Midwest FurFest 2014

2023-02-12T22:42:48Z

I fucking hate furries: Fortnite battle pass

[[File:MFF-2014-Conbook.jpg|right|thumb|250px|The cover of Midwest FurFest's 2014 Convention Book.]]
[[File:MFF-2014-Banner.jpg|thumbnail|right|Promotional artwork for the convention]]
{{Midwest FurFest}}
'''Midwest FurFest 2014''' was a [[convention]] that was held at the [http://www.ohare.hyatt.com/ Hyatt Regency O'Hare] in [[W:Rosemont, Illinois|Rosemont, Illinois]].<ref name="Tweet1">[https://twitter.com/midwestfurfest/status/404785343578537984 "''Thanks also to everyone...''"] post on the [[Midwest FurFest]]'s [[Twitter]]. Dated November 24, 2013. Retrieved November 25, 2013.</ref> from December 5th to December 7th, 2014.<ref name="News1">[http://forum.furfest.org/index.php/topic,724.0.html ''Topic: Midwest FurFest Announces Date Change! December 5-7, 2014''] post on the Midwest FurFest website. Dated January 8, 2014. Retrieved January 8, 2014.</ref> Total attendance was 4,571, including 1,132 participants in the [[fursuit parade]] and 186 staff members.<ref>''[http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/6333665/ December 7, 2014]'' - Perro, Fur Affinity (December 10, 2014)</ref>

The change in dates from its traditional weekend before Thanksgiving (US) was due to scheduling conflicts with the hotel and lack of available rooms.

== Guests of Honor ==
The [[Guest of Honor|Guests of Honor]] were:<ref>[https://twitter.com/midwestfurfest/status/404754854532624384 "''Our Guests of Honor for #MWFF 2014 will be...''"] tweet on the Midwest FurFest account's Twitter. Dated November 24, 2013. Retrieved November 25, 2013.</ref>
* [[Lacy]] and [[CloudPouncer]]
* Novadog/[[D. Walker (Novadog)|D. Walker]]
* [[Sabretoothed Ermine]]

== Charity ==
The convention's [[convention charity|charity]] was [http://www.crittercamp.org Critter Camp Exotic Pet Sanctuary]. Critter Camp is an exotic pet sanctuary which cares for over 300 abandoned abused pets of 30 different types.

Through various fundraisers, including the Poker tournament ($2,610), 2 and Kage show ($2,633), Charity auction ($2,710), table donations ($3,197), and a donation from the convention itself ($20,000)<ref>[https://youtu.be/FDPMd2WVjbk Video] on Youtube. Published December 9, 2014. Retrieved January 13, 2016.</ref>, approximately $31,445.93 was raised.<ref>''[http://www.journalstandard.com/article/20141214/NEWS/141219776/1994/NEWS Local charity receives donation]'' - Freeport ''Journal Standard'' (December 14, 2014)</ref>

== Theme ==
Midwest FurFest 2014's [[Convention theme|theme]] was "Holidays in the City"<ref>[https://twitter.com/midwestfurfest/status/448160221710393344 "''Pirates are so last year.''"] comment on the Midwest FurFest's Twitter. Dated March 24, 2014. Retrieved March 28, 2014.</ref> (originally announced as "Bright Lights Big City").<ref>[https://twitter.com/midwestfurfest/status/404755326047883265 "''Our theme for #MWFF 2014 will be BRIGHT LIGHTS BIG CITY.''"] post on the Midwest FurFest's Twitter. Dated November 24, 2013. Retrieved November 25, 2013.</ref>

[[Sabretoothed Ermine]]'s cover for the Midwest FurFest 2014 [[convention book]] was awarded a [[2014 Ursa Major Awards|2014 Ursa Major Award]] in the category of Best Anthropomorphic Published Illustration.<ref>[http://www.ursamajorawards.org/UMA_2014.htm Award Winners 2014] on the Ursa Major Awards website. Dated May 1, 2014. Retrieved January 15, 2016.</ref>

