Dear Fireflies,
We realize that not everyone had context about the PSA that went out
yesterday. We'd like to provide you with that context and some
additional information.
On Burn Night last year at Element 11 (a Utah regional burn), a
participant willingly avoided Rangers and Perimeter and ran into the
burn to deliberately end his life. The rest of the participants had no
recourse to stop him. As all burners do, we collectively feel the sorrow
for his loss and for the loss to his family, friends, and extended
burner family as if it were our own. We also recognize and share
the pain of the event organizers and volunteers who were unable to help
this man.
This rarely happens at
burns, and has never happened at Firefly, but because it so rarely
happens and is such a tragedy, it is a difficult topic for all to
discuss.
If you feel overwhelmed *for any reason* and think that hurting
yourself, or ending your life, is the best answer, please know that
people are here for you. We want you to stay and be our community, our
family. The loss of one of us is a loss to all of us. Let us help you.
Rangers, Medical, and Sanctuary are among the different types of volunteers who can assist you in obtaining the resources you need.
We realize it
can be difficult to believe that a whole community cares about you. This
is why we maintain that a community-wide approach is best. So bear with
us as we bring this subject to light. Reach out to your friends and
have this
conversation with them.
Start a thread on the Firefly Blink list and
share your thoughts and feelings with the community.
The
Firefly Safety Teams are volunteers. We have no authority to restrain
anyone. The most significant number of injuries in tackling runners
comes from would-be
rescuers. And the size of the fire limits our ability to get too close.
In the event that someone is committed to running
into a fire we simply cannot put our own lives at risk.
We are
effective most when we have a relationship with you, fellow participants. We
have no authority other than what you give us, and we take that
responsibility seriously.
Though we all joke
about "safety third" and, as a culture, like to push our own boundaries,
the Firefly community remains committed to preventing the loss of any
participants for any reason.
We need to be aware that not everyone feels as we do. We need to take
our neighbors, our friends, our strangers into our fold. We need to
protect ourselves, and those around us.
If you would like to discuss this further, contact
-Medical at
medical@fireflyartscollective.org
-Sanctuary at
sanctuary@fireflyartscollective.org
-Rangers at
rangers@fireflyartscollective.org
-Fire Art Safety Team at
fast@fireflyartscollective.orgOn behalf of the Firefly Safety Teams,