Stage rigging collapse kills 4 at Indiana State Fair

[Dennis Donovan]

Source: MSNBC

INDIANAPOLIS — At least four people were killed and a dozen were injured Saturday night when stage rigging collapsed after a storm gust, trapping and injuring fans at a Sugarland concert at the Indiana State Fair, officials said.

NBC station WTHR reported the outdoor stage was set up for the Sugarland concert at the state fairgrounds. Up to 200 were seated in a VIP area called the "Sugar Pit."

"It was like in slow motion, you couldn't believe it was actually happening," said concert-goer Amy Weathers.

Medics and rescue crews throughout Indianapolis were converging on the State Fairgrounds after the Hoosier Lottery Grandstand stage rigging fell.

Preparations were under way at 10 p.m. local time to inflate large air bags to lift the rigging from the track onto which it fell, the Indianapolis Star reported.


Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44133994/ns/local_news-indianapolis_in

---

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdpzTOTo_UI

[vercetti2021]

1. Damn

4 People dead now. Prayers to them and there families.

[virgogal]

2. Awful,hope everyone makes out okay.

[Lady President]

3. Update-- 4 killed

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44133994/ns/local_news-indianapolis_in/

So awful....

[Dennis Donovan]

6. Thanks for the better link!

:thumbsup:

[dana_b]

4. eek!!

I hope people will be alright. My best friend is a volunteer at the fair but I think she is at home (fingers crossed).

[madrchsod]

5. 4 dead according to the star

[gristy]

7. There was clearly a bad design or a bad installation.

Somebody's in a heap of trouble.

[laundry_queen]

8. Bad design

As in thin metal with large canopies that act as sails probably aren't meant to withstand any wind at all. This is the second time a collapse has happened this summer, and not the first time someone has died from it. There needs to be tougher safety standards and the stages need to be able to withstand storm winds.

[MadMaddie]

24. You are right but

the Republicans and their idiotic followers fight tooth and nail to stop any tighter regulation and inspections. So people die. Until enough people die nothing will change.....this is the idiotic world we live in....cuz Businesses are people too, thanks to the Roberst court.

[ShockediSay]

44. Nah, we don't need no job killing regulation. Kill

our citizens instead.

[AngryOldDem]

9. 4 dead, dozen hurt in Indiana State Fair collapse

Source: WTHR

INDIANAPOLIS - Four people were reportedly killed when a stage collapsed at a concert at the Indiana State Fair.

The stage was set up for the Sugarland concert at the state fairgrounds. Rigging for the stage lighting reportedly fell around 8:50 p.m., before the main act took the stage.

Police and fire crews believe they have everyone moved from the grandstand. A triage unit has been set up near the Hoosier Lottery exhibit at the fair. Other victims are also being transported to at least two area hospitals.



Read more: http://www.wthr.com/story/15262930/stage-collapses-at-state-fairgrounds

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The rigging fell forward onto people who were right up to the stage. There were some extremely bad storms in the area at the time -- wind gusts in some places as high as 70 mph.

Some people have severe head trauma.

[Drale]

10. It was probably do to the storms but

is it possible this had something to do with Repukes cutting screws out of the budget or something like that?

[AngryOldDem]

11. Right. I'm sure that's the reason.

:sarcasm:

You have no idea how bad this is.

[grahamhgreen]

18. It's a good reason to have strict regulations and union workers.

[Enrique]

33. also could be squeezing workers

fewer people doing the same amount of work.

I'll be interested to know if this was union or non-union.

[ChrisBorg]

43. Union.....IATSE local #30.."Setting the Stage for Over 100 Years"

[Strelnikov_]

12. Cheap Trick collapse a month or so ago

Again, in a storm.

http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/07/18/watch-stage-collapses-from-strong-winds-at-cheap-trick-concert/

Seems to me stage rigging standards need to be reviewed.

[laundry_queen]

16. It happened a couple of summers ago in Alberta

At the Big Valley Jamboree. Killed one woman. They called it a 'freak' accident at the time, but now with more collapses happening, especially during storms, they definitely have to review safety laws and make the stages able to withstand stronger winds. Just warning people about an upcoming storm is not enough - there are thousands of people in a small area and it takes awhile to evacuate them. Clearly, the stages need to be stronger.

[Strelnikov_]

19. 70 mph should be a minimum design standard

That means, at 70 mph, all structural loads have full factors of safety - the structure is safe at 70 mph.

Why 70 mph? These are temporary structures, and 70 mph peak winds seems to be getting common in the midwest during thunderstorms.

From the videos I see no cables that a structure like this should have had for lateral stability to get anywhere close to 70 mph.


As a society, we need to get smarter.

[MadMaddie]

25. You are correct

As a society we should get smarter but we have infilitrators in all levels of government that are destroying any regulations we have.....because of that more people are going to die.

[Chipper Chat]

31. This gust was clocked at 77 mph

[AtheistCrusader]

38. Gust exceeded that.

If it was built to 70mph, yes it MIGHT have stood. Might not too. Might have meant more wreckage to fall.

