Tampa radio station’s turkey stunt outdoes fictional WKRP for stupidity & danger. It isn’t the first time for MJ Morning Show. Dave’s analysis of a really idiotic event.

(NOTE: What follows is comment and analysis and does represent the view of the person whose name is on this blog.)

“As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly!”

Above is probably the most famous line of the sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati.  It was uttered by station general manager Arthur Carlson (played by the late Gordon Jump, who I once did some lame acting with in a few scenes for a radio awards banquet video) in its sixth episode, airing on October 30, 1978. It was uttered after the station’s ill fated Thanksgiving promotion where live turkeys were dropped from a plane. But, of course, that was fiction (even though it appears to be based on some real events).

Now, 31-years-later, the line should be changed to, “As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fry”. This, after a real holiday stunt by a real radio station that is every bit as stupid and potentially  more dangerous than what the comedy writers came up with on WKRP.

As we reported yesterday (click here for the raw video and more), this time there aren’t a lot of people laughing. Certainly not Tampa Fire Rescue whose spokesman rather bluntly blasted the radio station, WFLZ, and the program MJ Morning Show.

Tampa Fire Rescue Captain Ken Licata likely isn’t laughing either. He was treated and released from the hospital after slipping and falling at the scene. (An earlier report of a civilian injury is apparently not correct.)

Here are some the quotes from the department spokesman Captain Bill Wade as told to  TBO.com:

“They wanted a fire. They had no permits, no proper safety crews. When the fire got going, they called the fire department.”

“I am very upset that this radio station chose to do this stunt in an unsafe manner, causing injury to a firefighter.”

The Florida State Fire Marshals office and the Tampa Fire Marshal are now investigating the incident.

You would think that with an injured firefighter, a van set on fire without any permits or fire crews standing by, and an investigation by people who can bring arson charges, the radio station might get the idea that not everyone is looking at this as the funny radio bit they have been portraying all day. Think again.

Under the headline “Fester’s Fire Fester Disaster!” on the station’s website is the following:

Fester finally did it! Just a few weeks ago Fester couldn’t even start a fire but this time it was a little too much. Fester let the fire get completely out of control and the fire department had to be called to extinguish the inferno.

Management has released a statement about the results of this public service demonstration:

Like we’ve done several times in the past, our intent was to show how dangerous it is to cook a turkey in this type of situation. We were prepared to extinguish a modest fire. Once the fire got out of control, we quickly called the fire department.

 Tommy Chuck

MJ Morning Show Program Director

The radio personality MJ (aka Todd Schnitt) apparently isn’t talking to reporters about the incident. He had plenty to say during the demonstration and on two previous turkey fryer demonstrations that were part of his radio show.

The earlier events (above and below) show that MJ and the other people involved won’t be able to use the excuse they didn’t know what would happen. In fact it seems pretty clear the burned up van is exactly what they expected and wanted to happen.

There are some obvious questions that come to mind. Did anyone at the radio station think this one through? Did the radio station just think it was perfectly fine to set things on fire? Was the Tampa Fire Marshal aware of the previous incidents and, if so, what was done about it (apparently some official warned the station in the past about burning)?.

There is very little that offends me when it comes to humor. I can laugh at an awful lot of things that aren’t politically correct or might bother other people. I tend to look for the humor in most everything and usually find it as long as it is the least bit inventive.

I just have just never found anything funny about setting things on fire. So, the way I see it, these people on the radio in Tampa not only likely broke the law and endangered people, they failed to do what they are paid to do: entertain.

I am not buying their claim this was a “public service demonstration”.

Now, if someone were to hold them accountable over this incident and even make them squirm a bit in the process, that is something that would put a smile on my face. It also would likely meet the goals of the MJ Morning Show and the suits at the radio station and provide them all with even more publicity than they received yesterday. 

Also on STATter911 …

• Quick Takes – December 21, 2009
• Rescue aboard ship in drydock. Video as Tampa crews deal with two workers overcome by fumes on Coast Guard vessel. – November 8, 2009
• Quick takes – November 9, 2009
• Dave gets set up and sucked in by two octogenarians. Firehouse jokesters and pranksters take a lesson from these two masters: Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner. – December 8, 2009