Storms sweep through midwest, one event attendee killed when tent collapses

Wood Dale, Illinois - Sunday, August 2, 2015, about 2:40PM - Like many summer storms, this one popped-up quick, dumped rain and hail, and blew hard.  Unfortunately, the city of Wood Dale didn't learn any lessons from the numerous storm-related disasters over the past few years, and completely failed to evacuate the Prairie Fest site before the weather hit.  There was a Junior High School immediately adjacent to the event site that could have been used as a durable shelter.  A tent structure on the site was filled with about 100 festival goers seeking cover from the onslaught of hail, and then the wind up-ended the tent tearing it from it's anchors.  One of the main tent support poles fell and struck 35 year old Steven Nincic in the head and killed him.  He is survived by his wife of three years and two daughters.

Other events in the region had watched the weather front more closely and had evacuation plans prepared and in effect.  Winds of up to 60mph were reported in the area.  The festival site is very close to Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, so presumably excellent weather radar feeds were available for monitoring had the city elected to do so.  The city claims to have had an emergency plan, but no sign of it being implemented was visible.

First Responders had to cut through the tent to get to people trapped under the wreckage.  The remainder of the festival was cancelled after the weather passed, as police and ambulances came to treat the numerous injuries.

Lawyers for the family of Steven Nincic are filing an injunction to keep the tent site intact until a complete investigation can be completed, but many vendors and carnival ride owners have already packed-up and left.  An attorney representing the family released a statement contending that “the true tragedy” is that incidents such as the tent upheaval “are not only potentially predictable,” but “preventable with prudent caution and control of events in the face of available meteorological information.”  Attorney Louis C. Cairo said the weather and “the propriety of the tent materials and its installation” will be “litigated extensively.”

The city said that the tent was supplied by a vendor, and it had been inspected for electrical compliance, but not structural integrity.  This blogger finds this information to be more of a smoke screen to deflect attention away from the lack of weather monitoring and assigning someone the authority to close-down the event and evacuate people to hard shelters.  A safety plan, when implemented, reduces the need to rely on an emergency plan.  Safety plans address issues before they get to the point of being an emergency.

Eye on Safety: Bubbly Foam Injures party-goers' eyes

Foam Party (not subject incident)

On May 26, 2012, the Collier County Health Department was notified by law enforcement and hospital personnel that approximately 40 persons had sought care at local emergency departments because of severe eye irritation and pain. Patients reported that they had attended a foam party at a local nightclub the night before. Syndromic surveillance activities carried out by the Florida Department of Health identified 35 patients who had visited an emergency department in Collier County on May 26 with a chief complaint related to eye injuries.

Foam Party (not subject incident)

At foam parties, soapy foam is sprayed onto the dance floor while participants dance. The foam is distributed from blowers on the ground or attached to the ceiling, and several feet of foam can accumulate. Foam parties can last for several hours while foam is dispersed intermittently throughout the night. Products used at these events to produce foam contain ingredients similar to those in soaps and shampoos, such as sodium lauryl sulfate. Some formulations used at foam parties are proprietary, and chemicals, chemical compositions, and concentrations are unknown. For use at a foam party, the product is purchased in a highly concentrated form and diluted with water before use. This was the third foam party of the year at this nightclub.

An investigation was initiated by the Florida Department of Health to determine the extent and severity of the injuries. Using contact information obtained from medical records, patients were contacted and interviewed over the telephone. An incident-specific questionnaire was developed to obtain information on demographics, foam party attendance, foam exposures, potential risk factors, symptoms and injuries, medical care received, and previous foam party experiences. Additional attendees were identified by asking interviewees if they had attended the party with another person, and if so, were they willing to provide the contact information for them.

Foam Party (not subject incident)

Medical record abstractions in Collier County hospitals identified 30 cases of injury related to the foam party. Interviews, contacts provided by local law offices, and additional medical record abstractions from ophthalmology clinics, urgent-care centers, and neighboring county hospitals led to the identification of an additional 26 cases. A total of 56 persons meeting the case definition were identified during the investigation out of approximately 350 persons thought to have attended the party. Thus, an estimated 16% of attendees suffered eye injuries as a result of this event, and 43 (76.8%) of them received medical care.

