Another gust of wind up-ends a portable stage

2013-08-12 ~6:00PM - In Germany on the Island of Sylt, a mobile stage with a fold-out apron and pop-up canopy was caught by high winds and flipped on it's side.  No injuries were reported.  It is apparent from the video that there were no anchors employed to keep the stage secured to the ground - the staging company was relying on dumb-luck and gravity to do the job.

Video text translates as:
"On Sunday, about 18 O'clock, a strong gust of wind was recorded at the big event stage the Super Sail event, and it turned-over.  The stage was lying on it's back, there were no casualties. The Westerländer firefighters secured the structure, and salvaged the stage in the hours that followed."

Ocean + Wind-powered Boats = HIGH LIKELIHOOD FOR WIND.  This was foreseeable.

Wind Gust Topples Stage Canopy in Shelby North Carolina

2013-08-10 - Preparations for an evening concert were disrupted at the end of the sound check for one of the bands as a wind gust from an approaching storm blew the overhead lighting and canopy support trusses over.  A band member from The After had just stepped off of the stage when the structure toppled.  The show was set-up at the Cleveland County Fairgrounds near Shelby, North Carolina.

Picture Tweeted by The Afters

The picture from stage left shows a disturbing lack of safety preparation and recovery efforts.

• Workers appear to be wearing non-steel toe shoes, no hard-hats, and no gloves.
• The blue canopy is a light-weight 'pop-up' type with no anchorage or ballast weights.
• The main canopy truss was supported by telescoping material lifts (a more extensive discussion of this can be found at: www.jimonlight.com/2013/08/14/more-contradiction-in-the-shelby-stage-collapse-weather-equipment-negligence ) with no base anchors and had no cross-bracing, the canopy truss corners were lashed to the lifts with span-sets (seen in other pictures from http://www.wcnc.com/news/slideshows/Photos-Storms-blamed-for-Cleveland-Co-stage-collapse--219131761.html?gallery=y#/news/slideshows/Photos-Storms-blamed-for-Cleveland-Co-stage-collapse--219131761.html?gallery=y&img=7&c=y).  A reproduction of the Material Lift operation manual that clearly shows that these devices should not be utilized for supporting outdoor stage canopies can be see at Jim Hutchison's JimOnLight site: www.jimonlight.com/2013/08/12/another-structure-falls-stage-roof-made-from-genie-towers-collapses-in-north-carolina
• The stage is very similar to the stage deemed 'unsafe' by Pat Benatar's band at an event a few weeks ago (http://theatresafetyblog.blogspot.com/2013/06/gut-feeling-can-prevent-accidents.html).  Few cross-braces, no railings.
• 
  

The band’s opening act, The Afters, was doing a sound check around 3:30 p.m. when the wind picked up and the stage started shaking.

“This storm suddenly came in and suddenly I hear 'get off the stage!'” said The Afters’ lead singer Josh Havens, in a cell phone video shot by MercyMe lead singer Bart Millard.  “And we're running, jumping off the stage.”

MercyMe’s stage manager witnessed the collapse.  Joel Bench is used to setting up and taking down stages – just not like this.

“The wind just picked up, the roof lifted a little bit,” said Bench.  “Then it started tilting and just kind of eased down.”

“Luckily we had people watching and eyes on it, and they started screaming and everybody started running and took off safely,” he said.

Reports from the event tell of lightning in the area which should have caused the stage to have been evacuated long before the collapse occurred.  Lightning strike and weather warning applications for smart phones and dedicated lightning strike monitor tools (http://theatresafetyblog.blogspot.com/2010/01/weather-safety-for-outdoor-venues.html) are commonly available and should ALWAYS be monitored, especially if there are visible adverse weather conditions.

John Huntington's ControlGeek site has a thorough run-down on the actual weather conditions:
http://controlgeek.net/blog/2013/8/11/more-on-the-mercymethe-afters-cleveland-county-fairgrounds-stage-roof-collapse-for-mercy-me

Brittany Spangler, administrative assistant for the American Legion World Series, said “The World Series officials are all devastated, but in the end, it was safety first for the artists.  We’re sad, but you can’t really stop Mother Nature.  We weren’t aware that the winds were going to get that high.”  Commentary:  The venue should have had a weather service monitoring the local and regional weather.

Fortunately, no one was injured and the scheduled event that was expecting as many as 10,000 2,500 attendees was cancelled.  Hopefully, the event promoters and staging company have learned from this near-miss.

