"Forged in Fire" Wannabe

Man trying to imitate TV show sparks massive N.Y. inferno, mayor says

COHOES, N.Y. -- An inferno that destroyed or damaged nearly two dozen buildings in a city in upstate New York was sparked by an amateur bladesmith who apparently was trying to imitate something he saw on TV, officials said.

The blaze broke out Thursday afternoon in downtown Cohoes, just north of Albany, and was stoked by 20 to 30 mph winds.



The Times Union of Albany reported that three buildings were destroyed, 18 others were damaged and at least 20 people were displaced. The city is under a state of emergency.

"It is the worst disaster the city has ever seen," Mayor Shawn Morse told reporters at an evening news conference.

According to CBS affiliate WRGB, Morse said there were some minor injuries, saying that the fire "breaks his heart."

Morse said John Gomes, of Cohoes, apparently was trying to bend metal in an attempt to imitate the History Channel television series "Forged in Fire" when he started a barrel fire in his backyard that quickly spread. The TV series is about bladesmiths competing to create "history's most iconic edged weapons."

Gomes, 51, was charged with felony reckless endangerment and misdemeanor arson. He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Thursday night and was jailed on $15,000 bail, the newspaper reported. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for next Tuesday.

 

Wow....... Sad that happened, but a felony and arson charges for an accident? Really?
Surprised they didn't charge him with excessive wind speed as well......

 

Yes the charges seem excessive on the surface .

 

Charges don't sound as clearly excessive to me as they do to some others here. For starters, he was using a "burn barrel" -- which was illegal. Setting it especially close to a house. And created a fire in it on a windy day (20-30 mph) -- which sounds at least a bit reckless (as demonstrated, with the benefit of hindsight, by the fact that the fire soon got out of control, burning surrounding 21 buildings). Not sure, but I doubt he had any fire extinguisher nearby.

The spread of the fire might have been unintentional, but nevertheless it appears quite possibly reckless.

 

I have to admit, I missed the barrel part the first time I read it. Probably not such a good idea, I agree. Makes a little more sense now.