Fire Safety
- Thread starter blandt
- Start date
Richard Broadhead
Flag & Com
OUCH!!
That looks like Miles Jackson's UOP Shadow (ex George Follmer) Can-Am car??
Was talking to his crew during the last SOVREN race and I don't think his was ready for the track yet. Hope that isn't his. But regardless, it's a shame to see one of those rare beasts in flames
That looks like Miles Jackson's UOP Shadow (ex George Follmer) Can-Am car??
Was talking to his crew during the last SOVREN race and I don't think his was ready for the track yet. Hope that isn't his. But regardless, it's a shame to see one of those rare beasts in flames
Steve Adams
Just this guy, ya know?
I think Jackson's ex-Follmer car is #102, but I could be wrong.
Speaking of fires at racetracks ...
This 2009 article is posted on a Kansas law firm's website ...
Will $1.2 Million Wolfgang Verdict Improve Racing Safety
Doug Wolfgang, one of the nation's top sprint car drivers, crashed during a practice session at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas on April 3, 1992. Wolfgang's alcohol-fueled sprint car inadvertently struck a tire located near the racing surface. He lost control of the car and it slammed into a retaining wall at a high rate of speed, causing a rupture in the fuel line. At impact, Wolfgang lost consciousness. While he lay motionless and helpless in his race car, it became surrounded by a fuel-fed fire, necessitating an immediate and effective emergency fire-fighting and rescue response. The response was not forthcoming, however, and despite the valiant efforts of numerous bystanders, the fire was not suppressed for nearly 15 minutes, eventually resulting in career-ending burn injuries to Wolfgang's legs and feet.
In April of 1994, Vic Bergman filed suit in federal court on behalf of Mr. Wolfgang against the owners and operators of Lakeside Speedway, as well as the World of Outlaws, Inc., the world leader in sprint car racing and fourth largest sanctioning body in auto racing. Plaintiff alleged defendants had assumed a non-delegable duty to Mr. Wolfgang to provide a sufficient number of adequately trained, clothed and equipped firefighters capable of effectively suppressing the type of fires associated with sprint car racing. The complaint also alleged defendants acted wantonly with reckless disregard toward the life, safety and health of Mr. Wolfgang by (1) delegating the duty to provide post-crash emergency fire-fighting to volunteer personnel without training, guidance or supervision; (2) relying upon volunteer, unsupervised personnel to gratuitously provide fire-fighting equipment; and (3) holding sprint car events at Lakeside Speedway without providing information to fire-fighting personnel about the peculiar risks and fire-fighting techniques associated with sprint car methanol fires.
Prior to trial, based on the Release and Waiver of Liability Agreement signed by Wolfgang before participating in the practice session, all of the negligence claims were dismissed, leaving only the claims of wanton conduct. Thus, at trial, Wolfgang had the enhanced burden of proving that defendants were guilty of wanton conduct.
Vic Bergman and Pat Hamilton tried the case for three weeks before the Honorable G. Thomas Van Bebber. The large ceremonial courtroom in the new Kansas City, Kansas Federal Courthouse was used in order to accommodate the sprint car that was plaintiff's principal exhibit. On August 25, 1995, after 16 hours of deliberations over 3 days, an eight person jury awarded Wolfgang $1,215,000 in damages, finding the defendants acted wantonly in failing to provide adequate fire protection for the practice session. Sixty percent of the fault was assessed against local racetrack ownership and forty percent against World of Outlaws.
The representation of Doug Wolfgang was one of the most worthwhile tasks our firm has ever undertaken. This was a case that is likely to have a salutary impact on all of automobile racing.
The most surprising and important aspect of the case was the revelation that there are no federal, state or industry-wide rules or regulations which control or even provide guidance for the amount or type of fire protection or emergency rescue which should be present at motor racing events of any type. This lack of racing industry standards needs to be addressed.
While many race tracks do an excellent job on their own, many neglect fire protection and rescue services and refuse to spend the necessary time and money to protect participants because they feel insulated from liability by the industry's Release and Waiver agreement. The problem is that as long as injured racing participants and their heirs are barred by releases from recovering for injuries or deaths' no matter how easily preventable there is no incentive to adopt rules and regulations and spend the time and money to ensure that adequate fire protection and rescue personnel are available for racing events. In the litigation, we proved that adequate fire protection can be provided at almost any racing facility in the United States at a reasonable and feasible cost. We put together a group of four experts in racing safety and fire protection engineering to draft minimum guidelines for fire safety and emergency rescue services for sprint car races.