The way it is supposed to work - WORKS!

An outdoor show at Buffalo New York's Coca-Cola Field was cancelled due to threatening weather conditions on June 1st, 2012.  The event, featuring country music performer Eric Church, was delayed twice as the stage roof was lowered due to strong wind gusts, and after some of the stabilizing guy wires snapped, it was decided that it was too risky to continue with the show.

Other factors cited were increasing rain and lightning strikes in the area.  The cancellation set-off a few unruly responses from the crowd and some folding chairs were tossed onto the stage.

This is a great step forward in that the event organizers recognized that it would be better to postpone the event until a future date rather than risk injuries to performers, crew, or the audience.  The ticket holders will be given the opportunity to come back in a few weeks to see the show once it is rescheduled.

More information about the cancellation can be found here:
www.wyrk.com/eric-church-promises-free-makeup-show-in-buffalo-for-taste-of-country-2012-ticketholders-video/

And a formal statement from the event promoter is here:
www.wyrk.com/official-wyrk-statement-on-taste-of-country-2012-suspension-before-eric-churchs-set/

Whether or Not to Monitor Weather

To be, or not to be (rained-out, or sued out of business), that is the question.  As exemplified by recent weather-related event catastrophes, the monitoring of the local weather is no longer an option.  Sanity and safety dictate that event planners have accurate and knowledgeable weather experts closely monitoring the skies.

What better source for these experts than someone that lives dead-center in Tornado Alley - Norman Oklahoma.  WeatherOps is a subdivision of  Weather Decision Technologies, Inc., a global leader in providing state-of-the-science weather detection, nowcasting, and forecasting systems. WeatherOps is an live entertainment focused offering within WDT's range of services.  WeatherOps offers a staff of trained meteorologists that track weather as it pertains to a specific indoor or outdoor event.  They can provide forecasts and alerts that can be informational broadcast via Internet, SMS (text messages), mobile apps, and/or mobile push alerts.  Event managers have direct phone access to their meteorologists regardless of the time-of-day.

The popular music group Linkin Park has recognized the benefit of this type of service, and has contracted with WeatherOps to follow their 2012 Living Things tour.  WeatherOps will be providing the tour manager, Jim Digby, with color-coded emergency weather plans throughout the tour.  Digby is one of the founding members of the Event Safety Alliance.

Keep your events safer by proactive monitoring of weather activity by utilizing this, or other similar services.

Also see: www.theatresafetyblog.blogspot.com/2012/05/weather-resources-and-electrical-safety.html for a link to the Spring 2012 Protocol magazine article about event weather safety.

Indiana State Fair Tragedy Update - Commission Reports Released

Back in August of 2011 there was a collapse of the canopy over the stage at the Indiana State Fair (http://theatresafetyblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/updates-on-indiana-state-fair.html, http://theatresafetyblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/indiana-state-fair-stage-collapse-post.html) that resulted in the death of seven people and injuries to over fifty others.  The State of Indiana commissioned investigations to determine the root causes of the accident (or negligence) and these reports are now available to the public for review.  They can be found at www.in.gov/sfc.

PLASA Protocol Speaks-Out About Safety

The entertainment industry organization PLASA (recently joined with ESTA) offers free monthly magazine titled Protocol.  It's always chock-full of good information, and this month is no exception.  There are several good articles aimed directly at stage safety:

• Rich Wolpert and Delbert Hall’s Tech Tips column expands on Rigger's Fids in "Fids, Part 2" - If you don't know what a "rigger's fid" is, or want to know more about how to make and use them, this is a great series.
• Jim Utterback with Joe Aldridge, Eddie Raymond, and Alan Rowe following up with his on-going series on Safety, this one on "Risk Assessment”.
• Gary Justesen from Oasis Stage Werks writes about "Seeking Shelter From The Storm" and the inspection and operations protocols for Outdoor Stages with a sidebar discussion about event cancellation insurance by Neil Huff.
• Richard Cadena and Alan Rowe discuss "Lithium Battery Hazards" and how not to burst into flames while flying.

You can get your own subscription to this fine journal at:  http://na.plasa.org/publications/protocol.html and yes, you can read it on your mobile device, too, with reader apps available.

While you are there, cruise on over to  http://www.plasa.org/association/ and sign-up to be a PLASA member.

