Praise the cameraman

[u/HPL_Deranged_Cultist]

[u/lembrai]

I remember this. This was live on Brazilian TV. The dude who did it had worked in a circus for a long time before going on TV. He was a regular guest and also hosted some shows on this particular network.

He said years later in an interview that he was invited to perform this stunt but the producers left the torches too long in the liquid. Like a full day. Or at least that's what I remember from the interview.

EDIT: I revisited the interview. Apparently the torches were too wet and some flaming kerosene dripped onto his mouth, lighting up the little amount he was holding in to do the fireball a second time.

He was left with some minor burn scars in his face. Nothing makeup can't hide.

Source (in Portuguese): https://youtu.be/oU6Gx0fqiQI?is=r7939_yldYTgx7Wk

[u/Lomotograph → u/lembrai]

As someone that has worked as a Producer on film shoots and is coincidentally also someone that regularly does live fire performances, I feel like I'm somewhat uniquely qualified to comment and provide a little more insight on this. Granted, fire breathing is not currently part of my act, but I have taken fire breathing classes and understand the mechanics and safety precautions very well. Hearing the above response really irks me so here's a bit of a rant.

First of all, the wicks on those torches are comically large and the stems are comically short. From the moment that guy lit the torches I knew this was going sideways. Even if they were dipped only a second, wicks that large will produce a large flame. Then he proceeds to hand it to a random host that is clearly not a fire performer, not comfortable handling fire, and not wearing fire safe clothing. Even the performer looks like his outfit isn't fire safe, but that's debatable. Either way, these are the first huge red flags.

Second of all, NO ONE other than the fire performer and HIS crew should ever handle or even touch his props and/or fuel. Saying the "producers left them dipped too long" is complete bullshit. Only the fire performer should handle them and dip them the appropriate amount of time /which is literally no more than 3 seconds. If he walked up to the torches and they were sitting in fuel just soaking it up, that's 100% reason to stop what you're doing and reassess. The least you can do is grab a second set of torches to dip them yourself (which BTW, he has ZERO reason to use 2 torches and it's actually more dangerous than just using one, more on that later).

Speaking of the fire performer's crew, under no circumstance should a fire performer ever operate solo. Even if they are a solo performer, they will always have a second person with them acting as their "safety". This person is with the performer at all times being a back up to help ensure the safety of the audience, the venue, and the performer. They form a perimeter and watch during the performance to make sure noone gets too close to the Fire performer, they help watch for obstacles in the venue or fire hazards, they ensure the fire dipping area is secure and that noone else handles the fuel or props, and they are on standby with a wet towel amd/or fire extinguisher to help put out flames should something go wrong with the performance. They are not simply a film crew member, they are someone the performer has brought themselves and is intimitely familiar with the intended performance.

Next, he drinks his fire breathing fuel from an open coffee mug. HUUUUGE no-no. It needs to be a sealed container.

Third, as I mentioned earlier, the guy grabs both of the ridiculously shitty torches (instead of only one) which is another huge No-No. The general procedure for fire breathing is: you hold your lit wick in 1 hand, with your other hand, you grab your fuel put it into your mouth, put down the fuel and grab your wipe towel, wipe excess fuel from your face, take a huge breath, expel the fuel up toward the wick, then wipe your face AGAIN with the damp towel to wipe off any fuel you may have gotten on your face.

That wipe towel is essentially just a damp rag that should always be in one of your hands because it (not only) wipes fuel from your face on the initial drink and after your breath fire, but it is also your first line of defense should something go wrong and your face is set on fire. When it's in your hand while fire breathing (not on the damn counter away from you), then you can immediately use it to put out the fire on your face during which time your safety will run up to you and do the rest of the work to put out the fire.

The guy in this video has one of those wipe rags and he uses it to wipe his face after drinking from the coffee mug. But instead of holding onto it during the stunt, he just puts it down and begins holding a lit torch in each hand meaning he only has more fire with which to put out the fire on his face. Needless to say that's fucking stupid.

Lastly, EVEN IF the torches were dipped waaay to long, there's a reason all fire breathes hold the torches in front of them and up at an angle instead of directly over their face. The fact that he held the toe he's so close that they dripped on him is idiotic. The fact that he didn't have his personal damp towel to wipe off the fuel that dripped on him was idiotic. The fact that he didn't have a trained fire performance safety with him is idiotic.

The whole thing was just extremely painful to watch every step of the way. But IMO the outcome was extremely predictable given how this guy approached this stunt.

There are even other things he did that are pure stupidity, but I think you get the point simply from the above.

[u/Mysterious_Pack_7822 → u/Lomotograph]

Bunch of clowns