Chapel Hill Fire officials are asking residents to avoid bonfires should a celebration on Franklin Street be in store following a potential Carolina victory on Saturday night.
Rushing Franklin Street and shutting off downtown Chapel Hill with revelers is a tradition following significant UNC victories, but emergency officials are warning that bonfires have the potential to turn tragic quickly.
UNC alumnus Blake Tedder said in a video distributed through the Chapel Hill Fire Department’s social media channels that not only are the bonfires dangerous, they are unnecessary.
Celebrations last a night; burn scars last a lifetime. @BlakeTedder, @UNC '07, says celebrating with your fellow #TarHeels is special enough. Don't ruin a perfect night with the dangers of a bonfire. #BeatDook @UNCFireSafety @CarrboroFire pic.twitter.com/YouVH2JwAA
— Chapel Hill Fire (@ChapelHillFD) March 6, 2019
“I had a full Carolina experience as a Tar Heel,” Tedder said. “I am so proud to be a Tar Heel. I didn’t have to take part in the bonfire to feel that and to feel my connection to 2005 and 2009 [national championships].
“I still get the fuzzies when I see Sean May on the sideline.”
Tedder is a burn survivor following a plane crash in Colorado. He spent several months in the UNC Burn Center for treatment.
If the third-ranked Tar Heels beat the fourth-ranked Blue Devils on Saturday night, you can be sure that a celebration will shut down Frnaklin Street for some time. But fire officials are asking that bonfires not be part of that enjoyment.
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