Halestorm were given quite a scare in the wee hours of January 20th when they awoke in their hotel beds to news that their tour bus was engulfed in flames. Thankfully, no members of the band or their crew were injured, and no valuable belongings were destroyed, but photos and video of the wreckage show that the interior of the vehicle was completely devastated. The experience was particularly harrowing for frontwoman Lzzy Hale, because up until now, her and her brother, drummer Arejay, frequently opted to sleep in the van instead of bunking in hotel rooms. Breaking from that tradition this time was quite literally life-saving.
"I've hanging somewhere in between hysterical laughter and bursting into tears all day," Lzzy wrote on Instagram. "Our bus caught fire last night around 3 a.m.. Nobody was hurt. But the what ifs are real. Both my little brother Arejay and I are notorious bus sleepers, almost always choosing the bus over hotel rooms. We have both sworn off this as of today of course."
She continued, "I'm so grateful to the Worcester fire dept. They are rockstars! And a huge thank you to our wonderful security guy Steve Barbola who braved the flames to make sure none of us were on board (he also rescued my 1991 Les Paul Custom). Tonight we will be savoring every moment on stage like never before. The universe hasn't found a way to get rid of us yet!"
Arejay also shared his own account of the inferno and expressed his gratitude that everyone in their crew is safe and sound. Accompanying his message are numerous photos of the aftermath, which depict scorched walls, burned-out appliances and bunk beds that have ominously been reduced to black soot.
"I woke up to my tour manager, Mike, calling me at 3 a.m. to make sure I wasn't sleeping on the bus," he wrote. "Our head of security, Steve, heroically ran into the burning bus with a fire extinguisher to make sure nobody was sleeping in their bunk. According to him, as he looked under the door, the bunk hall was an inferno and he saw 15 to 20 foot flames rising out of the top of the bus.
"We're all so grateful to the Worcester Fire Department for their bravery, and incredibly thankful everyone is OK. To all my fellow touring people, take bus fire and all touring safety protocols seriously! And of course thank all of you out there for your love and best wishes! Come pandemic, snow storms and now BUS FIRES you can't stop us no matter what life will hurl at us! See you at the next show!"
Halestorm proceeded to play their show last night in Worcester, MA, and will finish out their tour with Evanescence tonight in Newark, NJ. See the Hale's Instagram posts about the bus fire below.
