Fire walking frequently asked questions
What do we need from you
Venue:
We will need a room to host the ‘Impossible is Nothing’ seminar prior to the actual walk itself. A breakout room in a hotel, sports facility, conference venue or even a pub is fine. For the fire walk itself we need an area approx 10×10 meters and approx 20 meters away from buildings, vehicles and overhead trees or power cables. We can run this event on any flat and level surface (grass, tarmac, concrete etc) as we always lay wooden boards and grass turf under our fires to prevent damage to the venue.
Ancillaries:
We also need access to a standard domestic power socket to run the electrical supply for the event PA and lighting, and also to running water (either tap or hose fitting). After the Fire Walk we will need access to a suitable small metal waste skip or to a number of metal dustbins in order to deposit the burnt wood waste, burnt turf and residual wet ash sludge.
Alternatively, and our preferred green option, we can leave the waste on site for composting/recycle use (contact your local council who may be able to arrange collection).
What happens on the night of the event?
The fire building team will arrive approx 2 hours before your planned registration time in order to lay the base of fire boards and grass turf and to build the fire. Security barriers will also be erected if required to prevent unauthorised access to your fire by onlookers. Depending on the weather the fire may be lit at this time or a little later when all delegates/fire walkers have arrived.
Once you have registered (signed a consent form/disclaimer and received your security wrist band) you will undergo a 1 hour training seminar in a private room away from the public.
Please note: this training is based on Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) and around current Psychological responses to extreme challenges. It does not involve any hypnosis or other alternative disciplines. All Fire Walkers must attend this seminar and will be refused entry to the fire if all or part of the seminar is missed for whatever reason. Friends, family and the general public will be excluded from this seminar.
Once the training seminar has finished you will be lead outside to where the fire has been burning away whilst the training has been in progress. After a short safety brief and demonstration on how to walk on the fire you will be invited to take your shoes and socks off and line up ready. When the Fire Master is happy that the group are in the right frame of mind, the exciting pulse quickening music is screaming out from the PA system and the fire is safe to cross he will open the fire and walk first.
Each firewalker will then show their security band to him/her and be allowed to cross the fire. You may of course rejoin the queue and walk as many times as you like or until the Fire Master decides that the fire is no longer walk-able. After the Fire Walk all participants will return indoors for a short debrief session and award of certificates
Questions about the fire walk itself
Do we require a Permit? Although most areas do not require any permit whatsoever, we advise you to talk to the local Council before confirming the venue. You should also advise the local Fire station of the location, time and date etc of the event in order to minimise/prevent any false calls being made to them by well meaning residents noticing smoke from usually smoke free areas.
Is there an age limit? In law there isn’t one! However, our policy is that the person must be capable of making an informed decision to walk or not free from parental and peer pressure. That would normally mean 14+ but obviously that’s a call to be made at the time and depends on the maturity of the individual. Whatever the age, if under 18 then we will require written parental permission for that person to attend.
Do we need to have medical support at the event? It’s really your call on that. Although our 100% injury free event history is a testimonial to our rigorous safety standards, accidents can happen. Therefore, our event team will have on site a full 50+ persons first aid kit and large Lewis-Plast burns kit with state of the art burns gels. ALL fire trainers are first aid trained and certificated in-date to Health and Safety at Work (first Aid) Regulations 1981.
Do we need any fire safety equipment? We will provide the following fire appliances on site:50 mtr water hose, 9ltr water fire extinguishers, fire blankets and12ltr water buckets ……. oh and of course a fully suited fire man!
You run a 1 hour training session before the fire walk but some companies say we must do 2 hours. Why is this? Evidence clearly suggests that the average adult has an attention span of only 20 minutes. Beyond 45 minutes most people have given up hope of ever seeing a fire walk ……. After listening to your feedback on this we know 1 hour is more than enough training time!! After all you did come to walk across the real hot coals and not just to learn how to 'pretend' to walk across the hot coals whilst still inside the training room ….. right??
Do I actually walk on a flaming fire? No, you walk on the fire bed itself, which are really the red-hot glowing embers of the wood. The fire will have been burning for approx 2 hours so by the time you come out of the training seminar flames maybe seen on the wood to each side of the fire lane but not on the part you will be invited to walk down. You will NOT walk on the actual flames.
How long is the fire? Normally approx 5 meters long and 1 meter wide meaning it will take about 6 strides to march to a new unrestricted world!
Is fire walking weather dependent? Not really, if we can light the wood and the venue is not considered dangerous i.e. slippy underfoot, the event will run as planned. We have lots of full size golf umbrellas with us as a back up should we consider them essential seasonal wear!!
Should I harden or soften the skin on my feet? NO, the skin on your feet is already the hardest on the body and does not require treating prior to a Fire Walk. In fact if you do apply lotions or potions within 5 days of the event you will not be allowed to walk on the fire! Dry nail varnish/polish applied to toe nails is completely fine.
What’s the best thing to wear on the night? We would suggest casual clothing is best. All you need to do is roll up the bottom of your trousers or dress mainly not to get dirty. Obviously tights and stockings would need to be removed before the fire walk itself. It’s advisable to bring some wet wipes and/or an old towel as your feet will be very sooty from walking on the fire bed and your socks will get filthy.
What about Insurance and Health and Safety Issues? Put simply, this is an adult activity and as the children’s programme Blue Peter often reminded us ‘please do not try these events at home’.
All Survivorbility Ltd events are led and conducted by our experienced team of F.I.R.E qualified facilitators. We have an envious safety record with a 100% documented injury free event history. This can be verified by allowing you access to our databank consisting of hundreds of glowing testimonials, which we are happy to forward onto you should you require further reassurance.
We insure our events with £5m Public liability insurance with additional documentation in place from our Underwriters stating that they acknowledge the fact that we carry out fire walking as an activity. However, the act of purposefully walking over the hot coals is totally uninsurable. If you are told otherwise ask to see ALL PARTS of the company’s insurance policies.
All firewalkers will be required to sign a legal disclaimer saying that they fully understand that the activity of fire walking is potentially dangerous and people have received burns in the past. They are also signing to say that they understand that the activity of fire walking is not mandatory at the seminar and that the decision to fire walk is taken of their own free will and not from being under the influence of un-prescribed drugs or alcohol. Anyone assessed as being under such influence will be refused entry to the fire walk and a refund will NOT be given.
The vitality of thought is in adventure.
Ideas won't keep. Something must be done about them.
Alfred North Whitehead (1861 – 1947)