The racing industry, which has demonstrated widespread disregard for the safety of race car drivers, has reacted with great indignation toward this case. Because the case received national media coverage in newspapers such as USA Today, was discussed on national sports television shows, and has received close coverage and analysis in the racing media and press, we believe the verdict will eventually lead to the creation of minimum standards for fire protection and rescue services for the betterment of motor racing.
This 2009 article is posted on a Kansas law firm's website ...
Will $1.2 Million Wolfgang Verdict Improve Racing Safety
Doug Wolfgang, one of the nation's top sprint car drivers, crashed during a practice session at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas on April 3, 1992. Wolfgang's alcohol-fueled sprint car inadvertently struck a tire located near the racing surface. He lost control of the car and it slammed into a retaining wall at a high rate of speed, causing a rupture in the fuel line. At impact, Wolfgang lost consciousness. While he lay motionless and helpless in his race car, it became surrounded by a fuel-fed fire, necessitating an immediate and effective emergency fire-fighting and rescue response. The response was not forthcoming, however, and despite the valiant efforts of numerous bystanders, the fire was not suppressed for nearly 15 minutes, eventually resulting in career-ending burn injuries to Wolfgang's legs and feet.
In April of 1994, Vic Bergman filed suit in federal court on behalf of Mr. Wolfgang against the owners and operators of Lakeside Speedway, as well as the World of Outlaws, Inc., the world leader in sprint car racing and fourth largest sanctioning body in auto racing. Plaintiff alleged defendants had assumed a non-delegable duty to Mr. Wolfgang to provide a sufficient number of adequately trained, clothed and equipped firefighters capable of effectively suppressing the type of fires associated with sprint car racing. The complaint also alleged defendants acted wantonly with reckless disregard toward the life, safety and health of Mr. Wolfgang by (1) delegating the duty to provide post-crash emergency fire-fighting to volunteer personnel without training, guidance or supervision; (2) relying upon volunteer, unsupervised personnel to gratuitously provide fire-fighting equipment; and (3) holding sprint car events at Lakeside Speedway without providing information to fire-fighting personnel about the peculiar risks and fire-fighting techniques associated with sprint car methanol fires.
Prior to trial, based on the Release and Waiver of Liability Agreement signed by Wolfgang before participating in the practice session, all of the negligence claims were dismissed, leaving only the claims of wanton conduct. Thus, at trial, Wolfgang had the enhanced burden of proving that defendants were guilty of wanton conduct.
Vic Bergman and Pat Hamilton tried the case for three weeks before the Honorable G. Thomas Van Bebber. The large ceremonial courtroom in the new Kansas City, Kansas Federal Courthouse was used in order to accommodate the sprint car that was plaintiff's principal exhibit. On August 25, 1995, after 16 hours of deliberations over 3 days, an eight person jury awarded Wolfgang $1,215,000 in damages, finding the defendants acted wantonly in failing to provide adequate fire protection for the practice session. Sixty percent of the fault was assessed against local racetrack ownership and forty percent against World of Outlaws.
The representation of Doug Wolfgang was one of the most worthwhile tasks our firm has ever undertaken. This was a case that is likely to have a salutary impact on all of automobile racing.
The most surprising and important aspect of the case was the revelation that there are no federal, state or industry-wide rules or regulations which control or even provide guidance for the amount or type of fire protection or emergency rescue which should be present at motor racing events of any type. This lack of racing industry standards needs to be addressed.
While many race tracks do an excellent job on their own, many neglect fire protection and rescue services and refuse to spend the necessary time and money to protect participants because they feel insulated from liability by the industry's Release and Waiver agreement. The problem is that as long as injured racing participants and their heirs are barred by releases from recovering for injuries or deaths' no matter how easily preventable there is no incentive to adopt rules and regulations and spend the time and money to ensure that adequate fire protection and rescue personnel are available for racing events. In the litigation, we proved that adequate fire protection can be provided at almost any racing facility in the United States at a reasonable and feasible cost. We put together a group of four experts in racing safety and fire protection engineering to draft minimum guidelines for fire safety and emergency rescue services for sprint car races.
