Red Mile fire dancer recovering from burns with help from Calgarians
Gregory Morton badly burned his hand while performing on the Red Mile last week
There's been an outpouring of support from Calgarians for a local fire dancer who badly burned his hand while performing on the Red Mile last Tuesday.
Thousands of dollars have been raised on a crowdfunding website to help cover Gregory Morton's medical bills.
Complete strangers are even offering support in the way of meals and child care for his son.
Still in hospital, and unable to work, the fire dancer and photographer says he couldn't be more grateful.
"The support that we've received from everybody, from our friends and family and even people that we've never even met before that just stepped up from the community, has been just spectacular and so unexpected and I think it really shows the strength of the city and the people here," he said.
Safety important
Morton will find out soon if he needs skin grafts — and says once he's healed he will decide if he wants to continue practicing the daredevil sport.
While his injuries were a close call, he and his family want to point out that safety is one of the most important components of fire dancing.
Spinning and throwing sticks on fire into the air is an act Morton has performed thousands of times, but he caught on fire after spilling lighter fluid on his hands while moving from one performance location to another.
"People who go skydiving, or ride motorcycles, there's always a danger there and this is something that we do as an art form," said Morton's wife Sydney Mielke. "And we want to share this with people as entertainment, but we don't want it to have any negative backlashes on our community."