FilmFlicking

Lucifer_666 · Site Joined: 27 Jul 2007 Posts: 9660

Firefighters have contained a large fire which ravaged a theme park at the world-famous Universal Studios in Los Angeles, California.

At least 300 firefighters fought the blaze, which injured three people, after it began before dawn on a sound stage featuring New York facades.

The fire destroyed a King Kong exhibit and a set from Back to the Future.

It also damaged a video library but the studios said they had duplicates of everything lost.

A propane fuel tank explosion may have caused the fire, but investigations into the cause of the blaze are continuing.

There are indications that the sound stage in the area had recently been used for filming.

It is likely that there would have been a good deal of flammable material and props, as well as fuel supplies, on the site, the BBC's Rajesh Mirchandani reports from Los Angeles.

Helicopters dropped water on to the burning structures, and television pictures showed flames leaping into the air as a thick cloud of smoke covered the site.

Thick black smoke that billowed into the Los Angeles sky was partly due to the plastic video containers burning, said Los Angeles fire department chief Michael Freeman.

Low water pressure hampered the fire crews' efforts, according to the LA Times.

The head of Universal Studios, Ron Meyer, said about 40,000 to 50,000 videos and reels had been damaged in the blaze but duplicates were kept elsewhere.

He thanked the firefighters for their efforts.

"They are real heroes, I mean they were here in record time," he said.

"They contained the fire that could've really burnt horribly out of control."

Behind-the-scenes tours of the studios are a long-established tradition still popular with visitors today.

The Back to the Future set

NOOOOOOOOOOooooooooo

Maybe I should have said "Great Scott"

ahhhhhhhhhh

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Catnapper · Site Joined: 30 Jul 2007 Posts: 6227

It showed the blaze on tv last night and they said tours of the studio were still going ahead

..........I bet they'll get more visitors now who want to see a real fire

It's such a shame those sets were lost but at least they can be rebuilt and at least they've got duplicates of the video library too.

Lucifer_666 · Site Joined: 27 Jul 2007 Posts: 9660

Oh there is duplicates?

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Catnapper · Site Joined: 30 Jul 2007 Posts: 6227

It said in your post there were duplicates of the damaged reels and videos Luc

Lucifer_666 · Site Joined: 27 Jul 2007 Posts: 9660

Oh!!

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Catnapper · Site Joined: 30 Jul 2007 Posts: 6227

And you have the cheek to tell me off sometimes for not reading your posts properly

Lucifer_666 · Site Joined: 27 Jul 2007 Posts: 9660

Do as I say not what I do

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Catnapper · Site Joined: 30 Jul 2007 Posts: 6227

Whatever you say

It seems the fire was caused by sparks from a blowtorch being used on the New York Street set. Asphalt shingles were being attached to a facade and the sparks ignited into the fire. I read too they've had 7 major fires there......so they must be used to it by now!

lord vader · Site Joined: 31 Jul 2007 Posts: 3157 Location: scotland

bloody crazy i tell ya , up in a puff of smoke , great scott indeed
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site admin and serial word sensorer , :)

Lucifer_666 · Site Joined: 27 Jul 2007 Posts: 9660

I can see a future tv disaster film being made called 'Fire at Universal'....'Universal Fire'

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