[laundry_queen]

42. That is why

it's also important for the organizers to be aware of the weather. At a MINIMUM whenever there is a severe thunderstorm warning, everyone should be cleared away from the stage area. Every time this has happened, I hear the same thing "the storm came on suddenly. We were caught off guard. yadayadayada." It is THEIR JOB to be aware of these things and it is THEIR JOB to clear the area in event of a warning. Too many people brush off warnings, not understanding just how fast a storm can come up ("we'll see how bad it gets" OMG!), and how there can be gust fronts. It is the organizer's/promoter's job to KNOW. In this case, they knew there was a thunderstorm warning, saw one coming and still didn't clear the area. I'm not talking about full evacuation, but at least the area around the stage, since there have been collapses during a gust front in the past that have killed people. The deaths in this case were 100% preventable.

[AtheistCrusader]

39. Yeah, this stage was up for 4 weeks.

Could have happened at any time.

Be nice if it had happened at 3am or something though. Sheesh.


I just went to Sugarland in Everett Wa, last month. Indoor concert. The Sugarland 'stage' is all self-supported and modular. They were rolling it out the door 5 minutes after the concert. The lights and speakers all belonged to the arena. Looked like that's what happened here as well. The stage was up for the fair for several weeks.

The accident may have been forseeable, but man, the timing is freakish. The band would have been utterly screwed, you can see the Incredible Machine stage screen and lights toppling right where most of the band stands/sits.

[tavalon]

13. Damn, that sucks

Kudos to the heroics all around, though. People didn't run away, they ran to help. This reflects well on the people there. My thoughts and prayers are with them all.

[Strelnikov_]

14. Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QFz7K5JFP4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdpzTOTo_UI

[UpInArms]

23. thanks - your second link shows the actual collapse

horrifying

:(

[Newsjock]

15. Live TV coverage

From WISH: http://www.wishtv.com/subindex/video/live_events_1

[Lady President]

17. Idiot Newscaster

I kid you not, the newscaster just said "If there can be a bright side, we needed the rain." OMG! What an absolute idiot!

[Canuckistanian]

20. Same thing happened in Ottawa a few weeks ago

Just as Cheap Trick was in the middle of their set.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/18/cheap-trick-stage-collapse-video_n_901576.html

[Webster Green]

21. It's pretty dangerous erecting temporary structures with large sheets of plastic attached.

I've built quite a few outdoor stages in the past. Covered stages are very tricky. They need to be rigged so that the plastic tarp or fabric has some air vents, and have fasteners that allow the covering to break away from the trusses if the wind gets too high. Better to lose the tarp and get rained on than have the thing collapse.

Seems like every time I ever got out a big piece of plastic , the wind would all of a sudden come up, right on cue.

[penndragon69]

22. Thank you Mitch Daniels.

This is on your head mitch!

With all your attacks on workers and collective bargaining,
is it any wonder the state fair used the cheapest non-union
out of state contractors they could find?

On the bright side, daniels is NOT running for president.

Safety....we don't need no stinking safety.

[dlankrine]

29. The stagehands at the State Fair ARE Union.

Actually, the Indiana Fair is an IATSE house. Not sure if they used an outside stage and roof rental or if it was provided by Sugarland's tour production company. My cousin is in local 30 there.

[ELY08]

34. Then you would know

I'm sure you will check back in when you find out.

[IamK]

30. not a Daniels fan you have no idea what you are talking about....

[parkia00]

32. Looks more like a bad design

The pillars looked lightweight steel plus I do not see any horizontal support connectors or reinforcement to strengthen sideways movement. Add large canvas acting as sails plus 77 mm/h wind gusts and you have a disaster waiting to happen. And physics does not care about union or nonunion workers.

[Crabby Appleton]

36. The stage is from Mid-America Sound in the Indianapolis area

http://midamericasound.com/

[AtheistCrusader]

37. I love how you just assume it was a non-union contract.

How's that foot taste?

[AngryOldDem]

40. A few points

1) The fair has been using this contractor for years -- I think I heard for at least 11 years. The fifth person who died, in fact, was an experienced stagehand who has done many such concerts like this one. He was at the top of the rigging working spotlights when it fell.

2)Right now no one knows exactly what happened, other than the obvious -- an extremely strong gust of wind came through and hit the stage so that it collapsed. It could be that in the end some human error was involved in the construction of the rigging, which could happen whether the workers who assembled the stage were union or not. Or, it could turn out that in the end, the structure could not have withstood the the wind no matter what.

I live in a northern suburb of Indy and I can say that last night's storm in terms of wind was the worst we've had all year. So I really take exception to outrightly blaming Daniels for this tragedy, "Repuke" or not.

3) If blame needs to be placed, it should be on the miscommunication between fair and state police officials and the crowd. An order to evacuate was given, but it came too late and was not worded forcefully enough that a lot of people heeded it. But then, the wind picked up so fast that there was really no time to act.

Sorry to interrupt the Daniels-GOP pile on with some facts.

[sfpcjock]

26. Shocking to see the huge structure collapse.

[BiggJawn]

27. That was a very strong, fast squall gust that came through the fairgrounds.

I was there, not in the grandstand, but still on the grounds. Pretty damn scary squall.

[Rhiannon12866]

28. Terrible news, top news story on TV just now.

Sounds like a nightmare, hope the numbers don't go up. x(

[underpants]

35. The Video is on Fox News - holy cow

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/08/13/four-killed-dozens-injured-as-stage-collapses-at-indiana-state-fair/

[sfpcjock]

41. It appears that the top right side of the blue canvas roof...

pulled away from the ridgepole and became a sail in the wind gust that pulled the stage to the right. It's quite distinct to see in the CNN footage.