Geauga County: Guinness World 'up in flames' record set Saturday

SOUTH RUSSELL -- Just after 8 p.m. Saturday night on Bell Road here in Geauga County, 16 men and one woman set a new Guinness Book of World Records record for the most people performing a full body burn simultaneously.

The old record was 12 people for 20 seconds set on Dec. 30, 2008, in Madrid, Spain. The new record is now 17 people for 43.9 seconds in South Russell, Ohio, USA.

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The group was organized by Ted Batchelor, of Chagrin Falls, and the Ohio Burn Unit.

Batchelor and the eight burn unit members, headed by Schuyler White, are professional stuntmen. The eight others were just ordinary people trying to do something extraordinary.

They have all practiced and been set on fire individually over the past 8 months in preparation for this.

Those who had themselves set on fire were: Nina Gilkey, Forest Martin, Jeff Germek, Michael Hallock, Greg Findley, Mike Lawrence, John Thome Jr., Brad Theiss, Charles Linck, Schuyler White, Colby Forlani, Jon Mitchell, Ralph Bosak, the Rev. Mark Simone, Batchelor, Jessie Zander and Michael Andrew Bank.

About 1,000 spectators were on hand to watch the record attempt, according to organizers.

Danny Girton Jr, of the New York City office of Guinness World records, was also on hand and verified the record on the spot.

None of the participants sustained even a slight burn. A temporary plaque was presented moments after the new record was set.

Permanent plaques will be forwarded to each of the 17 involved in the upcoming weeks.

Nina Gilkey, the sole woman to make the attempt, and the Rev. Mark Simone, of The Federated Church in Chagrin Falls, are both cancer survivors.

Just before the burn, Simone said, "I survived cancer. I can survive this."

This isn't Batchelor's first world record.

The 2007 Guinness Book of Records features a full-page picture of Batchelor sitting in a chair while totally engulfed in flames without the aid of an oxygen tank for two minutes and 38 seconds.

In 1976, when Batchelor was a junior at Chagrin Falls High School, he made a bet with some classmates. That was to set himself on fire under the Main Street bridge and dive off the historic falls.

He did it and won the money.