By Jason Schreiber
The Union Leader
HAMPTON, N.H. — Kali Burns says he’s always had a good sense of humor.
So when his friends dared him to suit up in his gorilla costume as a neighbor’s house burned, the 6-foot-4, 280-pound pool installer threw it on and hit the street.
To some it may have seemed like the absolute worst time to be chest-thumping up and down the street like a gorilla, but the 24-year-old jokester didn’t see anything wrong with it.
“I saw all the kids out there and they were down,” Burns said yesterday. “As soon as I put it on, they started laughing.”
Burns’ ape-like antics during last Thursday’s fire at 15 M St. were caught on camera, and a photograph of him watching firefighters in his gorilla suit with a fire victim by his side hasn’t gone unnoticed. In fact, it’s now gone viral on the Internet.
The picture was first published with a story about the fire on UnionLeader.com. In this age of social networking, it didn’t take long for the photo to begin making the rounds on Twitter and Facebook.
It has since spread to countless blogs around the world, including Web sites for The Huffington Post and long-time syndicated humor columnist Dave Barry.
Bloggers have had a field day poking fun at Burns’ bizarre appearance at the fire scene. Just as many have found humor in a matter-of-fact caption that accompanied the photo. The caption identified Burns as the neighbor and stated that he dressed like a gorilla, but never explained why he was wearing the suit. A brief explanation was given in the story that accompanied the photo, but in many cases, only the photo and the caption have circulated the Web, leaving many to wonder why Burns showed up as a gorilla.
The headline on a post about the photo published on The Huffington Post’s Web site reads: “Gorilla-Costume-Clad Neighbor Creates Today’s Great Moment in Photojournalism.”
A writer for the “Out of Bounds” blog on NBC Sports’ Web site joked that the photo and caption “might just be the best combination of a bizarre photo and supremely hilarious (yet accurate) caption in the history of reporting.”
Someone created a multiple choice question that is now being tweeted that asks: The house next door is on fire. Do you: a) Call 911, b) Alert other neighbors, or c) Get the gorilla suit on?”
Burns is well aware of the jokes that have filled cyberspace and the airwaves, but he doesn’t seem to mind. His friends started calling Friday when the crew on WHEB’s “Morning Buzz” began joking about the gorilla guy on the Portsmouth radio station.
“He’s a celebrity now I guess,” said M Street neighbor Jay Ditucci, who was among those who dared Burns to wear the costume.
The sight of a gorilla is nothing new to residents of N and M streets.
“He just runs up and down the street in his suit. It’s all for fun,” said M Street resident Kathy Bernard, another neighbor who was in on the dare.
Last week was the first time he wore the suit to a fire. But after boosting the spirits of the children and other spectators who watched the fire, Burns said he plans to show up at more fire scenes.
However, he said he’ll make sure not to interfere with firefighters.
“I’ll wait until after the fire’s out,” he said, “and then I’ll put it on.”
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