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news
Findon Skid Kids YouTube stillAustralian teens hospitalised with burns after 'jump through fire' bike stunt goes wrong (+ video)
Two teenage boys in Australia have been treated in hospital for second-degree burns after a ‘jump through fire’ stunt they performed near Adelaide went wrong at the weekend.
Trent Forester and Shane Bentley, both aged 15, were taking part in the 55th birthday celebrations of Findon Skid Kids, which is part of Findon Cycle Speedway Club.
Neither had previously attempted the stunt, which saw them ride through a wall of cardboard that had been set on fire and was supposed to have been cut in such a way that it broke on impact.
The flames were stamped out with blankets by attendants, and the pair were treated by St John Ambulance paramedics at the scene before being taken to hospital.
Some reports say that a teenage girl who took part in the stunt also received burns, although she does not appeatr to have been taken to hospital.
"Heading into it was fine, I was feeling good,” Shane told ABC News.
“I didn't think it was going to be that bad. It was just when I got through on the other side and I collected the cardboard was when it was getting hot.
"We went a little bit early, so the cardboard didn't burn properly and there's supposed to be a slit down the middle of the cardboard so it just opens, but that didn't happen so I just took the cardboard with me and that's what burned me," he added.
Neither Trent nor Shane plan to attempt the stunt again.
The teens were both wearing basic protective clothing, and Findon Skid Kids president Mick Harley said that the problem was that the stunt had not been set up correctly.
"We've been doing the fire jump for 55 years and every so often, somebody might get some burns," he told Adelaide Now.
"The cardboard is normally in two sheets joined at the middle so it breaks when they hit it. They used cardboard that was a full sheet so it wasn't cut.
"On this particular occasion they took the cardboard with them and that's how they got burnt.
"They are pretty well protected. It's just in this instance they took the fire with them and the heat has got to them.
"We will be doing it [the fire jump] again in the future," he insisted.
"What we will be doing in the future is making sure (the cardboard) has the split down the centre and making sure it's done correctly."
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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16 comments
Findon Skid Kids have been doing this stunt for years, and it occasionally goes wrong, like this. I grew up in Adelaide and stories about Skid Kids getting burnt were an occasional occurrence of my childhood.
It's good to get children outside doing something active, rather than sitting on their couch playing video games. And when things go wrong, as they occasionally do, it's nice to see that the parents aren't immediately suing the organisers.
Good on them
They got away with it, very sore and scarred maybe but you do stupid things as a kid.
Agree that damaged kids isn't good but nor would be a world where people didn't do stupid things.
Hmmm... makes me think that compulsory helmets in Australia might be a good thing
No, that just gets in the way of natural selection.
Who'd have thought that riding through fire could be dangerous?
I love how casual the supervising "adult" is about the accident. He seems to feel that a child getting 2nd degree burns every now and then is a cost of doing business when you're jumping through fire hoops.
Even if the stunt is the great idea that he purports it to be, doesn't it seem that properly prepping the cardboard is of paramount importance, rather than merely an "oops, we forgot to cut the slits in the flaming cardboard and some children faced potentially life-altering injuries."
What an ass hat.
3... 2... 1... Just counting down to the nanny Australian state introducing mandatory flame-retardant clothing for cyclists, to go with the compulsory helments.
Everyone Relax "DaveO's" on hand. Bet he was on cardboard cutting duties.
Dave (Witness) at 0:43 is exactly the sort of authority you want reassuring the public. I'm sure he's come straight from retrieving another six pack from the cooler to give his PR statement. Most reassuring, especially since he didn't want to give his surname.
Oh well, hope the kids aren't hurt too bad. Too many more stunts like that and you remove yourself from the gene pool.
eejits!
St John Ambulance isn't possessive. St Andrew's is.
Sorry, it's the type of thing that you start off not noticing and then slowly over the years turns you into a gibbering heap every time you hear/see it...
Remember, it's in Australia.....
Can't disagree about the use of apostrophie's (sic) though. They dont do gramma and spelink at skule now.
Good call! It's a good job St John was there and the "fire people" too.
Cheers, changed. St Andrew's... yeah the day. Not the place
Want to get Darkside hyperventilating? Start on about St Thomas' Hospital... Is he Lynn Truss' (sic) husband by any chance?
Sorry for the kids involved, but it does sem like a dat sort of stunt to pull. Anyone doing that here would probably have some awkward questions to answer about training and use of young riders. Just because they have been doing it for 55 years does not mean it is right, and the organiser is quoted as saying that burns have happened before. Surprise....!