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Austin Music

ACL REPORTS

After fire, show goes on

Two festival workers critically injured as RV catches fire

AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Saturday, September 15, 2007

Two Austin City Limits Music Festival service employees were critically injured in a fire Friday afternoon at Zilker Park during the first of three days of concerts.

Jay Janner
AMERICAN-STATESMAN

(enlarge photo)

Unexplained fire in recreational vehicle injures 4 workers A fire that started in a gated service area spread to two 18-wheelers. An ACL official said fans weren't in any danger.

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They were flown to the burn unit of Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, while two other employees hurt in the fire were treated for lesser injuries at Brackenridge Hospital.

Sending a shock wave through an otherwise peaceful and well-attended event, a column of black smoke billowed above the northeast side of the festival grounds at 2:30 p.m.

The fire apparently started in a recreational vehicle, which was parked in a gated service area, and spread to two 18-wheelers. All the vehicles were behind fencing separating the stages and music fans from service areas between the WaMu and AT&T stages.

The names of the four injured employees had not been made public by Friday evening. The cause of the fire was not immediately known.

Later in the night, a second fire started on the AT&T stage when a speaker caught fire, Austin Fire Department officials said.

The fire was small and stagehands put it out with a fire extinguisher before fire officials arrived on the scene, said Palmer Buck, a battalion chief with the department. No injuries were reported.

In the earlier incident, Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services officer Mike Elliott said two people heard a noise in an RV parked in the service area and that when they opened the door of the vehicle, they were engulfed in flames. He said it apparently was a flash fire and not an explosion.

The conflagration turned into a guessing game for the thousands of fans who were on the concert grounds at midday. They weren't sure what was burning, but many surmised it was one of the concession stands.

"Around 2:30, I heard some popping noises," said Courtney Powell, who was watching Pete Yorn on the AT&T stage. "You'd see a little smoke, then two cops went running in that direction."

"It all took place in a working area for employees only in the back perimeter," said Troy Officer, emergency services coordinator for the festival. "No patrons were ever in danger. The crowd was great, assisting officers setting up emergency tape. The immediate area around the fire was cleared within minutes."

Three fire engines and EMS crews reached the scene near the "Town Lake Tavern" beverage area on Lou Neff Road, which was closed for use as a service area.

Austin Fire Department spokeswoman Michelle DeCrane said that emergency personnel arrived six minutes after the first unit was assigned and nine minutes after the first 911 call was received. A hazardous-materials team also arrived on the scene and set up monitors, but a slight wind from the south shifted the smoke away from the audience. Crowds cleared a path on the service road for the fire trucks.

Organizers briefly stopped the music being played by Yorn on the AT&T Stage and cleared half the area in front of the stage.

The Barton Springs Road entrance had been packed with arriving fans when the fire broke out. It was taking about 20 minutes to get into concert area at that time, and the lines did not slow after the smoke was spotted.

Elliott said that although music fans were drawn to the area of the fire, "the crowds obeyed extremely well" when told to move back.

He said planning by all the safety and security agencies involved enabled the response to be as "good as could be expected" considering the tens of thousands of people on the grounds.

By 3:10 p.m., police tape had been removed from most of the scene, and all the music had resumed.

While the fire interrupted Yorn's set, music continued on the seven other stages around the Zilker Park soccer fields. Many fans were just arriving to catch Crowded House or Joss Stone on two of the bigger stages.

No early crowd estimates were available, but festival organizers expected 65,000 on the grounds before Björk's closing set at 8:30 p.m.

Blue skies dominated the afternoon as temperatures reached the mid-90s. Festival-goers who walked at midday to the park through South Austin neighborhoods and along Barton Springs Road from downtown got to the gates dripping with sweat and drinking water, which was sold along the roadways by homeowners and other vendors.

The festival continues today with headliners Arcade Fire and Muse.

Staff writers John T. Davis, Matthew Odam, Ed Crowell, Marques G. Harper, Tony Plohetski, Melissa Mixon and Mike Elliott contributed to this report.

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