Explosion and Fire at Burbank dubbing studio?

[Rodgre]

I just saw a report on the local (Boston) news about an explosion and fire at a Burbank, CA recording studio.

The best I could find was one mention of it on the net, stating it was International Recording Corp (IRC) which is a film dubbing studio.

Anyone have any info on it?

Roger

[brew]

let's hope they weren't mousing around with their external clocks...

be careful guys!

[dubold]

Isn't old film insanely flammable? As in, it must be hermetically sealed in old mineshafts or something?

-d

[housepig]

Isn't old film insanely flammable? As in, it must be hermetically sealed in old mineshafts or something?

yeah, but that's like pre-1940 film... and most film from that era has either been transferred to newer stock, or was destroyed during the war to reclaim silver from the stock, or has already burned up in various warehouse fires.

not to say there's not any out there - but I'd be really surprised if that was the cause of the dubbing studio fire.

[Berolzheimer]

Holy shit I have to find out about this- IRC has the biggest pile of old Ampex MM1000 parts I've ever seen, lots of other interesting stuff too- I'll check in later & report what I find out.
I hope Bill's OK.

[Berolzheimer]

Here's what I found in the Sunday LA DAily News:
Damn, all those racks full of big old McIntosh power amps....Quad eight modules....a Euphonics System 5.....

Blast rocks studio

Facility damaged by loud explosion

By Susan Abram
Staff Writer

BURBANK -- A powerful explosion early Sunday at a recording studio shook windows of nearby homes and apartments and sent debris flying within a half-mile radius of the burning building.

No one was injured in the blast, which ignited a fire that sent out plumes of smoke at the large brick structure at First Street and Santa Anita Avenue near the Golden State Freeway.

About 75 firefighters from Burbank and Glendale used ladder trucks to bring the blaze under control at International Recording Corp., which re-records film soundtracks.

The explosion was reported at 8:17 a.m., said Burbank Fire Capt. Ron Bell. No one was inside the structure at the time of the blast, he said.

Fiberglass insulation, sheets of roofing material and metal were strewn over streets and on rooftops of nearby businesses.

"The first thing we saw was fire on the roof, and we could see that debris flew in a half-mile radius," Bell said. "We don't know the nature of the explosion, and we don't want to walk into a building that's unsafe."

Residents from as far as three blocks away said the explosion caused windows to shake. One resident said the explosion seemed to have expelled the air from inside her home.

"It woke me up, and the whole building shook," said Vincent Rodricks, who owns a martial arts studio one block away.

Fire officials said the cause of the explosion was under investigation, though early reports indicate it was accidental. The cost of the damage was unclear Sunday, but Burbank Fire Marshall Dave Starr said it was in the millions.

The major portion of the fire was knocked down about 10 a.m., but Starr said firefighters continued to work on spot fires and other hot spots well into Sunday night.

International Recording Corp. specializes in large-scale feature films. It is one of the largest and last remaining independent studios that re-records film soundtracks, and lists "Dances With Wolves," as one of its contributions, according to the company's Web site.

[orphanaudio]

I was inside on monday after the fire and recovered the Euphonix System-5 control surface for the owner. The B stage itself, miraculously survived with only the rear wall and 30 feet of roof destroyed and 4 to 6 inches of water on the floor. With the exception of the gear in the racks behind the Euphonix in the B stage, and some bits and pieces in protected areas around the building, the place is a total loss. Almost the entire roof collapsed from the explosion or burned and fell on the gear below. The heat was intense enough in the upstairs machine room to melt the aluminum front panels on the Euphonix DSP cores. Most of the gear that survived in areas away from the B stage, was protected by debris that fell around and on top, and shielded it from fire or water damage.
The most tragic loss is Bill's collection of classic 70mm film prints.

A beautiful 60plus input custom film console based on B&B (later Aphex) EQF-1 eq,s and a hybrid variation of the Quad Eight CA-127 card amp for bus and drive amps on Stage A, was utterly destroyed along with its Flying faders system. The ADR console constucted by Bud Bennet is still buried under tons of debris from the collapsed roof beams. I have not heard if Bill will rebuild.


Orphan Audio

[wayne kerr]

Well, now a week too late, it's finally raining down here. As a guy who just closed his studio in North Hollywood like spitting distance from Burbank, I must say I nearly ate my own puke when I heard the story on the radio in a hazy slumber.

SMH