Hot take: That foam prop almost caught fire on set

Last month I was on a small indie shoot in a rented warehouse in Austin and we had this big foam sword that looked amazing under the lights. The problem was the grip guy set a hot spotlight way too close to it during a setup break and I smelled something weird. I walked over and the edge of the foam was literally smoking and starting to bubble up. I yanked it away just in time but the damage was done - had to spend 45 minutes sanding and repainting that section before the next take. The director was mad about the delay but I told them flat out that having a fire extinguisher within reach is not optional. Since then I always check the distance between any heat source and my foam pieces on every shoot. Has anyone else had a close call with foam props melting or catching from lights?

2 comments

2 Comments

carr.willow6d ago

Almost caught fire" sounds dramatic for a lil foam bubbling.

jesseb206d ago

Had a phone charger do the same thing. Unplug it immediately.