Brandon Allin
06/13/06, 02:06 PM
Skratch3 (http://www.skratch3.com)'s van recently caught fire and was completely destroyed while on tour. The accident occurred Tuesday morning while leaving Winnipeg, Manitoba on route to Regina. A message from the band can be found below, and a few, low-quality, cell-phone pictures can be found in the replies.
.. we definitely burned
After leaving Winnipeg and a porch full of smiling people (probably making sure we were actually leaving) we hit the Trans Canada on route to Regina. Still nursing the headaches and hang overs from the night before, everyone was jolted by a quick pull over and Woody yelling at everyone to "get out of the van now!"
What looked like the annoying white smoke of an over heated rad quickly became the flames we've only seen in the movies. The van was on fire, and luckily enough we had just filled the tank with 130 litres of some substance that is apparently "very flamable".
The flames started under the hood, but within seconds of our exit spread accross the fiber glass roof. Interesting enough, fiber glass only takes about 10 seconds to go from "sturdy roof" to "liquid fire dripping into the van". Needless to say, the liquid fire did not mix well with the carpeted interior of the van.
Luckily enough we did get out with one cell phone and were able to call 911, but unfortunately we weren't close enough to any major town or city for the Fire Department to arrive as quickly as we needed.
We spent the next 30 minutes watching the bon fire and praying that it wouldn't overtake the connected trailer containing all of our gear. We also passed the time awaiting the potential explosion that would definitely overtake the gear.
Finally, in came the FD which also fit into the nicest people in history catagory. They got the blaze out before it destoyed our trailer, and also picked through the rubble for any souveniers we were interested in. You wouldn't believe what happens to a trumpet in a fire...
So, I'm writing this from a motel computer in the lovely town of Virden MB, population 3,000. We're kinda famous here now, recieving lots of "oh, you're those guys" comments. Long story short, the van didn't blow up, but there is nothing left. We did save our trailer, so we're doing all that we can to contiue on as planned and we will see you all on the road.
For the fans back home, it looks like the June 30th show has become a bit of a fund raiser, so we hope to see you all there!
.. we definitely burned
After leaving Winnipeg and a porch full of smiling people (probably making sure we were actually leaving) we hit the Trans Canada on route to Regina. Still nursing the headaches and hang overs from the night before, everyone was jolted by a quick pull over and Woody yelling at everyone to "get out of the van now!"
What looked like the annoying white smoke of an over heated rad quickly became the flames we've only seen in the movies. The van was on fire, and luckily enough we had just filled the tank with 130 litres of some substance that is apparently "very flamable".
The flames started under the hood, but within seconds of our exit spread accross the fiber glass roof. Interesting enough, fiber glass only takes about 10 seconds to go from "sturdy roof" to "liquid fire dripping into the van". Needless to say, the liquid fire did not mix well with the carpeted interior of the van.
Luckily enough we did get out with one cell phone and were able to call 911, but unfortunately we weren't close enough to any major town or city for the Fire Department to arrive as quickly as we needed.
We spent the next 30 minutes watching the bon fire and praying that it wouldn't overtake the connected trailer containing all of our gear. We also passed the time awaiting the potential explosion that would definitely overtake the gear.
Finally, in came the FD which also fit into the nicest people in history catagory. They got the blaze out before it destoyed our trailer, and also picked through the rubble for any souveniers we were interested in. You wouldn't believe what happens to a trumpet in a fire...
So, I'm writing this from a motel computer in the lovely town of Virden MB, population 3,000. We're kinda famous here now, recieving lots of "oh, you're those guys" comments. Long story short, the van didn't blow up, but there is nothing left. We did save our trailer, so we're doing all that we can to contiue on as planned and we will see you all on the road.
For the fans back home, it looks like the June 30th show has become a bit of a fund raiser, so we hope to see you all there!