It was meant to build confidence, but 30 managers of the KFC fast food restaurant were left nursing sore feet after a firewalk did not go as planned. Twenty people were taken to Hunter Valley hospitals, seven with deep burns to their feet and 13 with less serious injuries, after the bonding exercise went wrong. Ten others were treated by the 11 ambulance crews called to scene just after 2pm. Among those taken to hospital was KFC's Australian chief, Roger Eaton.. The accident took place on the last day of a motivational conference for 180 NSW KFC bosses at the Horizons golf resort at Salamander Bay, Port Stephens. The firewalking exercise, which is undertaken by many companies, was one of the last of the program, and was supposed to build confidence in the managers. It was voluntary. Angus Armstrong, a legal spokesman for Tricon Restaurant Australia, which runs the KFC franchise in Australia, said last night that the firm regarded the safety of its staff above all, and was at a loss to explain what went wrong. Both Tricon and WorkCover have begun investigations into the incident. Mr Armstrong said an independent company conducted the firewalking exercise and KFC had used it twice before without incident. He said the seven people taken to John Hunter Hospital, among them Mr Eaton, were initially feared to have serious burns, but their burns had been found not to be so severe. "We have been told that they will be released overnight. We are very pleased to hear that they are not as severe," he said. Mr Armstrong said it was "totally unacceptable" that anyone should get hurt, adding that Tricon Restaurants "will be reviewing the types of exercises" it conducts at future conferences. Horizons' marketing manager, Lisa Taylor, declined yesterday to name the company which organised the fire-walking activity. She said the resort hosted various corporate groups for motivational seminars but Horizon had nothing to do with the programs. "[It was] a private company taking part in a motivational team-building exercise run by a professional third party," she said.FROM http://smh.com.au/news/0202/28/national/national19.html PJ O'Rourke said something memorable about the colonel,you might find here...http://www.avalon.net/~drno/pjq.htm