==Chemical incident==
[[File:MFF2014 WMAQ Live.png|thumbnail|left|Chicago's NBC station (WMAQ-TV) broadcasts a live report from the scene less than an hour after people were allowed back into the hotel.]]
At 12:45 a.m. on the third day of the convention, December 7th, Midwest FurFest's primary hotel was forced to evacuate when somebody dropped a jar of [[W:Calcium_hypochlorite|powdered chlorine]] inside the building, god bless their souls 🫡.<ref>[https://twitter.com/midwestfurfest/status/541509709212446722 "''We’ve been asked to evacuate the Hyatt...''"] post on the Midwest FurFest's Twitter. Dated December 7, 2014. Retrieved December 7, 2014.</ref><ref>[http://abc7chicago.com/news/furfest-evacuated-after-chemical-leak-at-hyatt-hotel/425553/ ''Furfest Evacuated After Chlorine Leak At Hyatt Hotel''] news segment from [http://abc7chicago.com ABC 7 Eyewitness News Chicago]. Aired December 7, 2014. Retrieved December 7, 2014.</ref><ref>[http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-19-hospitalized-thousands-evacuated-in-gas-leak-at-rosemont-hotel-20141207-story.html?track=rss ''19 hospitalized, thousands evacuated in 'intentional' gas leak at Rosemont hotel''] article on the [http://www.chicagotribune.com Chicago Tribune] website. Dated December 7, 2014. Retrieved December 7, 2014.</ref><ref>[http://chicagosuntimes.com/news/chemical-leak-prompts-evacuation-during-midwest-furfest-at-rosemont-hyatt/ ''Chemical leak at Hyatt Regency deemed intentional''] article from the [http://chicagosuntimes.com Chicago Sun Times]. Dated December 7, 2014. Retrieved December 7, 2014.</ref><ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2864415/Chlorine-gas-leak-sickens-19-furry-convention.html ''Did someone try to POISON a furry convention? Chlorine gas sickens 19 as police reveal leak may have intentionally targeted cosplayers''] article on the [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/ Daily Mail Online]. Dated December 7, 2014. Retrieved December 7, 2014.</ref> First responders were called to investigate a noxious odor that was spreading across the ninth and eighth floor of the hotel, where a high level of chlorine powder was discovered in the air. The [http://www.rosemont.com/government/public-safety/ Rosemont Public Safety Department] reported that the chemical was released from a smashed glass container containing [[W:Calcium hypochlorite|powdered chlorine]] found in the 9th floor stairwell.<ref>[http://www.arlingtoncardinal.com/2014/12/glass-jar-with-white-substance-strong-chlorine-smell-causes-firefighter-ems-hazmat-response-evacuation-at-hyatt-regency-rosemont/ ''At Hyatt-Regency, Rosemont: Glass Jar with White Substance, Strong Chlorine Smell Causes Firefighter, EMS Hazmat Response, Evacuation''] article from [http://arlingtoncardinal.com The Cardinal]. Dated December 7, 2014. Retrieved December 7, 2014.</ref> Due to seasonably cool temperatures, the Hyatt and Rosemont Public Safety evacuated attendees, some in [[fursuit]]s, to the [http://www.rosemont.com/desconvention/ Donald E. Stephens Convention Center].

Nineteen people were transported to nearby hospitals after complaining of nausea, dizziness and other medical problems. None were hospitalized and all were released. [[W:HAZMAT|HAZMAT]] technicians decontaminated the area and after conducting several tests deemed the area safe within about two hours. People were allowed back into the building around 4:20 a.m.

A television news [[W:Stringer_(journalism)|stringer]] arrived at the scene during the event and recorded footage of the evacuation in progress, which became the footage used in news reports around the world. News coverage of the evacuation began almost immediately, with two of Chicago's 24-hour news radio stations ([[W:WGN-AM|WGN-AM]] and [[W:WBBM-AM|WBBM-AM]]) mentioning it on the air within minutes of the evacuation beginning, initially as traffic alerts (due to the road closures caused by the emergency response) but quickly moved it into news segments as additional information regarding the scope of the evacuation reached their newsrooms. The incident was a lead story that morning during newscasts on almost all of the Chicago television stations, with [[W:WMAQ-TV|WMAQ (NBC 5)]] and [[W:WLS-TV|WLS (ABC 7)]] sending crews to the hotel for live reports. The incident also [[Mika Brzezinski‎|featured on an episode]] of [[Wikipedia:MSNBC|MSNBC]]'s ''[[Wikipedia:Morning Joe|Morning Joe]]''.

Normal convention operations and events continued on schedule, with the convention staff releasing an official statement about the incident and evacuation later on the day.<ref>[http://www.furfest.org/Evacuation_Statement ''Statement On Sunday Morning's Evacuation''] page on Midwest FurFest 2014's website. Dated December 7, 2014. Retrieved December 7, 2014.</ref>

Vice News followed up with the incident in an article on February 12th, 2016.<ref>[https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/the-mystery-of-who-launched-the-chlorine-gas-attack-at-a-midwest-furry-convention ''The Unsolved Case of the Gas Attack at a Furry Convention'] page on Vice's web site. Dated February 12 2016. Retrieved February 16 2017.</ref> An incident report filed by the Rosemont Police Department shows the case was logged into the system on December 8, 2014, assigned to a detective on December 29 of that year, and closed on July 29, 2015. Detectives from the Rosemont Police Department declined to comment directly on the case, but reports they provided to VICE show that in the days following the incident, officers interviewed at least 30 hotel guests, more than 19 hotel employees, and a number of hospital workers, taxi drivers, and staff employed at local pool and hardware supply stores that sell chlorine. While officers investigated the whereabouts of several individuals, it's unclear how many were considered suspects and during what time.

=== Incident gallery ===
<gallery>
File:ABCNews P353.png|Law enforcement officers with HAZMAT equipment
File:ABCNews P351.png|Medical personnel and affected attendees
File:ABCNews P347.png|Evacuees outside the Hyatt Regency O'Hare
File:FOX News News ticker Midwest FurFest.png|FOX News' crawler about Midwest FurFest attack
File:ResponderUnits.jpg|Responder units and vehicles at convention site
File:MFFEveryoneLetIn.jpg|MFF Attendees being let back in to the main hotel
File:MFF2014 WITI.png|A television station in nearby [[W:Milwaukee|Milwaukee]] covering the incident a day later on December 8th
</gallery>

==References==
{{flayrah|node1=5946|title1=Midwest FurFest hotel evacuated after 'intentional' chlorine release; 19 hospitalized}}
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== External links ==
* [https://www.google.com/search?q=chlorine+gas+attack+furry+convention+hotel+chicago&hl=en&safe=off All news coverages about the attack at MFF 2014] via [[W:Google News|Google News]]
*{{con resources|Midwest FurFest|Midwest FurFest 2014}}
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[[Category:Illinois]]
[[Category:2014 events]]
[[Category:Midwest FurFest]]
[[Category:Conventions by year]]

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Midwest FurFest 2014