The racing industry, which has demonstrated widespread disregard for the safety of race car drivers, has reacted with great indignation toward this case. Because the case received national media coverage in newspapers such as USA Today, was discussed on national sports television shows, and has received close coverage and analysis in the racing media and press, we believe the verdict will eventually lead to the creation of minimum standards for fire protection and rescue services for the betterment of motor racing.
erik_brannfors
Member
That car looks to be the same one as highlighted on Dennis Palatov's site from a PDX track day recently, Of course, there may be more than one black shadow with the same/similar logos....
http://www.dpcars.net/atom/am.htm
09/04/09 <snip> Below is the only car I actually took pictures of - a UOP CanAm Shadow. The owner is part of the bi-weekly 'engineer's lunch' here in Portland,
a small informal gathering of gearheads, car nuts and car designers/builders. Yes, there are a few in town. </snip>
http://www.dpcars.net/atom/am.htm
09/04/09 <snip> Below is the only car I actually took pictures of - a UOP CanAm Shadow. The owner is part of the bi-weekly 'engineer's lunch' here in Portland,
a small informal gathering of gearheads, car nuts and car designers/builders. Yes, there are a few in town. </snip>
Last edited:
Ken Killam
Fats
"The only thing you know for sure, is...
Good report, Bonnie. That is the kind of incident that bore NFPA 610-Guide for Emergency and Safety Operations at Motorsports Venues.
The following is a desciptor of the document:
"Revised to recognize the National Incident Management System (NIMS), NFPA 610: Guide for Emergency and Safety Operations at Motorsports Venues provides racetrack owners, operators, promoters, first responders, insurers, and sanctioning agencies with comprehensive guidelines for implementing safety and emergency response strategies.Guidelines apply to both indoor and outdoor motorsports events--at temporary or permanent facilities--with emphasis on planning and training as a means of ensuring that personnel are equipped with the appropriate resources to handle emergency situations. 58pp.
The 2009 NFPA 610 reflects the use of NIMS plus other major changes:
•New method to classify events provides a better description of scalability.
•Rewritten chapter on training and competency uses a 'Knowledge, Skill, Ability' format for denoting minimum training requirements for response personnel.
•Revised chapter on PPE reflects the latest editions of applicable PPE Standards for emergency workers.
•Changes to the section on portable fire extinguishers and extinguishing agents--including added material on the agent discharge performance for dry chemical extinguishers--are based on the current NFPA 10: Standard for Portable Fire Extinguishers.
•An all-new Sample Emergency Action Plan and a revised Emergency Action Plan Checklist help personnel responsible for running simple events develop a comprehensive emergency action plan.
•A new applications statement clarifies that NFPA 610 does not apply to non-motorsports events conducted at a motorsports venue."
(Sigh) And I suppose it's time for me to buy the latest edition again. I do not suggest, that NFPA is the know all, be all, or a set of strict standards. It is what it is, and that is only a GUIDELINE, and NOT a book of legistlated standards, or codes like the NEC became. But it puts it all in a nice package for us to use as a reference in our own operations, and I consider it "highly recommended" on the reading list. And the 2009 edition is out for under $53.
Here's another example of a race track owner with little, if any regard for the safety of their environment over the costs that are required for its maintenance.
http://www.oem.msu.edu/MiFace/05MI077.pdf
Good report, Bonnie. That is the kind of incident that bore NFPA 610-Guide for Emergency and Safety Operations at Motorsports Venues.
The following is a desciptor of the document:
"Revised to recognize the National Incident Management System (NIMS), NFPA 610: Guide for Emergency and Safety Operations at Motorsports Venues provides racetrack owners, operators, promoters, first responders, insurers, and sanctioning agencies with comprehensive guidelines for implementing safety and emergency response strategies.Guidelines apply to both indoor and outdoor motorsports events--at temporary or permanent facilities--with emphasis on planning and training as a means of ensuring that personnel are equipped with the appropriate resources to handle emergency situations. 58pp.
The 2009 NFPA 610 reflects the use of NIMS plus other major changes:
•New method to classify events provides a better description of scalability.
•Rewritten chapter on training and competency uses a 'Knowledge, Skill, Ability' format for denoting minimum training requirements for response personnel.
•Revised chapter on PPE reflects the latest editions of applicable PPE Standards for emergency workers.
•Changes to the section on portable fire extinguishers and extinguishing agents--including added material on the agent discharge performance for dry chemical extinguishers--are based on the current NFPA 10: Standard for Portable Fire Extinguishers.