In all cases, injured persons reported getting foam in their face, with 44 (96%) of interviewed persons reporting eye exposure. Almost 90% of interviewed persons reported rubbing their eyes after exposure to the foam. Eye irritation (94.6%), severe eye pain (91.1%), pink eye/redness (87.5%), decreased visual acuity (81.3%), and conjunctivitis (76.8%) were the most common injuries (Table). Of note, half of the cases (38) were diagnosed with abrasions of the cornea. For those persons who sought medical care, the average number of visits was 3.2. In 11 cases, patient's visual acuity could not be tested in at least one eye during their initial medical-care visit because they were unable to open their eye or read the first letter of the chart. Among persons interviewed, the average duration of symptoms was 7 days, ranging from less than 1 hour to more than one month. In seven cases, symptoms had not completely resolved at the time of the interview (i.e., more than one month after the injury).

Although some persons experienced minor eye irritations related to foam exposure, many experienced more serious eye injuries, such as decreased visual acuity (39), conjunctivitis (43), and corneal abrasions (28). This investigation highlights the range and potential seriousness of eye injuries that can result from exposure to foamed atmospheric effects used in the entertainment industry.

The entire report can be found at:  www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6233a5.htm

Not discussed by the CDC, but equally important, is the likelihood of slip and fall injuries.  The foam can conceal trip hazards, and persons falling-over can strike hard edges or sharp corners of railings, tables, and chairs, and fall down stairways.  Additionally, someone that falls down may not be seen by other participants or Crowd Managers, and cold be trampled or create additional trip hazards.

Remember what your momma used to say:  It's all fun and games until someone gets their eye poked-out!

Event Planner fails to recognise crowd motivation risks - 20 injured in mele.

Friday, August 9, 2013 - Event Planners for Korean cell phone manufacturer LG Electronics failed to do a thorough risk analysis for a promotional stunt and twenty people ended-up injured, with seven being sent to the hospital.

It idea was to release helium-filled balloons in an open park, and each balloon would have a voucher that could be redeemed for a new smart phone that was valued at KRW 950,000 Korean Won (~$851 US).  Enthusiastic attendees planned their assaults on the balloons in advance and arrived at the event with sharp sticks, BB Guns, and knives on poles.  The ensuing melee after 100 balloons were launched was a disaster when greed over-took common sense.

"LG Electronics deeply regrets that a number of Korean participants were injured during an outdoor promotional event in Seoul, [South] Korea," a statement from the firm said.

"We can confirm that seven participants were hospitalised and, although none of the injuries were serious, LG takes full responsibility for the unfortunate situation and has offered to cover all related medical expenses.

"LG is investigating the incident to ensure that such an occurrence can be avoided in the future."

The company added that other planned events had been called-off because of concerns for attendees safety.

One regional TV channel has dubbed the event "World War G" - a comparison to the film World War Z in which zombies scramble over each other to climb over a wall.  The new phone is a model G2.

Phone:  Smart.
Event Planner:  Not so smart.

Never underestimate the motivational power of of greed.

UK Purple Guide Revision Draft Open for Comment

The UK's guide to event operations and safety, also known as HSG195, has been under revision for the past half year, and the committee's work is now available for public input.  The open comment period will last until the end of October 2013, after which all comments received will be reviewed for integration.

Covering both legislation and good practice, this new guide has been designed to alert and inform both event organizers and suppliers to the practices and issues that need to be considered when events are being organized. The contents are not designed to be prescriptive, and those using this guide should undertake risk assessments and evaluations that are appropriate to evaluate the specific requirements of the unique events they are planning.

The Purple Guide to Health, Safety and Welfare at Music and Other Events (Draft) can be found here:

www.thepurpleguide.co.uk

IAVM Offers Event Safety Training Classes

The IAVM’s mission is to educate venue managers and their staff on the best practices for crowd management and venue safety and preparedness.

