THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, July 17, 1995 TAG: 9507170038
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 153 lines
As dean of the region's festival vendors, Frank Lipoli always has had an affection for warm, summer days. Those are the ones that bring out the crowds to scarf down his sausages and gulp his soft drinks.
Today, however, the sun is not his friend.
``You think the hot weather is bad for everyone else, well it's even worse for me,'' said Lipoli who was badly burned in June when a propane tank flared up on him at Norfolk's Harborfest. ``I just blister being in the sun.''
Lipoli is on the mend, but it's a slow, painful and costly process. And it's all the more difficult for a guy whose own shadow sometimes has trouble keeping up with him.
The 44-year-old Norfolk native was a state wrestling champ at Norfolk Catholic High School who went on to be one of the region's top wrestling coaches. He took Hampton's Bethel High School squad to the state championship in 1977 and the eastern regional titles in 1977 and 1978. In 1980 he guided the launch of the Virginia Duals, now a nationally recognized wrestling event.
Outside the sports arena, his various food vending activities have him on hand for 100 festivals a year; he launched the annual Vietnam Veterans Haunted Forest at Norfolk's Botanical Garden, raising more than $75,000 in five years for local veterans; and he has become a cable television star, serving as color analyst for a wrestling program, ``Sportsbeat-40,'' on ACTV-23, the cable access channel operated by the Chesapeake public schools.
``Frank just looks for a way to get things done,'' his wife, Debi, says. ``He never worries about anything. It just all comes together for him. It's because of his positive attitude.''
He's relying on that positive attitude - and the love of his family - to carry him through.
``I've accepted what's happened and I've tried to make the best of it. But anybody that knows me knows it's hard for me to sit in one place for any time,'' Lipoli said Sunday. ``That's probably been the biggest adjustment. God bless my wife and family. They've been stuck with me in the house all the time.''
Lipoli was injured on June 4, just minutes before the official opening of this year's Harborfest, as he tended business in ``My Dad's Italian Sausage.''
He had opened the door of a cabinet to check a propane tank when he noticed a small flame shooting from a gas hose.
``I thought I'd just correct this myself, and that's where I made a mistake,'' he said. He pulled the hose to get the tank out, which apparently ruptured it more.
Within a split second, released propane burst into flames that shot back at Lipoli, engulfing him. ``My old wrestling legs came into play and I just backpedaled,'' he said. ``Some people said it blew me across the tent, but I was moving.''
At first, he didn't even know he was burned. Then he noticed skin was missing from his arms and legs. At that point, the pain had not hit.
Lipoli said he realized that others could be in danger. He knew the propane tank was still there and was burning.
``I grabbed a fire extinguisher and hollered to everyone to get out of the tent, although I think most of them had been smart enough to get out already. Then I attacked the fire.''
Witnesses described Lipoli's assault on the flames and said at the time that it appeared he had doused the blaze. ``There is no doubt in my mind that the fire was completely out,'' he said. ``But I thought I needed to cut the propane tank off and when I tried it tipped over and hit some smoldering metal and it reignited. That's when I got the second blast.''
Now he is left to shake his head and wonder at his actions: ``Once a mistake, twice a fool,'' he said.
He was thrown forward by the second blast and there was no question this time of him going back for a third joust with the tank. ``Everyone just grabbed me and whisked me away. I think I was in shock.''
His memory fogs a bit at that point, although he remembers being put in an ambulance. Witnesses said that even injured, Lipoli was shouting instructions, telling his employees what to do - and apologizing for the mess.
His next memory is the most vivid and painful of his experience: being taken to the tub. ``I call it the Tub of Terror,'' he said. ``It's where they take the scalpels to you and scrape stuff off. That's where I was really in pain.''
He visited the tub many times during his 14-day stay in Sentara Norfolk General Hospital and its Burn Trauma Unit. Short sessions lasted 45 minutes; others went on for an excruciating 1 1/2 hours.
His business did not shut down while he was hospitalized, however. The night of the accident, Harborfest volunteers and many of his competitors got together, raised a new tent, cleaned up his equipment and replaced what was damaged. His crew was back in business the next day.
``I think that was a real tribute of love from everybody,'' Lipoli said. ``All of a sudden, tragedy had turned into a real positive thing.''
There's been an outpouring of support since.
``There's been more than 550 get-well cards and they are still coming from around the country,'' Lipoli said. ``I don't kmow why, but they still are.''
And there have been more calls than he can count, many from people he has not heard from since his youth. ``It's been a big reunion from my entire life,'' he said.
Lipoli has had some setbacks in recovery. Scarring on his hands and arms has worsened and he's been forced to wear compression garments to slow scar growth. On the other hand, ``I'm walking better. I'm training like I was in college. I've been real good in following all my doctor's instructions.''
With healing comes a new problem: tightening skin. ``You lose your range of motion,'' Lipoli said. ``Right now I can't close my fist on either hand.''
He's looking forward to completing his rehabilitation, however, probably in the spring.
``I feel like a horse that's ready to run a race, but they just keep postponing it,'' he said. ``I'm real active and I'm used to working as hard as the people who work with me.''
His other concern is financial: the bills are starting to come in and the amounts are staggering. Even with 80 percent insurance coverage, his share will amount to thousands of dollars.
So friends and associates have formed a special group to help defray costs. It's being administered by his former high school wrestling coach, attorney Joseph R. Caprio. On Tuesday night, Caprio is organizing a benefit at Waterside. A golf tournament is also planned.
``I'm so grateful that the only one who was seriously hurt was me,'' Lipoli said. He employs a sizable staff, including many young wrestlers. One of them, Brian Wilson, 17, was working in the same tent where the accident occurred but was not hurt.
Wilson, who just graduated from Cox High School in Virginia Beach, was the first heavyweight champion in 33 years to successfully defend and hold his title for a second year. He'll soon enter the Naval Academy Preparatory School pending an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy.
``I'm an old dog and I can get over this,'' Lipoli said. ``But these guys are young pups, and they are in the prime of life.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color staff photo by BETH BERGMAN
Frank Lipoli did his best to see that no one else was harmed when
propane fires caught him, not once but twice, during Harborfest.
Friends and competitors have joined to keep his concession running
and to pay hospital bills.
Graphic
BENEFITS PLANNED
Concert and auction
A six-act benefit concert will be Tuesday, from 7 p.m. to
midnight, at Waterside Live! Among the local acts performing will
be Lewis McGehee, Paul Worley, The Lemmons, and the Island Steel
Band. Merman the Magician will perform three stage shows.
There also will be several auctions, including items ranging from
cars to Redskins football trips.
Il Porto, Schooners, Legends and the Bait Shack will donate part
of their evening's proceeds.
Events will take place on the Waterside Main Stage and inside the
Bait Shack. For information, call Andy Zoby of Southern Orchestras,
440-8248, or Waterside Live!, 625-5483.
Golf shoot-out
A benefit golf shoot-out will be held at the Ocean View Golf
Course on July 29. For information, call Andy Zoby at 440-8248.
Donations to the Frank Lipoli Burn and Assistance Fund can be
mailed to P.O. Box 55009, Virginia Beach, Va. 23455.
KEYWORDS: FIRE HARBORFEST FUNDRAISER BENEFIT by CNB