FIRE HITS “DEATHLY HALLOWS” SET

A special-effects scene employing pyrotechnics for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows failed to come off as planned on Friday, but earlier reports that it caused costly damage to the studio itself and might result in production delays were denied today (Monday) by a spokesman for the production. “It was a big special effects scene. Unfortunately, there was a small fire as a result of that. As a precaution, we had already mobilized our own in-house fire team who had it under control. The fire brigade was called and it was put out in under an hour,” he said in a statement. He went on to say that the studio, Leavesden Film Studios near Watford, was not damaged by the fire and that plans had called for rebuilding the set anyway for the production of other scenes. Nevertheless a source told the British tabloid News of the World, “The special effects guys involved were devastated. There’s always a risk when there’s shooting involving fire and explosives but this shouldn’t have happened.” The stars of the movie were not present when the fire occurred, and none of the extras or crew members involved in the shoot was injured.