Staff training is a key to a safe and quick evacuation or emergency response. Visitors will look to event staff for guidance in an emergency.  Venue staff needs to regularly practice their part in evacuation or emergency response processes.  Make certain new employees learn their role in emergency situations.  The y must know how to communicate procedures to all building staff and volunteers including: food service personnel, performers and crews, contractors, and other vendor staff not directly involved in emergency preparedness.  The NFPA’s Life Safety Code 101 requires one “Trained Crowd Manager” per 250 occupants.  IAVM offers an on-line training class to meet this requirement.  Information about this program can be found at: www.trainedcrowdmanager.com

Nightclub Fire in Brazil kills 235, injures over 140

The following report is excerpted from an article in by Associated Press writer JULIANA BARBASSA Original content here:  http://news.yahoo.com/no-alarm-only-1-exit-brazil-nightclub-fire-002812171.html 

SANTA MARIA, Brazil (AP) — The nightclub Kiss was hot, steamy from the press of beer-fueled bodies dancing close. The Brazilian country band on stage was whipping the young crowd into a frenzy, launching into another fast-paced, accordion-driven tune and lighting flares that spewed silver sparks into the air.

It was another Saturday night in Santa Maria, a university town of about 260,000 on Brazil's southernmost tip.

Then, in the pre-dawn hours of Sunday morning, January 27th, it turned into a scene of indescribable horror as sparks lit a fire in the soundproofing material above the stage, churning out black, toxic smoke as flames raced through the former beer warehouse, killing 233 people.

Picture Tweeted just as the blaze started

"I was right there, so even though I was far from the door, at least I realized something was wrong," said Rodrigo Rizzi, a first-year nursing student who was next to the stage when the fire broke out and watched the tragedy unfold, horror-stricken and helpless.

"Others, who couldn't see the stage, never had a chance. They never saw it coming."

A security guard said afterward that the club was at its estimated maximum capacity of between 1,000 and 2,000 people.

There was no fire alarm, no sprinklers, no fire escape. In violation of state safety codes, fire extinguishers were not spaced every 1,500 square feet, and there was only one exit.

As the city buried its young Monday, questions were raised about whether Brazil is up to the task of ensuring the safety in venues for the World Cup next year, and the Olympics in 2016. Four people were arrested for questioning, including two band members and the nightclub's co-owner.

Rizzi hadn't even planned on going out that night. He was talked into it by friends and knew dozens at the club. He said the first sign of a problem was insulation dripping above the stage.

The flames at that point were barely noticeable, just tiny tongues lapping at the flammable material. The band's singer, Marcelo dos Santos, noticed it and tried to put out the smoldering embers by squirting water from a bottle.

The show kept going. Then, as the ceiling continued to ooze hot molten foam, dos Santos grabbed the drummer's water bottle and aimed it at the fire. That didn't work either, Rizzi said. A security guard handed the band leader a fire extinguisher. He aimed, but nothing came out; the extinguisher didn't work.

At that point, Rizzi said, the singer motioned to the band to get out. Rizzi calmly made his way to the door — the club's only exit — still thinking it was a small fire that would quickly be controlled.

The cavernous building was divided into several sections, including a pub and a VIP lounge — and hundreds of the college students and teenagers crammed in couldn't see the stage. They continued to drink and dance, unaware of the danger spreading above them.

Then, the place became an inferno.

The band members who headed straight for the door lived. One, Danilo Brauner, went back to get his accordion, and never made it out.

The air turned dense and dark with smoke; there was no light, nothing pointing to the single exit. Rizzi found himself clawing through a panicked crowd that surged blindly toward the door.

"I was halfway across the floor, I could see the door, but the air turned black with this thick smoke," he said. "I couldn't breathe. People started to panic and run toward the door. They were falling, screaming, pulling at each other."

The manager, meanwhile, was outside dealing with a drunk and belligerent young man. No one there had any inkling of the desperate scene unfolding just beyond Kiss' black, sound-proof double doors, said taxi driver Edson Schifelbain, who was in his car, waiting for passengers.

