TEAM-BUILDING FIREWALK SENDS 25 TO HOSPITAL

Twenty-five people had to be treated for injuries after walking on hot coals in northern Switzerland. It happened at a private event on Lake Zurich Tuesday evening as part of a team-building exercise. Several members of the group reported feeling considerable pain in their feet a short time after walking on the coals. Thirteen members of the group were hospitalized with severe burns. Walking across a bed of glowing red embers may seem like an impressive feat, but the risk of sustaining burns is low if the act is performed correctly under the right conditions. Though the hot charcoal used in firewalking typically registers at a temperature of around 1,000F (500 degrees C), the material is a poor conductor of heat and therefore takes more time to transfer energy to inflict burns on the skin. Those who linger too long on the coals may sustain burns, while those who try to run across are also often affected because the force of the foot drives the sole through the top layer of coals and into contact with hotter ones underneath. But firewalkers who use a measured, brisk walk can typically glide across the embers as if strolling on nothing more than hot sand.
* Thanks, that information would have been handy Tuesday night.
* If only there had been some source of water near Lake Zurich to cool everyone’s feet off.
* “Anybody bring marshmallows?”
* And don’t even ask what happened with the Bed of Nails.
* Should have gone with the “trust falls.”
* Filling out hospital forms together can also be a form of team-building, you know.