fairly new.

I do think truss spot ops should have fire extinguishers; especially after this incident.


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## cpf (Jul 12, 2011)

Footer said:


> At least the truss chair in question was over hung on the truss and not underneath. I could not imagine what would have happened if the person had to go down on a hoist/circus ladder. So the real question is, how did fabric and foam get into the air that did not comply to NFPA 701? Added to that, would NFPA 701 treated fabric and foam prevented this?


If the seat was non-compliant (let's say it was, and that was what let the fire take off like it did) I'd hazard a guess that it was an oversight in the safety department. While any explicitly show-related stuff would no doubt undergo a thorough check, a seat for a spot operator could quite easily fly under the radar by being lumped in with the spot itself, by being so commonplace that it "must" be OK and can therefore be assumed safe ("...so don't bother checking the cert on that, I'm sure it's fine"), or maybe even a case of "not my department, not my problem." 

This is, of course, assuming that the seat was indeed noncompliant, and that that fact alone was what enabled the fire. I'd hope it was the other case: the chair was compliant and the fire was the result of bad luck, not complacency. How pure of bad luck will no doubt be uncovered, but not necessarily publicized, soon.


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## RonaldBeal (Jul 15, 2011)

Two facts and two opinions from a colleague who is close to the investigation of this incident:
Facts:
1 The nearest pyro was over 20 feet away from the spot chair
2. Cigarette butts and a partially burned pack of marlboroughs were found in the chair when it came down.

Opinions:
1. When an operator is in the spot chair, there is not a lot of the chair left exposed because it is covered by spot op( who did not catch fire)
2. The spot op seemed unusually calm, and indifferent when he came down... most people would have been mighty pissed at the pyro guy for nearly burning them up if pyro was truly at fault.


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## jstroming (Jul 16, 2011)

I hope he was drinking alot of alcohol too because he mustve been pretty bored up there watching a rhianna concert. Saw the news report about the bottle of whisky too did anyone see that?


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## venuetech (Jul 16, 2011)

Rihanna Concert: Rihanna offers no refund or rescheduled concert, following fiery concert at the American Airlines Center. - KDAF

> Dallas-Fire Rescue officials reiterated it was Rihanna's pyro display that set a fabric chair on fire above the stage. The chair was occupied by a spotlight operator, who suffered minor burns. Today, Rihanna's camp announced there will be no refunds or a rescheduled concert for disappointed fans.



Also:



> AAC General Manager Dave Brown said the spotlight operator, a member of Rihanna’s crew, was sitting 25 feet up on a light grid. He quickly got up and out of the way and another crew member carried a fire extinguisher up the ladder to put it out.
> Brown said Rihanna had already performed 18 songs when the fire started and it was her people who pulled the plug and evacuated everyone as a precaution even though the fire was out.



No Refund for Rihanna Fans after Concert Fire


so the real question is who is going to make the fans happy? the insurance company?


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## Footer (Jul 16, 2011)

venuetech said:


> so the real question is who is going to make the fans happy? the insurance company?


 
Its Live Nation, they don't really care. The venue might eat it or offer comps/two-fers/30% off/free hot dogs for another show. Rarely does the shows producer have any loyalty to the audience. They get their cut of the gate and thats about it. Also, if they performed the required amount to fill the contract then its a done deal. Odds are the way the contract was written the producer has all the advantages. If stuff does go down, its usually gets stuck with the local presenter/promoter. This being a Live Nation show, all things are out the window. The way Live Nation promotes shows is very different from the way other groups promote shows.

This is just an example of what is in most contracts:

> Provided Artist is ready, willing and able to perform, Purchaser agrees to
> compensate Artist in accordance with the terms hereof regardless of act of
> God, fire, accident, riot, strike or any event or events of any kind or
> character whatsoever, whether similar or dissimilar to the foregoing events
> ...


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## soundman (Jul 16, 2011)

We played the venue shortly after this happened and we have both truss spots and pyro. The pyro is close enough to one of the truss spots the op has to wear a flame retardant suit and a respirator. The fire safety equipment was provided by the pyro company. 

The venue did a more in depth pyro test then most and they inspected the spot seat before the truss went out. I am not sure what they looked for on the seat.


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## DaveySimps (Jul 17, 2011)

soundman said:


> The pyro is close enough to one of the truss spots the op has to wear a flame retardant suit and a respirator.


 
Really? Seems like a horrible horrible idea. Are there no other possible locations? Seems Like some sort compromise could be made between the art and safety. 

~Dave


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## soundman (Jul 19, 2011)

DaveySimps said:


> Really? Seems like a horrible horrible idea. Are there no other possible locations? Seems Like some sort compromise could be made between the art and safety.
> 
> ~Dave


 
No other position would get the same effect, and with pyro its a better safe than sorry attitude. There are only three or four times when an effect is in the same area as the spot op and it is designed to burn out before it reaches truss height and would not be within ten feet even if it was still burning. However should something happen to change the trajectory or burn time the suit is the back up plan. 

There are times in the show where the stage is filled with smoke from pyro so the respirator is used to keep him safe. I imagine it is like most things in life, once or twice is fine, but every day or if your body is sensitive to it there would be problems.


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## derekleffew (Aug 1, 2011)

What the heck? Kesha stage set catches on fire during concert : Daily Dish


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## DuckJordan (Aug 1, 2011)

derekleffew said:


> What the heck? Kesha stage set catches on fire during concert : Daily Dish



Not sure its such a horrible thing. Bad for the touring company, Good for the rest of us... maybe we can get some flaming gel to drop onto a certain "pop performer".


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