A security guard poked his head out and said there was a fight. A fraction of a second later, someone inside yelled "Fire!" The manager opened the doors and it was like opening the gates of hell, Schifelbain said. 

Young men and women, mouths and eyes blackened with soot, clothes tattered, tumbled out screaming and crying. Some ran right over his taxi and two other cabs parked nearby, breaking mirrors, windshields, bashing in the doors. Horrified, he realized his cab was in their way, but couldn't move it because there were bodies hunched over it, collapsed in front of the tires, everywhere.

"The horror I saw in their faces, the terror, I'll never forget," he said. Two girls gasping for air climbed into his car, and as soon as he was able, he sped the six miles (10 kilometers) to the university hospital.

"One of them was crying all the way, screaming, 'My friend is dying,'" he said. "I did what I could. I don't know what happened to those girls." 

Inside the club, metal barriers meant to organize the lines of people entering and leaving became traps, corralling desperate patrons within yards of the exit. Bodies piled up against the grates, smothered and broken by the crushing mob.

Rizzi was stuck, unable to move, taking in gulps of smoke, feeling the gaseous mix burn his lungs.

He was within seconds of passing out, he said, when the whole frenzied mass suddenly lurched forward. The gates gave way, and everyone toppled over. Rizzi was lying on top of two or three people, several more heaped on top of him. He stuck out his hands, smacking them against the sidewalk and door.

Someone pulled him to safety. "To get out, I climbed, I pulled people's hair. I felt other people grabbing me, hitting me in the face," he said. "It's hard to describe the horror. But once I was outside, I recovered, and started pulling out the others."

Soon, he said, the street was a sea of bodies.

This was the scene 24-year-old Gabriel Barcellos Disconzi found when he arrived about 3:30 a.m., an hour after fire broke out. Wakened by a phone call from friends, the club regular immediately started pulling out bodies as smoke spewed so thick that entering the building was unthinkable. 

Using sledgehammers and picks and their bare hands, he and other young men broke down the walls. Born and bred in Santa Maria, the outgoing young lawyer had dozens of friends and acquaintances inside.

"It was all so fast, there was no time for anything, no time for crying over a friend," he said. "It was dead people over here, living over there. Body after body after body."

Both Rizzi and Disconzi were there when they broke into one of the bathrooms and found a tableau of nearly indescribable desperation: It was crammed with bodies, tangled and tossed like dolls, piled as high as Rizzi's chest. In the darkness and confusion, concert-goers had rushed into the bathroom thinking it was an exit. They died, crushed and airless in the dark.

"I'll never forget the wall of people," Rizzi said. Disconzi helped load them into a truck. Just the dead jammed into that bathroom filled an entire truck, he said.

By this time, the city was waking up to the dimension of the tragedy unfolding at its heart. Doctors, nurses and psychologists began arriving, giving immediate assistance — checking eyes and respiratory passages, stabilizing the burned, resuscitating those whose hearts had stopped or lungs had failed because of the smoke. The living they loaded into ambulances. The mounting number of dead went into trucks.

At Charity Hospital, the region's largest, "It was a war scene," said Dr. Ronald Bossemeyer, the technical director. "Trying to give care, comfort the living, and keep family members who started to arrive from overwhelming everything — it was madness," he said, choking back tears. "The wounded, the doctors, people running with saline, with oxygen. We've never seen so many patients." 

As families waited, nurses and technicians ran back and forth, bringing an earring, a shoe, a wallet, anything that could help identify those still living, Bossemeyer said.

As doctors were at work saving those who could be saved, a group of mothers was calling around to check on one another. Elaine Marques Goncalves woke up to that terrible question: Do you know where your child is? 

With a jolt, she realized two of her sons, Gustavo and Deivis, had not come home the night before. "I knew they'd gone to a club, but I didn't know which one," she said. Trying to keep calm, she joined the multitude pressing for news outside the hospital.