Industry Professionals Form Event Safety Alliance Organization

The creation of the Event Safety Alliance was announced to the public at the TourLink 2012 conference in Phoenix, Arizona during the open panel “Outdoor Show Safety Solutions” on January 28, 2012. This panel was moderated by Jim Digby and featured founding members of the Event Safety Alliance who represented all areas of our industry, from insurance coverage to structure fabrication.

The Event Safety Alliance is a group of entertainment industry leaders that have come together to address the immediate need for universal safety standards for the production of live events.  The newly formed group is based out of Austin, Texas and has posted a web site with more information.

Check them out and sign-up for their newsletter at: http://eventsafetyalliance.org/

They are also hooked-up with Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

The groups is so new they don't even have a logo yet [updated: see above!], the ink is still drying on the bits, but they are tackling event safety head-on and plan to publish a Best Practices Guide in the near future.

Indiana OSHA Fines Three Entities

[Updated - 2014-03-31 - 12:50PM CDT]
February 8, 2012.  Following investigations into the stage canopy collapse at the Indiana State Fair on August 13th of last year, IOSHA has filed fines against the canopy provider Mid-America Sound Corporation, The IATSE Local 30 that provided labor to erect the stage, and the Indiana State Fair Commission, sponsors of the event.

The IOSHA order against Mid-America Sound claims that MAS knowingly allowed the stage to be erected without cross bracing and failed to provide adequate documentation for the erectors.  MAS said that they will challenge the findings and is already producing documents that they had previously withheld

UPDATE 2014-03-31:  Mid-America Sound has agreed to pay a $50,000 fine for safety violations and has also agreed to additional staff training and a new safety plan for future events..  Indiana’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (IOSHA) orginally levied a fine of $63,000 against the company.

Michael Moon, attorney for Mid-America Sound, released the following statement via Borshoff, the company’s PR firm:

“On March 20, 2014, Mid-America Sound Corporation and the Department of Labor entered into an Agreed Entry resolving litigation that resulted from IOSHA's citations issued to Mid-America following the events of August 13, 2011 at the Indiana State Fair.  While Mid-America contested the appropriateness of the citations and made no admission of any wrongdoing by entering into the settlement, Mid-America believed that it was important to move forward in a cooperative effort with IOSHA and to avoid the costs and expenses of further litigation.”

Of particular concern was that IOSHA fined the Labor Union Local 30, which is not an employer, and claimed that they were acting as an employer of the stage hands that were injured and killed.  This charge is being vigorously disputed by the Union as they say they were only act as an agent to arrange labor resources.  However, unlike almost all other union offices, this local's officers actually operated a business entity that directly paid the laborers that were contracted to the Indiana State Fair.  If this charge is upheld, it will have a significant impact on the way this Local, and possibly others, is operated.

The State Fair Commission's fines were minimal and they were charged with failing to have an effective emergency plan in-place.  The fines were minimal because the State Fair Commission did not have any employees that were significantly injured in the event.

A little perspective:

This is just the beginning of the legal process.  The report from the forensic engineering firm that is analyzing the failed structure has not yet been published, nor has any other official assessments of the event.  The IOSHA orders are only addressing one small segment of the incident:  The labor relationship between the Employers and the Workers with regard to their safety.  It is not IOSHA's place to address injuries to the general public or the over-all failure of the State Fair Commission that administered the event.  To date, there have been numerous law suits and over 100 tort claims filed that are seeking compensation for the damages and loss of life.

This blogger was told that Sugarland, the band that was to have played that night, had first right of refusal to not play (although they did not assert that right), and they did not have the right to override the State Fair Commission and demand to play.  Being willing to play is not the same thing as demanding to play.  This places the burden of responsibility back on the State Fair Commission for not cancelling the show and clearing the fairgrounds in a timely manner.  It's always a contentious position to be in when one state agency is penalizing another state agency.

Interviews with the Indiana State Police Troopers that were in the scene before the storm struck also said that they were fully expecting the Commissioners to cancel the show in light of the incoming weather front, and were dismayed when the announcer only said that the show would be delayed.  Had they known that the State Fair management team was not securing the site, they could, and probably would have overridden their decision and forced the issue for the sake of public safety.  Unfortunately, that announcement was made hours too late, and the brunt of the storm plowed through the area just moments later.

