21 people treated for burns after Tony Robbins firewalk

[cthulu2016]

21 people treated for burns after firewalk at Tony Robbins appearance

At least 21 people were treated for burn injuries after taking part in the crowning event of the first day of a Tony Robbins function downtown, including at least three who went to the hospital, a San Jose fire captain said.
...
Jonathan Correll, 25, decided to check out what was going on when "I heard wails of pain, screams of agony." He said one young woman appeared to be in so much pain "it was horrific." "It was people seriously hurting, like they were being tortured," he said. "First one person, then a couple minutes later another one, and there was just a line of people walking on that fire. It was just bizarre, man."
...
"It was people seriously hurting, like they were being tortured," he said. "First one person, then a couple minutes later another one, and there was just a line of people walking on that fire. It was just bizarre, man."
...
On the Tony Robbins website, he promotes "The Firewalk Experience," a process where people walk across coals between 1,200 and 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. But that's not something the San Jose Fire Department recommends, Williams said, "We discourage people from walking over hot coals," Williams said.

http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_21125630/san-jose-21-people-treated-burns-after-firewalk

[Kalidurga]

1. No one could pay me enough to do that.

I cringe even when I see this in a tv show or a movie. There is no way this can be safe. I doubt this is the first time such an incident occurred. I hope they sue Robbins for a huge chunk of his net worth.

[cthulu2016]

7. It can be done quite safely, but

that goes for a lot of things that take some practice and training.

Not a good thing for first-timers to just wade into.

(If you trip you're in real trouble)

[TlalocW]

10. If done right, scam artists like Robbins can use it safely...

As "proof" that the people who attend it have now suddenly transformed their lives by doing something that looks impossible.

The coals are hot, but it's the heat transfer rate that allows people to walk on them - both coals and the dead skin on the soles of your feet have poor transfer rates so if you walk normally and don't dawdle, you'll experience discomfort but shouldn't be injured. I wonder if doing it outside in 100 degree heat might have made it unsafe(r).

TlalocW

[obamanut2012]

16. It's quite safe it done right

By people who know how to do it right.

It sounds like, in this case, the coals were still too hot and not scattered enough.

[UnrepentantLiberal]

2. Idiots.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. How dumb and gullible do you have to be

to do shit like that because a grifterish "motivational speaker" like Tony Robbins tells you you'll get some cosmic insight so you can make a lot of money and get laid a lot or whatever his ridiculous "program" tells you? Seriously, what kind of a pathetic fool could get drawn into that kind of crap?

[slackmaster]

4. You'd think that after the first 15 or 16 people in a row all got burned, those waiting in line...

...might have second thoughts.

[bbgrunt]

11. or the organizers might call off an exercise that will lead to lawsuits.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

5. What a spititually fulfilling experience. Will they try frying their earlobes next?

[Egalitarian Thug]

6. How dumb is a nation where a Tony Roberts can become filthy rich as a serial con-man? n/t

[Berlum]

22. Dumm enuf to mys-spell his naMe

i wood supphose

[Marrah_G]

8. He obviously didn't know what he was doing and had no business trying to teach others.

[Ikonoklast]

9. Stupid people easily conned by a slick grifter.

Sad.

[madaboutharry]

12. He is a modern day snake oil salesman.

Human nature never changes. These con artists will always have customers.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

13. This is not the first time that a fire-walking event has gone bad:

Is it safe? Eli Tyler of El Cajon, California, was one of seven people hospitalized with severe burns to the bottoms of their feet from a fire-walking ceremony at an American Association for Nude Recreation convention ...

Fred Gilbert, a professional fire-walker, apparently told a bare naked lie when he said that he was providing "a safe and spiritual experience where you walk through your past to arrive at your future."

Tyler is suing Gilbert for "using the wrong type of wood, starting the fire walk before ash formed on the wood and failing to have medical personnel present, among other things."
http://www.skepdic.com/firewalk.html

Apparently, part of the trick is to allow sufficient ash to form on the charcoal to act as an insulator before starting the firewalk.

[obamanut2012]

17. That is the main trick

As well as making sure the coals are scattered properly.

[DavidDvorkin]

14. The stupid, it burns

Sometimes literally.

[Recovered Repug]

15. Myth Busters did an episode on Fire Walking.

A clip from the show:

[AnotherMcIntosh]

21. In a way, this is funny. Adam did chose to do what he did. Yet, somehow, you have to feel a little

sorry for the guy when he didn't know the trick of not pushing too vigorously on the coals. Someone should have told him before to not walk too quickly.

On the other hand, ...

[Initech]

18. This is a fail on so many levels.

[upaloopa]

19. Tony Robbins is an evil bastard and people who spend money on him are stupid ignorant fools.

I'm speaking from personal experience.

[Fire Walk With Me]

20. What? What?

If only DU allowed me to have the comma..."Fire, Walk With Me"

[hunter]

23. Ooops. I wonder if they used Chinese Charcoal?

The kind with anthracite coal in it...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/112720226