Hours later, she got some good news: Gustavo had burns on 20 percent of his body and had suffered two heart attacks as his lungs failed to draw oxygen, but he was alive and being flown to the state capital, Porto Alegre, for treatment. 

"I had time to put my hands on him and say, 'My dear, your mother is here with you,'" she said. "He was sedated, but I know he could hear. Then I had to tear myself away and go find my other son."

Hours passed as the dead piled up in the city gym. It took an entire day of anguish before she learned what she'd dreaded most: Deivis was dead.

As he lay there among basketball hoops and water coolers, one body among so many, she asked the questions on everyone's mind.

"How can a club just burn like that? People have to know what happened here," she said. "It won't bring back my son, but I have to ask. This nightclub was beyond capacity. The whole world has to know. Why couldn't they get out?"

*********************

Police were questioning the club's owner and interviewing witnesses as part of an investigation into what caused the blaze, state-run Agencia Brasil reported.

The club's license had expired in August and had not been renewed, local fire official Moises da Silva Fuchs told Globo TV.

In total, at least 235 [as of 1/30/2013] died - almost an even number of men and women - while over 140 people were treated in hospitals, Reuters reported.

Reinaldo Azevedo, writing on the Veja news website, asked why the fire department had previously approved a venue with only one exit. "Our grief must also exercise wrath," he wrote. "This is not a tragedy manufactured by chance. It is the work of a chain of negligence."

Ongoing updates about this event can be found at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Maria_nightclub_fire 

A good commentary and news summary from the Ingorsoll-Rand Door Hardware Company's blog site I Dig Hardware: http://idighardware.com/2013/01/kiss-nightclub-santa-maria-brazil/

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1940 - Rhythm Nightclub, Natchez, Mississippi - 209 fatalities.

1942 - Coconut Grove Nightclub - Boston, Massachusetts - 492 deaths.

1977 - Beverly Hills Supper Club - Southgate, Kentucky - 165 dead.

1981 - Stardust Nightclub - Dublin, Ireland - 48 killed.

1996 - Ozone Disco Pub - Quezon City, Phillipines - 162 died.

In 2000, 309 people were killed in a fire at club in Luoyang, China. 

2003 - Epitome Nightclub - Chicago, Illinois - 21 fatalities.

A 2003 nightclub fire killed 100 people in Rhode Island at The Station Nightclub after the rock band Great White illegally used pyrotechnics that ignited combustible foam soundproofing that lined the walls and ceilings of the venue.


Another celebration where fireworks ignited ceiling décor occurred in Buenos Aires, Argentina's República Cromagnon nightclub in 2004; the death toll there was 194.

A 2009 fire at the Lame Horse nightclub in Perm, Russia, was caused by fireworks igniting plastic decorations on the ceiling; 152 died as a result.

Event Live Expo 2013 Plans Full Day Of Safety Workshops

The Event Live Expo and Summit this February 5 thru 7, 2013 in Los Angeles, California looks to be a tremendous resource for Event Safety information.  The organizers have planned six Summit sessions to fill the second day of the expo (February 6th) and numerous elements of event planning and execution will be addressed.  A run-down of the day can be found at:

www.eventlive-expo.com/2013-program Click on the DAY 2 tab.

General information and registration for the conference can be found at: www.eventlive-expo.com

Killer Show - Not your normal night out.

Author and Lawyer John Barylic has summarized the events that led up-to and resulted in the 2003 fire that killed 100 people at The Station Nightclub in East Warwick, Rhode Island.  His book summarizes the mounds of documents researched on behalf of the families of those injured and killed that fateful night.

The story of the fire, its causes, and its legal and human-tragedy aftermath, is one of human lives put at risk by petty economic decisions – by a band, club owners, promoters, building inspectors and product manufacturers. Any one of those decisions could have potentially avoided the tragedy. Together, however, they formed a fatal critical mass.

Information about his book can be found at www.killershowbook.com

The site include reviews of the book, photos from the event, and links to interviews.

