Warning: That crowded forge demo at Quad-State nearly started a fire

I went to Quad-State last September. Packed tent, maybe 80 people. Dude next to me had his propane forge running too close to the canvas. I saw the fabric start to smolder during his talk on damascus billets. Had to yell for him to shut it down. Now I always scope out fire exits and clear space before any demo. Anyone else seen near misses at big events?

2 comments

2 Comments

henderson.kim1mo ago

Started carrying a small fire extinguisher in my truck" - yeah that's smart. My buddy Tom was at a demo last year in a barn and some guy's forge tipped over. He said the straw on the floor caught in like two seconds. Tom grabbed a fire blanket off the wall and smothered it before it hit the rafters. Scared the hell out of everyone. After that he bought two extinguishers, one for his truck and one for his shop. I think a lot of us just assume it won't happen to us until we see it go down like that.

tara_palmer1mo ago

Happened to be at a blacksmithing meetup in a field in Ohio last year where some guy had his portable forge set up right next to a dry brush pile. Started smelling something burning, turned around and saw flames licking up the base of the brush. Had to grab a bucket of water from the truck to put it out before it spread. After that I make it a point to walk around the demo area myself before things start, just to mentally map out where I'd run if something caught. Also started carrying a small fire extinguisher in my truck, which felt overkill until it didn't.