
DATE: Tuesday, August 5, 1997               TAG: 9708050102

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MIKE ABRAMS, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:   75 lines

FLAMING DIVERS' FIRE PUT OUT OVER SAFETY FEARS AT BEACH FAIR

The Human Inferno Fire Divers have had to plunge this week without the fire part.

What began as one of the Fair at the Beach's most heavily promoted acts has been doused.

Why?

Because of a permit problem and concerns that young spectators might set themselves aflame at home after watching the show.

``What we shoot for in Virginia Beach is a safe community, and we didn't think that the Human Inferno was sending a message compatible with a family fair,'' said Lee Knott, deputy fire marshal.

The Human Inferno has three elements: a diver, heavy flames and a 30-foot drop.

Four members of Minnesota-based Watershow Productions take turns doing the dive on different nights. The fiery fall is the blazing finale to an evening of stunt diving.

The Infernos drench their clothes in gasoline, set themselves on fire, cover their faces with their hands, wait as long as possible - up to 30 seconds or so - on a tiny platform, then dive into the water below.

The problem, Knott said, is that Watershow didn't have a permit to put on such a stunt in Virginia Beach. The city prohibits open burning, and the show would not have been granted an exception, he said.

With no permit, the costumed divers had to be content with simply diving into a pool of water 8 feet deep.

The city also had two other concerns.

One is that firefighters are putting on their own fire prevention and safety shows adjacent to the diving area at the fair. The other is that some people were concerned that children might have attempted to imitate the trained performers.

Robert Hubbard, the 23-year-old who directs and dives in the program, said Watershow Productions isn't interested in causing a controversy.

``We wish we could do it, but I can understand why people are concerned,'' he said.

Still, Hubbard said, the stunt is safe under the right conditions - though divers sometimes lose eyebrows or leg hair, he said.

Relief is never more than a dive away, though.

Hubbard not only directs Watershow's ``Beach Party'' program, but he also is a former All-American college diver and coach of the College of William and Mary's team.

This is the first time, he said, that Watershow Productions has been asked not to play with fire.

Around the fairgrounds at Camp Pendleton on Monday, patrons said the Human Inferno would have been fun to watch. Nonetheless, it wasn't the reason they attended the event.

Parent Susan Lambert, who walked the midway with her husband and 4-year-old daughter, said the rides and food were a draw.

She believes her daughter understands the difference between professional performances and reality. But she also understands where fire officials were coming from.

``There may be children from other backgrounds that might try something,'' she said.

Then again, Matthew Bottis, 18, said only a stupid kid would tempt fate in such a foolish way.

``I think the laws are kind of overprotective,'' he said. ``I wouldn't ever set myself on fire.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

IAN MARTIN/ The Virginian-Pilot

Ordinarily, Jack Walsh would be in flames at this point, but

Virginia Beach officials extinguished this part of the show for fear

that impressionable children might try the stunt after watching

``Beach Party USA,'' a diving exposition at the fair at Camp

Pendleton.

Photo

Robert Hubbard, a diver in ``Beach Party USA,'' sometimes plays the

role of the Human Inferno.