Photo Credit:  Daniel Davidson (Copyright holder)

Other interesting links about this event:

NIST Disaster and Failure Studies:
www.nist.gov/el/disasterstudies/fire/station_nightclub_fire_2003.cfm

NFPA Case Study: Nightclub Fires:
www.nfpa.org/assets/files/pdf/research/case_study_nightclub_fires.pdf

Fire Engineering Magazine:
www.fireengineering.com/articles/print/volume-165/issue-1/features/station-nightclub-fire-revisiting-lessons-p1.html

New Reports on 2011 Ottawa BluesFest Staging Collapse

More than a year after the incident (http://theatresafetyblog.blogspot.com/2011/07/ottawa-bluesfest-stage-canopy-collapes.html), a report assessing the damage, probable causes of the damage, and outlining recommendations to prevent a repeat of the day has been published.  Writer Chris Cobb of the Ottawa Citizen newspaper has obtained a copy of the report and summarized it in an article published on November 19, 2012 (www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Finger+points+stage+owner+collapse/7568244/story.html).

The previous day he also published a summary of first-hand accounts by people present during the incident. The article 'Stage fright' can be found here:  www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Stage+fright/7561428/story.html

Photo by: Sandra Luty

One of the key causes of the collapse was determined to be that the stage crew could not remove the stage canopy fabric walls in time to unload the structure from the winds.  The panel ties had been previously removed due to a storm a week earlier, and when the fabric wall panels were reattached, they were re-secured with plastic zip-ties that were too tough to cut with a knife.

OSHA Urges Black Friday Crowd Management

WASHINGTON -- OSHA is encouraging retail employers to take precautions to prevent worker injuries during Black Friday and other major sales events during the holiday season.

In 2008, a worker was trampled to death while a mob of shoppers rushed through the doors of a large store to take advantage of an after-Thanksgiving Day Black Friday sales event. OSHA recommends that retailers follow certain safeguards against this type of tragedy.

"Crowd control [management] and proper planning are critical to preventing injuries and deaths," said Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health. "OSHA urges retailers to adopt a crowd management plan during the holiday shopping season that includes a few simple guidelines."

Crowd Management plans should include:

• On-site trained security personnel or police officers.
• Barricades or rope lines for pedestrians that do not start right in front of the venue's entrance.
• Implementing crowd management measures well in advance of customers arriving at the event.
• Emergency procedures in place to address potential dangers.
• Explaining approach and entrance procedures to the arriving public.
• Not allowing additional customers to enter the venue when it reaches its Maximum Occupancy level (NO SRO for spaces with fixed seating).
• Not blocking or locking of exit doors.

A fact sheet outlining these and other safety measures is available at www.osha.gov/OshDoc/data_General_Facts/Crowd_Control.html.

A letter that OSHA has sent to major retailers about preventing crowd-related injuries can be viewed at www.osha.gov/asst-sec/blackfriday_letter_2012.html.

Comments on this subject from Dr. Michaels are available for radio stations to rebroadcast.  To download the audio file, or view a transcript, visit www.osha.gov/ooc/previous-focus.html.

A crowd management guide can be downloaded from: http://forms.valorsecurity.com/rs/smsholdingscorporation/images/vss_crowd_management_guide.pdf

The National Retail Federation has also published an Effective Crowd Management Guide that can be found at: http://www.nrf.com/effectivecrowdmanagement/2012/#/0

ZOMBIE HAZARD

When it comes to OSHA compliance,  proper workplace signage can be your first line of defense against being cited for failure to post hazard communications.  The October DuraLabel newsletter hits the nail on the [zombie's] head this month, and they have been so kind as to allow us to re-post their timely information here.

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Hazard check for October:  Maintain walkways to eliminate soggy leaves; adjust outdoor lighting; get brake jobs for auto fleet; and most importantly – protect your workers from zombie invasions.

As the undead begin to encroach during the waning daylight hours, it’s critical to make sure your safety signs are OSHA-compliant.  OSHA’s primary hazard classifications for danger, warning, caution, and biohazard are designed to be noticed – important when you want to ensure your employees show up for work alive the next day.  Use the following information to keep your employees safe, and at the same time avoid being cited by OSHA.

