UPDATE: Scorch is dead … in the end it was the firefighter who killed scorch
UPDATE 10-14-14
In the video above, Scorch the Flame downs a firefighter who dares to attack it with water. But in the end it is the firefighter who kills Scorch. The mascot for the AHL’s Adirondack Flames of Glens Falls, New York lived for just six days. His young life officially snuffed out today by team president Brian Petrovek.
Within hours of the debut of Scorch last Thursday, the hockey team was already apologizing for the young mascot’s actions in the video. Team officials quickly heard from those who didn’t like that there appeared to be a dead firefighter on the ground.
In addition, there were some questions over what role the local fire department had in the skit. The Glens Falls Fire Department issued its own statement saying that it denied the team’s request for a firefighter to be part of the event, but did lend out some PPE.
“We’re extinguishing Scorch,” Petrovek said in an interview on Tuesday. “The misjudgment we made was such that we came to that decision.”
Team officials said at the news conference that the Glens Falls Fire Department helped put together the skit.
The next day, the Glens Falls Fire Department issued a news release stating that the department’s only involvement was to loan the team firefighting gear.
“Our department had no prior knowledge of the event’s content or the design of the mascot,” the Fire Department said in the statement.
EARLIER 10-9-14
A hockey team has apologized just hours after revealing its new mascot. The AHL’s Adirondack Flames, a Calgary affiliate out of Glens Falls, New York, went for the obvious when they picked Scorch the Flame. But Scorch’s debut video (above) may have team officials rethinking the idea.
The video celebrates that Scorch was the lone surviving flame from a fire that destroyed Glens Falls 150-years-ago (read about the fire of May 31, 1864). But his story didn’t stop there.
Scorch went on to down a firefighter and that’s the part that some aren’t finding very endearing about this mascot. Here’s what Chris Peters a hockey writer at CBSSports.com had to say about it:
Well, it turns out that Scorch — the friendliest little ball of fire that ever was — overpowered the firefighter, leaving him on the ground. Wait, what?
People love seeing firefighters getting hurt by fire, right? And look at Scorch. He (or she) is pretty happy about what he (or she) did.
I’m not exactly sure what they were trying to go for here, but the family-friendly mascot injuring a first-responder as part of his (or her) origin story isn’t exactly going to be the most endearing tale to tell.
I doubt there was any ill intent here as the team probably just wanted a creative way to unveil their mascot, but this misses the mark in a pretty big way.
The team quickly got that message and team president Brian Petrovek sent out a message of his own:
Earlier today we unveiled our new mascot Scorch. In an attempt to provide background material for the character who will be the face of our team, particularly with young fans, we crafted a story that Scorch was the remaining ember from the tragic fire that destroyed much of Glens Falls in 1864.We also crafted a skit that helped to launch the new mascot – with the help of the Glens Falls Fire Department. While it seemed in good taste when it was on the drawing board, it is evident now that it was in poor taste.On behalf of our entire organization we want to apologize for our thoughtlessness today. We have obviously turned something good, the launch of a mascot which we will use to entertain and encourage young fans, into something that is in poor taste. That was not our intention and again we apologize.We would like to emphasize that we as an organization take seriously the dangers associated with fire, understand its potentially devastating effects and acknowledge that those in our nation who are called upon to face and fight fires on a daily basis are truly heroes.