•An all-new Sample Emergency Action Plan and a revised Emergency Action Plan Checklist help personnel responsible for running simple events develop a comprehensive emergency action plan.
•A new applications statement clarifies that NFPA 610 does not apply to non-motorsports events conducted at a motorsports venue."
(Sigh) And I suppose it's time for me to buy the latest edition again. I do not suggest, that NFPA is the know all, be all, or a set of strict standards. It is what it is, and that is only a GUIDELINE, and NOT a book of legistlated standards, or codes like the NEC became. But it puts it all in a nice package for us to use as a reference in our own operations, and I consider it "highly recommended" on the reading list. And the 2009 edition is out for under $53.
Here's another example of a race track owner with little, if any regard for the safety of their environment over the costs that are required for its maintenance.
http://www.oem.msu.edu/MiFace/05MI077.pdf
schwank
Code X Motorsports
A gentleman died recently racing a 944 turbo. It caught fire and he tried to pull the onboard fire system activation handle... except the pin had not been removed from the bottle. He suffered very severe burns and passed away a week later.
A VERY poignant example of how no small detail can be overlooked.
A VERY poignant example of how no small detail can be overlooked.
Ken Killam
Fats
A bit of an update on the vintage incident at Sears Point (aka. Infineon). This just in from Dan Mullin (#98 black OW), whom some may know from working pit/paddock at CSCC, or other events, drivers with the SCCA vintage races, and is another SCCA Steward that mingles with the 'other' vintage crowds. Well, he was there, watching the car go from what he called, "from black, to gray, to white" referring to the powder used to put it out.
Apparently the car caught fire at about T7-T8, the driver knew that he was on fire, but drove all the way to the Safety trucks because he also knew that none of the Turn Station, or personnel are allowed to keep fire bottles on station.
INSURANCE REQUIREMENT at that race track.
Why, would one suppose, should they would do that? <no prize for the correct answer>
Apparently the car caught fire at about T7-T8, the driver knew that he was on fire, but drove all the way to the Safety trucks because he also knew that none of the Turn Station, or personnel are allowed to keep fire bottles on station.
INSURANCE REQUIREMENT at that race track.
Why, would one suppose, should they would do that? <no prize for the correct answer>
Lynn Rimmer
Good2Go
"not allowed to keep fire bottles on station" ????????
Someone made a vewwwy bad call on that.
It can be a damned long way to a Safety Truck and longer still when you know you are on fire.
I guess we can't mandate COMMON SENSE.
Someone made a vewwwy bad call on that.
It can be a damned long way to a Safety Truck and longer still when you know you are on fire.
I guess we can't mandate COMMON SENSE.
Richard Broadhead
Flag & Com
...... but drove all the way to the Safety trucks because he also knew that none of the Turn Station, or personnel are allowed to keep fire bottles on station.
INSURANCE REQUIREMENT at that race track.
Why, would one suppose, should they would do that?
EXACTLY why I quit 'volunteering' to work the Friday Pacific Raceway RUN track days before a major event.
Not that they couldn't provide workers with fire bottles but they don't
And to some degree I understand why. 99% of the workers are UNTRAINED "Labor Ready" guys they hire for the day. But, they could at least have bottles around the track for drivers (if no one else) to use.When I was doing it, I always worried about a fire situation and, it finally happened! Working T-3 and an S2 came down the hill with a good sized oil fire then vanished down the escape road with flames coming out from under his body work. I called FIRE as the car went out of site. As the car had gone out of view, I didn't even attempt to respond assuming it would make it to Turn 5.
There was almost ZERO response from Race Control on the radio. I couldn't tell if something was being done or not. Couldn't even get a response as to where the car was from any other turn worker!
The "track" safety truck came cruising by about 6 or 7 minutes later doing about 20 MPH and calling on the radio.....
"Now, where's that car on fire supposed to be?"
Fortunately, it was an exhaust pipe/oil fire and extinguished itself as the driver drove to the Paddock. Very lucky as with the response of the truck, he would have/could have lost the WHOLE car before the safety truck got there!
That was the LAST Friday I worked the lapping day before a major event. Just DO NOT want to be there when something serious (fire wise) happens and no way to respond
Last edited:
Ken Killam
Fats
All Hail the wisdom of insurance requirements. Praise their protection from all that is evil, and would destroy us!!
Every one.
Every one.