DANGER

Danger signs indicate an immediate hazard which, if not avoided, will result in death or serious injury.  Danger signs should be reserved for the most serious hazards and signify special precautions are necessary.

The DANGER signal word is printed in  white letters on a red background  and preceded by the safety alert symbol.  The message panel, beneath the signal word, is where the safety message is printed, usually in black or red over white.  You can also print in white over a black safety panel.  Pictograms may be used to help workers recognize hazards sooner and from safe distances.

WARNING

Warning signs are one hazard level below danger signs.  They describe a hazard which, if not avoided, could result in death or serious injury.

The WARNING signal word is written in  black on an orange background  header and proceeded by a safety alert symbol.  The text in the message panel may be printed in white letters on a black panel or black letters on a white panel.  Warning signs and labels can be any size and printed in a landscape or portrait format.  Keep in mind, alternative design and color options should only be used to improve worker comprehension.

CAUTION

A caution sign indicates a potentially hazardous situation which, if not avoided, may result in minor or moderate injury.  Caution signs are used in areas where potential injury or equipment damage is possible, or to caution against unsafe practices.  Caution signs should only be used if there is a risk of personal injury.

The CAUTION signal word is written in  black letters on a yellow background  and is preceded by a safety alert symbol, except when used for a non-personal injury.  The message panel below the signal word contains the safety message and any additional safety symbols.  Everything printed inside the message panel is black text on white or white text on black.

BIOHAZARD

OSHA 1910.1459(e)(4) states, “The biological hazard warnings shall be used to signify the actual or potential presence of a biohazard and to identify equipment, containers, rooms, materials, experimental animals, or combinations thereof, which contain, or are contaminated with, viable hazardous agents… presenting a risk or potential risk to the well-being of man.”  The symbol design must conform with the example shown and contain the word “BIOHAZARD" or “BIOLOGICAL HAZARD.”

The biohazard symbol can be black, fluorescent orange, or an orange-red color.  Background color is optional as long as there is sufficient contrast for the biohazard symbol to be clearly defined.  A biohazard can also be indicated on a danger or warning sign and may include the safety alert symbol.  If incapacitated zombies are strewn about your work area, they should be tagged with biohazard signs.

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Not included the DuraNews article was the correct use of ANSI NOTICE signs, so:

NOTICE

A notice sign provides information regarding operational policies.  Notice signs are used to inform workers about operational procedures that may affect safety or to instruct workers that specific PPE is required in the workplace.

Notice signs may include other graphic symbols to convey intent.  The NOTICE signal word is written in  white letters on a blue background , or  blue letters on a white background .  The message panel below the signal word contains the policy message and any additional safety symbols.  Everything printed inside the message panel is black text on white.

For more information about signage, labels, and markers that are useful around your production environment, go to DuraLabel's web site.

Protecting Performers AND the Audience

Unruly spectators can pose a risk to themselves, those around them, crew, and performers.  In rowdy rock concerts with drugs and/or alcohol added to the mix, it can be even more unpredictable.  On May 24, 2010, the lead singer for the heavy metal band Lamb of God, was performing in Abaton, a nightclub in Prague, Czech Republic.

In the course of the show, fans were allegedly enticed to come onstage and dive into the audience for a little body surfing.  Things got out of control and one patron went off of the stage backwards and was not caught by the crowd.  He supposedly struck his head on the floor, but was able to get-up and walk out of the club.  He later collapsed, was taken to the hospital, and remained in a comma for several weeks before dying.

The band's promoter said that they had not heard anything about the pending arrest and had booked dates without any knowledge that the performer might be held accountable for the incident.  The lead singer, Blythe, was arrested June 27th, 2012 as he entered the country to promote the bands newest album.  Blythe has been held by the Czech Republic police awaiting a bail bond hearing since entering the country.  He has been charged with manslaughter.  Several web sites have followed the incident and some have posted cell-phone videos from that night's concert.  Depending who you believe, it may have been an accident, or there may have been other people involved or responsible for the circumstances.

