THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, June 3, 1995 TAG: 9506030286
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines
A longtime Harborfest vendor was seriously injured just minutes before the festival began Friday when a propane tank flared and left him with second-degree burns over more than 20 percent of his body.
Three other people received minor injuries.
Frank Lipoli - considered among the deans of Harborfest vendors, a man who serves the multitudes at dozens of other festivals - was listed in serious but stable condition Friday night in the Burn Trauma Center at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. He has burns on his legs, arms, face and neck.
And while he was healing, the folks who are normally his competitors were working to repair his business, with the goal of having it up and running today.
Fellow vendors, aided by Harborfest security and city police, protected his property and stored his supplies Friday afternoon. Then, overnight, the vendors worked to rebuild Lipoli's tent and replace lost equipment.
``That's kind of unique,'' said Harry Worley, Harborfest's chairman. ``It says something about the quality of the people here.''
As for the fire, ``The public wasn't in danger,'' Worley said. ``We have emergency plans on paper that we talk about, and today they worked. . . . The police took control of the crowds quickly, and the Fire Department moved in fast.''
Still, Worley said he would have preferred the plans had never been tested - at least not this way. ``Frank is a longtime supporter of Harborfest and Festevents and that makes this more of a tragedy.''
Lipoli, 44, was working in ``My Dad's Italian Sausage'' when the incident occurred about 11:40 a.m., 20 minutes before the official opening of the festivities.
It was unclear exactly what happened because descriptions varied. But it appeared that the gas line connected to the propane tank popped off. Lipoli reconnected it, but it popped again and caught fire. The force threw Lipoli across the tent.
Lipoli grabbed a fire extinguisher and went after the flames. Some observers said it looked like he had put out the fire, but then they heard a third pop and flames shot out and up, catching Lipoli and others.
``A lady in the booth jumped over the counter and ran over here,'' said Dave Sweet, 31, of Norfolk, who was working at the Captain Morgan's tent nearby.
Lenny McBride of Norfolk was standing in line to buy a poster nearby when he said he noticed an unusual odor. But he had no idea it was a fire until police started moving the public away.
He looked back through the trees and ``you could see the flames shooting up,'' McBride said. ``That's when they told everyone in the tents that they had to leave, too.''
David Whiting of Norfolk was at the anchor at the far end of the park near Nauticus when he saw flames over the treetops.
``I said to myself, `I don't want to be here anymore,' and I turned around and went the other way,'' Whiting said. He wasn't alone. Police were herding people out of the area. But there was no panic.
``The police were fast, quiet and efficient in clearing the people out,'' Whiting said.
The heat of the propane fire was so intense that aluminum fixtures on the tank melted and were left as silvery blobs once they cooled.
``Part of the top of the tent melted, and an ice chest melted and another was partially melted,'' said Michael Hall, 13, of Hendersonville, N.C., a Harborfest volunteer who helped clean up the mess.
Within an hour, the only evidence of the fire was a green tarp laid over the burned grass and a vacancy in an otherwise unbroken line of vendors rounding the park.
People have been injured during festivals, most in storm-related incidents, but this was one of the most serious on-site accidents in Harborfest's 19 years.
While not required by law, Harborfest vendors agree to safety inspections; Lipoli's tent was checked just before the blaze. He was told to add more fire extinguishers.
KEYWORDS: FIRE HARBORFEST INJURIES by CNB