Fair Stage Likely Never Officially Inspected Before Collapse

[RamboLiberal]

Source: theindychannel.com

INDIANAPOLIS -- The stage that collapsed at the Indiana State Fair on Saturday, killing five people and injuring 45 others, likely never had an official inspection, 6News has learned.

The Indiana Department of Homeland Security, which oversees fire and building safety, inspects rides, fire extinguishers and fire exits, does not inspect temporary structures, like stages, 6News' Kara Kenney reported.

"That's not part of what we do as part of the inspection process," said agency spokesman John Erickson.

The city of Indianapolis requires a permit for temporary structures, but inspectors do not have the authority to permit or inspect state-owned properties, like the fairgrounds.



Read more: http://www.theindychannel.com/news/28874635/detail.html

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In most states at fairs, concerts, and festivals thunderstorms with wind gusts and microbursts are always a risk - these stages need to be engineered, inspected & certified to withstand this kind of event!

The wind-driven stage collapse that killed five people at the Indiana State Fair over the weekend was at least the third accident involving outdoor stages this summer, and it's fueling calls for more uniform inspections and a faster response by concert organizers to threatening weather.

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Outdoor stages like the one that collapsed are engineering feats: They must be portable and lightweight, yet support the weight of tens of thousands of pounds of equipment.

Industry standards for determining safe wind speeds are voluntary, and the building codes in many cities don't give much guidance on temporary structures of this sort.

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Engineers say concert organizers can easily underestimate the danger created by a thunderstorm. Still, officials at engineering firms that design outdoor stages said Monday they were surprised by the collapse. A stage built to industry standards should have withstood such a gust, they said.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904253204576510771791562838.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

[no_hypocrisy]

1. One result when people get their wish for government to get out of their lives.

Or "as insubstantial as possible".

[rsmith6621]

6. Inconsequential....not insubstantial

[raccoon]

15. A-fricking-men! nt

[SonataArctica18]

2. As a meteorology buff, I must say...

High winds were in the forecast for that day. I read a few posts on other sites where they said there was "no warning."

Any forecaster worth his weight in crap can forecast winds. Not to mention - hey! THEY WERE IN THE FORECAST.

It's sad that this had to happen. It always takes lives lost and ruined for change to occur.

[valerief]

3. I'm sure those forecasts have been "scrubbed" by now to protect the guilty. nt

[Wilms]

4. But but but, just today Wolf Blitzer said "witnesses were baffled" by the collapse. OMG !

OK, Wolf. Witnesses.

:eyes:

[CreekDog]

12. not only that but forecast winds were at the surface --100 feet up

one has to assume the winds can be much stronger than the actual forecast.

[Historic NY]

5. Sounds like a passing the buck to me...somebody should check the NWS for storm alerts.

[SonataArctica18]

7. Weather radios should be mandatory everywhere.

Because when shit like this happens, people are always asking "Why? HOW COULD WE HAVE MISSED THIS?!"

Weather radios are generally inexpensive and would do wonders for festivals like this. You can't count on a few people in the pit with weather apps saying "A STORM IS COMING!" because the average person is waiting to see their favorite band and wouldn't care if a meteor shower was impending.

[Jokerman]

16. They were in contact with NWS.

"The stage toppled at 8:49 p.m. A timeline released by Indiana State Police shows that fair staff contacted the weather service four times between 5:30 and 8 p.m. At 8 p.m., the weather service said a storm with hail and 40 mph winds was expected to hit the fairgrounds at 9:15 p.m.

Bursten said fair officials had begun preparing in case they needed to evacuate visitors for the impending storm. At 8:30, additional state troopers moved to the grandstand to help in the event of an evacuation, according to the timeline."

http://www.wthr.com/story/15265185/strong-wind-topples-stage-at-ind-fair-killing-5

I was in that storm not more than a half-mile away and I've seen much worse. I'm betting that the structure/installation was faulty.

[Strelnikov_]

8. Purdue Experts: Gusts Shouldn't Have Toppled Stage

http://www.theindychannel.com/news/28875211/detail.html

Structures like the stage that collapsed at the Indiana State Fair, killing five people and injuring 45 others, should be able to withstand winds of up to 70 mph, Purdue University engineering experts said.

. . .

But Mark Bowman, a professor of civil engineering, said the wind strength requirement for a temporary stage in Indiana is generally 70 mph. "It should be able to withstand a wind of that speed," he said.

The city of Indianapolis requires a permit for temporary structures, but inspectors do not have the authority to permit or inspect state-owned properties. Meanwhile, the Indiana Department of Homeland Security does not inspect temporary structures.

Todd said he hopes investigators can figure out what went wrong so that policies and procedures can change for the better.
"At some point, you have to manage risk," Todd said. "At some point, you have to build a structure and say, 'Here's the ceiling of the wind gust that we can have, and maybe that needs to go higher.'"

[grahamhgreen]

9. Ther was a great post about this by buddyblazon(?) who said it was die to them not eaising the back-

drop which wound up working like a giant sail to blow the rig over.

Sounds logical to me.

[TrogL]

11. That's pretty much what happens in these things

In some cases, the side panels will have holes in them to prevent the wind catching them but I didn't see any on this one.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

14. ... a great post about this by buddyblazon....

I used to build the type of stages that collapsed in Indianapolis last night.

[TrogL]

10. The stage looked like it was built wrong.

I'm a musician and do sound. I've played, worked and/or attended my fair share of outdoors events with this kind of stage. This one appeared to be built way too high without enough rigging. It looks like they were trying to get high enough to house that big circular thing, possibly a projection screen, but if you're going that high, you also have to go wide.

Last year we had a similar collapse here, but the stage went over backwards instead of sideways. A friend of mine was working the event and tried to rescue the lady who was killed by a falling speaker column.

[CreekDog]

13. a 60 mph gust at 75 to 100ft above ground is not uncommon at all

the idea that it surprised anyone...lines of thunderstorms with strong gusts happen throughout the Midwest and South all the time in summer. at ground level a wind of 25-30 mph with one of those isn't unusual and quickly can increase one above the surface obstructions.