It is important that performers can work safely on stage and not worry about being assaulted by guests, and it is incumbent upon venue managers to see that proper controls are placed between artists and fans.

 ---------------------------------

However, it is not just artists and fans that require protection, either -- on October 30th, 2004 there was an incident in a Dallas, Texas nightclub where the lead guitarist Vince Neil (formerly with the rock band MÖTLEY CRÜE was unhappy with the stage monitor mix operator.
After motioning for for more guitar volume during his headlining set at Gilley's Dallas, Neil ran across the stage, leaped onto the monitor mix sound board and swung a leg at sound man Michael Talbert, but missed; then Neil struck him with a "closed fist."

Talbert, who was looking down, saw only the monitor mixing console and Neil's foot next to him before losing consciousness for about 45 seconds after Neil's punch knocked him to the ground.  He said a CT scan revealed that he had suffered a mild concussion. "He tried to kick me and missed, took a swing and connected.  He clocked me pretty good on my eyeball," said Talbert, who works at Gilley's. "He just went cuckoo nutso."  An arrest warrant was later issued for Neil

More information can be found at:

www.rollingstone.com/music/news/lamb-of-god-singer-still-imprisoned-in-czech-republic-20120705

www.randyblythe.posterous.com

www.blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=176308

Related Blog Post:

theatresafetyblog.blogspot.com/2011/09/performers-need-some-limits-and.html

Crowd Management Must Be Proactive, Not Reactive

For whatever reason, celebrity appearances seem to bring-out the hysteria in fans, photographers, and sometimes even in those assigned to protect them.  Current pop icon Justin Beiber seems to fill that role today, as a string of appearances has left many injured in his wake.  Perusing the internet will reveal numerous press items that describe crowd management issues that should not have occurred.

In Santiago, Chile, Justin was to stay at a hotel prior to a local appearance.  His trip was delayed a day, but the crowd outside the hotel didn't know it.  Something triggered them to believe he was on premise and they pushed past a weak perimeter to swarm forward and overwhelm the hotel staff.  The event was captured on tape by someone in the hotel.

 

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At an autograph signing appearance in a Macy's department store, an undercover policeman perceived the throngs of fans to be a threat, and attempted to move Mr. Beiber away.  Due to lack of security coordination and the plain clothes dress of the policeman, the private security company and Mr. Beiber fought-off the policeman thinking he was the threat.  Eventually, the policeman identified himself and charged one of the private security guards with interfering with police business.  The charges were later dropped.

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A recent appearance in Norway on May 30, 2012, lead to Oslo police nearly declaring a state of emergency as tens of thousands of teenage Bieber fans descended on the city, mobbing the streets.

Mayor Stang said it got so chaotic that he had to hide behind a tree at one point to avoid getting trampled.

After 49 teenage girls were injured in the fandemonium, and 14 were taken by ambulance for emergency care, Oslo's mayor launched an investigation into the near-catastrophic event.  No one was seriously injured, but Mayor Fabian Stang complained: "I have already called on the Emergency Planning Agency to examine the entire event from the planning stage to its implementation. We have to find out what went wrong and why it happened.  No state of emergency was ever declared." Camilla Bjorn, a VGTV reporter in Oslo, told E! News. "However, there has been a ton of critique towards official police and Universal Music [Bieber's label] because they were not prepared.  They had not taken into consideration the chaos that could occur."

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When you have guest appearances of pop stars or controversial people, it is vital that security and crowd management be closely coordinated and advised of the types of behaviors that might manifest themselves.  Review of prior event issues with the celebrities' advance team is helpful, as they can help local officials to better understand what to expect.  There can always be a gap in perception between older administrators and younger fans, and between city or state officials and those parties that may hold strong emotions about issues related to the celebrities, whether they are artistic, political, or even criminal (hooligans bent on anarchy or property damage or theft under the cover of crowd chaos).