Additional Resources:

Indy Star article:
http://www.indystar.com/article/20120208/NEWS05/120208016/Agency-cites-State-Fair-union-stage-collapse

Prior Blog Posts:
http://www.theatresafetyblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/alert-notice-on-temporary-structures.html
http://www.theatresafetyblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/indiana-legislature-posts-bill.html

Indiana Legislature posts Bill requiring outdoor stage inspections

The Indiana State Legislature posted a bill to require all venues statewide to have outdoor stage structures inspected by an engineer or other qualified person.  More information at:
http://theatreface.ning.com/profiles/blogs/follow-up-to-indiana-state-fair-stage-canopy-collapse

This may provide a model of other states to go-by as they develop their new regulations.  Maybe we can prevent a repeat of the last few summers of show disasters.

This is Our Summer of Discontent - Storm at Pukkelpop Festival Kills 5, Injures Over 140

2011-08-18 - Mother Nature racked-up another one today in Hasselt, Belgium.  A sever storm with high winds, hail up to 1/2" diameter, and LOTS of water made a shambles of the festival grounds and surrounding area.  There are trees uprooted and broken like toothpicks (and these are BIG trees, too), and reports of at least four stages and many tents destroyed.  Early pictures and videos show shredded tents, bent metal, and a crowd management nightmare.  More pictures here.
There were an estimated 60,000 people attending the shows, so there were few places to get in out of the down-poor and wind.  Many of those places were of questionable structural integrity being tents and portable buildings.  This was the first day of a three-day festival, and the venue was turned into mud and flooded areas in less than ten minutes.  Promoters attempted to bring-in mobile cranes to lift some of the damaged structures, but they had to postpone doing so because the heavy cranes were sinking into the soft ground.

One of those who watched a tent collapse was Laura Elegeert, 17, of Saint-Nicolas, Belgium.  She said "It was utter confusion, mass panic. People were trying to get out of this tent that collapsed by using their pocket knives and cutting holes in the fabric."

At a news conference Friday, Hasselt officials and festival organizers described weather conditions at the event's opening day as exceptional and said weather forecasters had not predicted a storm of that intensity.
The Belgian weather service refused to give the exact speed of the wind, saying only that the storm was "violent."

Images of the stage wings toppled-over show huge flat sail-like surfaces and no apparent counter-ballasts to secure the framework.
Skin, the lead singer of Skunk Anansie, which was performing on the main stage when the storm hit, described the chaos on the band's Facebook page. He said "a burning hot sunny day turned into a mini-hurricane."
"(A) tower fell onto our truck, we had to run for our lives mid-set as hail hit the stage and the wind began to tear it to pieces," he wrote. "This was the scariest moment I have ever seen or felt in my 20 years of being an artist."
ABC News coverage:  http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=14334480
Arial photos of the festival grounds the following day.  This really shows the scale of the event and the broad swath of downed trees, tents, and staging. http://album.hbvl.be/foto-album/p/3/ravage-na-drama-op-pukkelpop-luchtbeelden.aspx
This festival, and others in the region have incurred deaths in the past.  In 2000, nine people were crushed to death and 43 injured during a Pearl Jam concert, and last year 20 were killed and 342 injured during the Love Parade Festival in Duisberg, Germany.
Summer's not over yet, so let's all be careful out there!  Do you have a clear plan for a weather event?  Where to go?  Who to meet? Who to Call? When to 'call' the show?

"Well, here's another nice mess you've gotten me into!" - Ollie

StageCo has been sued in Texas state court by Christie Lites for damages sustained when a 90-foot lighting tower erected by StageCo collapsed prior to a nationally televised motocross event at the historic Fort Worth Stockyards in June, 2009.

Christie Lites, Plaintiff in the lawsuit styled Cause No. 096 246397 10; Christie Lites Dallas, Inc. d/b/a Christie Lites v. StageCo U.S., Inc.; In the 96th Judicial District Court in and for Tarrant County, Texas alleges that StageCo was negligent in the design and construction of the tower. A specialized lighting array and equipment owned by Christie Lites, elevated atop the tower was totally destroyed.

Christie Lites CEO Huntly Christie commented that it was extremely fortunate that the collapse of the tower occurred just days prior to the scheduled event, with only physical damage to the lighting array, grandstands, and general admission area.  Had the tower collapsed during the event it might have caused severe injury, and possible loss of life, to spectators and field personnel.  The tower collapse was initiated by wind gusts that blew as a storm passed through the area.  Engineering analysis of the structure, tie-downs, and other safety precautions have not been made public.

