Summer Stage Collapses Update

A 7th person has died as a result of the stage collapse at the Indiana State Fair. Sugarland and it's manager have been named as defendants in a potential lawsuit, in notices sent to the Indiana Attorney General.  Others who have been named as potential defendants include: Live Nation, Lucas Entertainment Group, security company ESG and stage builders Mid-America Corp.  Kenneth Feinberg, the man who mediated distributations of compensation from 9/11, the Virginia Tech shootings and the the BP oil spill, will determine settlements from two pools of money: a $5 million Tort Claim Fund and $800,000 from individuals and businesses.

Another stage, this one at the large Pukkelpop Festival in Belgium has collapsed in another violent storm, killing 5 people, injuring 140 more. 

The same type of pattern - severe storms predicted, people stay in place, structures fail and people die.  From this point forward, no promoter can use as a defense, we couldn't have imagined this happening.  Outdoor event organizers need to revisit evacuation policies and procedures.  Some, like the Indiana State Fair organizers that night, do not have detailed well rehearsed evacuation plans in place.  A nine bullet point one page list, including "stay away from windows and what to announce over the loudspeakers" isn't enough. I don't know all of the issues that night, however, it is vitally important to prepare for the unexpected.

First, you must make a diagram of the venue and surrounding parking lots, structures and area roads.

Second, you identify load points (pinch points) that will slow down evacuation.

Third, you identify safer structures that people may take shelter in.  Make arrangements to be able to use the buildings, consult with your insurance carrier to cover those structures as well, if needed.  Also consult local experts on traffic flow patterns and crowd behaviors consistent with the local.  Some people are more independent and less likely to comply with directives from authorities.  Pick up all the actual local knowledge as possible from the people who have the experience "boots on the ground."  Work out a phased evacuation, emphasizing a steady deliberate operation.  This will reassure people that you have a well thought out plan in place, helping to keep folks calm. You will need to determine how long each phase will take to determine a timeline for decision making. 

Fourth, strongly consider hiring a private professional meteorologist who can monitor and correctly analyze  the data to allow sufficient time to activate your plan.  The cost will be negligible compared to the costs of a disaster.  Assemble adequate personnel, coordinate with local authorities and venue management.  Document all activities ideally video as well as written documentation.  This will be very useful to your insurance carrier in case of an incident as well as making improvements to policies and procedures. Building training videos for your operations people is a good idea.

Fifth, the person responsible for making the evacuation decision must clearly and completely understand the incoming information.  There must be a clear chain of command.  All responsible in an evacuation procedure must rehearse, test the equipment and make sure that things like locked doors are able to be opened quickly when needed.

The bottom line is this is not about the promoter and sponsors losing money.  If one bad show will put you out of business, you're not ready to promote that size show.  Start smaller, build up a bank account and grow deliberately and safely.  Your obligation, as soon as people enter the venue, is to provide the safest most enjoyable experience possible.

Event Safety, A Business Perspective

A tragedy, such as happened at the Indiana State Fair, last Saturday night reminds us how very serious promoting an event is.  Once people come into your event venue, they place their safety in your hands.  You must plan well, execute the plan as perfectly as humanly possible, be nimble and able to react quickly in a crisis.  Then you must be able to analyze and apply lessons learned in future promotions.

Some of our recommendations include:

• When planning, contact and take into account local expertise and knowledge from emergency services, venue management and security, area contract security experts when developing the risk matrix.
• Build a good working relationship with an experienced event insurance carrier.  They have a wealth of information based on years of adverse events.
• Always build time to fully conduct safety checks before, during and post event.  Document all deficiencies and assign someone to repair things for example lose or broken stair railings. It's easier to prevent accidents and injuries than to deal with them after the fact.
• Budget for and hire professionals.  Jim La Due at http://jimladueview.blogspot.com offers some insightful analysis of the event Saturday night and offers sensible recommendations. 
• Test communications, review procedures, evaluate and upgrade based on the results, before you open the doors to crowds.  Plan for worst case scenarios such as electricity outages preventing use of the venue PA system during evacuation procedures.  If outdoors, where are safer locations for patrons to take shelter in.
• Key people need to be very competent, cool headed and understand how serious a job it is keeping audiences, staff and entertainers safe.
• Conduct deep background checks on key suppliers such as staging, lighting and sound companies.  Check records of government regulators for histories of violations and lawsuits.  Bad credit may indicate a company in trouble, who might cut corners because of financial pressures.
• Provide people with the right systems and equipment to do the job.
• As soon as possible, after an adverse event, debrief staff.  Keep meticulous records to help analyze what went wrong, document liability, build a better training program for staff, and help make better decisions on future projects. 

Our deepest sympathy to the families and friends of those killed and injured last Saturday.  Concerts, Festivals and special events are supposed to be fun, a moment of respite from our cares and responsibilities.  Although we are always ultimately responsible for our own behavior at events, we must rely on the professionalism of the production companies, police and fire department officials and venue management to make our safety the highest priority over anything else.

My question to you is, do these incidents that have happened this summer, make you feel less safe at outdoor events?  Will it affect your concert going habits?

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