1990 Christine Smith and her Fire Baton

1990 Christine Smith and her fire Baton

It is amusing that today every company is concerned over liability and if you buy a fire baton you now have a disclaimer with it such as the one below.  Maybe it is why Delmar High School doesn't do this anymore. 

"DISCLAIMER: By purchasing this baton,Star Line Baton Inc. does not have any legal liability (including but not limited to injuries or property damage ) relating to the use of the product. Users of the product must be at the appropriate skill level, have proper training in use of fire batons, and understand the risk to the performer and property when this product is used. Not recommended for indoor use unless approved by the local Fire Marshall in accordance to local codes."

Below is 1997 newspaper article about fire baton twirling (not from Delmar) 

Rachel Mills recalls her first fire baton experience with the Eau Claire Spinners as "one of the scariest, yet most exciting moments of my life." I was shaking and sweating like crazy, says Mills, of North High School. "I kept picturing my hair going up in flames yet at the same time I couldn't wait for the end to be lit. Thirteen twirlers make up the Spinners, an exhibition baton twirling group that performs throughout the Chippewa Valley in the summer. In beginning through advanced twirling, girls learn everything from figure eights to high flying thumb toss for which all baton twirlers are known. But the activity that defines a really good twirler is learning to spin a fire baton. About three times a summer the Spinners perform a fire baton routine. A fire baton has a metallic shaft with six pairs of holes near each end. The ends are made of a thick material, like rope, and are a cylindrical shape with a diameter of 5 centimeters. Each end of the baton is soaked in acetone for 10 to 15 minutes before being lit. "I had been anxious to do it for years, and the shock of seeing those flames was permanently engraved in my memory," said Jill Severson, twirler from North High School. "I remember thinking that my entire ponytail was going to go up in flames. I was unable to move my entire arm because I was literally frozen in place. Because both ends are on fire, the difficulty and amount of twirls the Spinners do in their fire baton routines is limited. Each year though, audiences keep coming back to watch the fire baton routines. As soon as the lights go off, a hush falls over the crowd and all the girls, even the veterans, begin to get butterflies. Older members know what can go wrong and often bark out last-minute commands: "Just keep the baton moving! As long as it is shaking the flames will stay away from your hands! Thanks to special precautions like sleeveless shirts, ponytails without hair spray and previous practice, no Spinners have been hurt by fire batons, although there have been minor grass fires over the years. One ill effect is that almost all the hair is singed off of the girls arms. "Our arms stink like burnt popcorn afterward, but the rest of it is a terrifying adrenaline rush.