Christie Lites has an outstanding safety record in the industry.  Prior to this incident it has never had to take legal action against a fellow industry vendor.  Attempts to resolve this matter amicably have been frustrated since the filing of the lawsuit.

Tom Bilsen, Stageco Operations Manager states: “Stageco takes its responsibilities very seriously, we are fully insured, so all parties will be appropriately protected and reimbursed.  “Following this unfortunate incident we initiated our own investigation; there are multiple parties and multiple factors under consideration such as unpredicted wind gusts, and most importantly, there were no injuries. This law suit relates to the collapse of one of eight towers days before the event which took place as planned.  We anticipate the judges will need time to resolve this complex matter.”

Christie Lites is seeking actual damages in excess of $500,000, and to ensure that this type of incident does not jeopardize public safety for future events, $1,000,000 in punitive damages.  Actual damages likely include the actual cost and the lost revenue cost of the destroyed lighting equipment, and the extensive overtime labor required to clean-up the wreckage, ship-in new equipment, and set-up for the show a second time under a very compressed time-table.  There was no mention at this time of the costs or law suits by other show support vendors like those supplying the viewing stands, seating, or other nearby damaged structures.  The disassembly of a toppled structure is very hazardous, as well, and requires special precautions against additional worker injuries during the salvage and clean-up operations.

Inquiries or witnesses to the event should be directed to Scott Douglas Cunningham, The Cunningham Law Firm, 7500 San Felipe, Suite 1010, Houston, Texas; (713) 273-8950, counsel for Christie Lites.

The past few years have had numerous show tents, towers, and other venue structures that have been toppled by high winds and inadequate anchorage.  It should be no surprise that towers, canopies, and tents must be well secured against high winds.  Failure to provide adequate anchorage and structural integrity for temporary structures has resulted in numerous deaths, injuries, and significant property damage.

It is imperative that promoters, staging companies, and other industry professionals take note of the risks involved with outdoor events when it comes to the unpredictability of natural forces.  It is essential that someone be stationed where they can scan the horizon for threatening weather activity, have continuous access to weather radar reports, and have the authority to call a show and evacuate an event site should inclement conditions arise.  Event evacuation plans must have time-tables that estimate the amount of time required for an orderly egress from the venue, as you don't want patrons caught out in the open on the way to transportation or more robust shelters.

Physical threats to the public and staff alike include:

• Hail ( a 4" ball of ice can do a lot of damage!  This blogger was witness to the 1995 MayFest Hail Storm in Fort Worth where hundreds of people could not get to safe shelter and were pelted by enormous ice balls - see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1995_Mayfest_Storm)
• Wind (can blow people over and blow chairs, tables and other loose items into people)
• Lightning (can knock-out power and emergency power, and electrocute people)
• Rain (can provide a path for power to electrify nearby items, cause flooding of pathways and egress routes, and result in canopy collapses, cars and people being carried away in rushing water)
• Dust (kicked-up by wind, can temporarily blind and cause panic due to reduced visibility)

An any of these weather threats can instigate crowd mentality panic and rushing for exits, which, in turn, can cause people to push, shove, and possibly crush someone that has fallen into the path of the surging crowd.  Proper Emergency Crowd Control Planning is a must for outdoor events.

Related Posts:
http://theatresafetyblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/wind-gust-uplifts-festival-tent-six.html
http://theatresafetyblog.blogspot.com/2010/01/weather-safety-for-outdoor-venues.html
http://theatresafetyblog.blogspot.com/2009/08/1-dead-and-75-injured-at-canadian-music.html
http://theatresafetyblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/another-stage-tower-collapse.html

Weather Safety for Outdoor Venues

Here's a handy little device that just might save your bacon (or maybe keep it from becoming bacon).  ThunderBolt International (www.tbi-usa.com) has a portable lightning strike monitor that will detect storms up to 75 miles away and provide you with an ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival).  This last summer saw way too many outdoor shows that were devastated by storms that resulted in serious injuries and deaths.

This information in combination with a live weather map from NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - www.noaa.gov) or other reliable weather reporting source can provide you with advance warning of incoming weather fronts.  You can also get portable weather stations that can accurately monitor local wind speeds and barometric pressure drops - just enter "weather station" into your internet search engine and you will find plenty of information.

Don't wait until the last minute to clear the stage and audience.  Plan now for a safe summer tour season.