News

May 05, 2004

The Folk Alliance Fire

David slipped his key in the door, opened it slightly, then shut it immediately because he was hit in the face with a wall of smoke. He is Welsh, and comes from a family of coal miners. His father's cousin had once saved his family by doing a similar thing: by immediately shutting a door whose draft would have incinerated the building, he was able to evacuate his family first from the adjoining room where they were sleeping.

But as soon as David shut the door, knowing what was about to happen, he felt sick. Was Ralston Bowles in there? ...

The unfortunate dramatic sidebar to this year's event was the fire in Kari Estrin's Client Showcase room (Kari is a very talented manager and career consultant in Nashville, check her out at kariestrin.com). I got the story from Cheryl Duckett (houseconcerts.com) the following morning, and then on the plane from David Llewellyn, who was wrung out from the whole experience and from telling the story far too many times in the Terrace Restaurant.

Kari hosted a Southeast Folk (SERFA) Reception in her management showcase room, where David Llewellyn and Ralston Bowles were staying. Kari and David, who were co-producing the SERFA showcase in the main hotel that evening, had to leave their party early. When they realized how long the setup of the sound system was going to take, Kari went back to the room and grabbed a few things, and noticed a key left behind. She called David to see if he'd forgotten his key, but he said no, that it must be Ralston's, who was out doing some showcases of his own. Ralston stopped up to the SERFA Regional at some point and said he was tired and going back to the room. So when Kari and David got back later to drop off the SERFA gear, like 3 AM, it was assumed that Ralston Bowles was in the room.

When they got to the door, Kari reached for her key but found that she did not have it. So David slipped his key in the door, opened it slightly, then shut it immediately because he was hit in the face with a wall of smoke. He is Welsh, and comes from a family of coal miners. His father's cousin had once saved his family by doing a similar thing: by immediately shutting a door whose draft would have incinerated the building, he was able to evacuate his family first from the adjoining room where they were sleeping.

But as soon as David shut the door, knowing what was about to happen, he felt sick. Was Ralston Bowles in there? Kari pulled out her cell phone and called the fire department. David alerted the front desk from a nearby room, then desperately tried to find where Ralston actually was.

There were several bizarrely serendipitous factors that prevented catastrophe.

First of all, if Kari Estrin hadn't assumed that the key she'd seen in her room earlier belonged to someone else (without checking to see that it was hers), she would have been first to open the door. Fortunately, David's instincts and upbringing kicked in and averted what could have been a very dangerous situation.

Secondly, Ralston Bowles would have been in that room, except for another chance occurrence. On his way to that room of doom, he walked past an open door where Chuck Brodsky was playing. Chuck flagged Ralston down, and told him to come on in and play some songs--his throat was sore and he needed some help. Ralston said he didn't even have his guitar, but Chuck convinced him to sit down and play, saving his life in the process. Ironically, Chuck had been booked that night for the SERFA showcase, but because of a schedule conflict, he was in his showcase room (three doors down from Kari's) and able to divert Ralston.

James Lee Stanley, a Folk Alliance attendee, made an unsuccessful attempt to gain access, emptying four fire extinguishers into the room before a frantic David heard a voice behind him say, "My guitar's in there." David didn't know whether to kiss Ralston or hit him, but at least he was safe and sound.

Fire trucks arrived, and as soon as the firefighters opened the door, the place immediately burst into flames, gutting the room. But they were ready, and it was quickly put out. When a charred case was brought out and set before Ralston, he opened it up and a bunch of smoke emerged. He picked the guitar up and smoke puffed out of the soundhole. As the assembled watched, Ralston strummed it and said, "It's in tune." And the crowd cheered.

The fire department determined the fire was accidental--that there was evidence of a piece of fabric on the rear bathroom light fixture that could have gotten there a variety of ways during the reception. Because there was no smoke detector and sprinkler system, the fixture smoldered for a number of hours, until Kari and David returned. There were two mattresses carefully stored in the bathroom, and there were no appliances, additional lighting fixtures, or candles in the room.

So, as I know it, that's the story of The Folk Alliance Fire. How will the incident bode for future hosting hotels of Folk Alliance? That's a good question…

from Frank @ puremusic.com