Another pit cover collapse.

This high school was built in the late 90's. A search for the school + auditorium comes up with plenty of pictures of similar venues ALL with steps pre-installed the complete length of the stage/pit front. I can only guess that the architects felt a high school auditorium orchestra pit, used for maybe 2-3 weeks out of a year and spends the rest of the time covered shouldn't be looked at as a constant fall hazard. Pictures of those venues all show pit covers that appear to be original design elements also.

I found this interesting as well. Best of my knowledge, these kinds of things can't be "grandfathered in" and it doesn't matter how temporary it is - even short-term fall hazards need to be addressed. At least that has been the takeaway lesson in every OSHA General and Construction regs class I've taken.
 
I found this interesting as well. Best of my knowledge, these kinds of things can't be "grandfathered in" and it doesn't matter how temporary it is - even short-term fall hazards need to be addressed. At least that has been the takeaway lesson in every OSHA General and Construction regs class I've taken.
While I agree, it looks like Indianna is not an OSHA State. So IOSHA may have some slightly different takes on these things. On the other hand, it wouldn't surprise me if we find out it did break the state code but there isn't any funding for inspections.
 
In general, I don't have much confidence in OSHA, partly because it only covers employees, not volunteers and students, but largely because the public has little opportunity to influence the requirements, becausevit is poorly written for enforcement, and becausecit isxpoory supported in terms of being able to call for help or conducting periodic inspections. The building and fire codes don't have these defects.

The stair to nowhere is an interesting issue, and a new one on me. If its a stair, handrails are required. And are choral risers stairs? I don't think this is a huge hazard, and don't know the particulars of the permance or geometry of this particular arrangement, nor if there are other operational aspects, like are these removed when pit is used, are there portable guards or barriers, etc. This set is for filler in place, and we don't know what happens when pit is open.
 
I've been told 2nd hand from someone who has been on site that it is not the original pit filler so that architect, consultant, manufacturer, and contractor should be somewhat relieved.
 
Just a little tid bit. The original system were decks on a scaffold like support system. (I don't want to name the manufacturer but you get it - metal legs and cross braces.) Reportedly, for some production some months or years previous to the one during which the failure occurred, they wanted a clear span - no forest of legs and braces - for musicians to be in pit with cover on. Apparently, that home built for a particular production system was left in, and the manufactured system was stored in the hallway outside the pit.

(Relating to one of my other themes, this home built should have met building code requirements of a stage, and didn't.)
 
Thanks for the update @BillConnerASTC. Will be interesting to see the lawsuits fly if this was indeed the case.
 
Thanks for the update @BillConnerASTC. Will be interesting to see the lawsuits fly if this was indeed the case.
Yes. But in discussing this afternoon, we figured that probably the majority of high schools have things like this in their auditoriums and on their stages. Whether unsafe rigging, platforms and risers inadequately designed, fire hazards, electrical dangers - I think there are lots of things that could go wrong. If only we knew about the unreported incidents. And I haven't visited a high school auditorium with an orchestra pit of more than a few years old where there wasn't a story of a fall incident.
 
Key section of the Indystar story (emphasis added):

"Superintendent Mark Keen and Westfield Police Capt. Charles Hollowell said auditorium director Quinten James removed large, steel support beams from beneath the orchestra pit cover in order to create more room for students.
James also designed, bought materials and built a new cover for the orchestra pit in January. James, though, attached the cover to decorative trim surrounding the pit that was not designed as a support structure."

Oy. Wood is wood, right?
 
James, though, attached the cover to decorative trim surrounding the pit that was not designed as a support structure."

Oy. Wood is wood, right?
Yes, wood is wood. However, how the wood is attached to other things matters. Decorative trim could very well be held in place with tiny brad nails or staples. That isn't going to hold much more than the trim. It was decorative trim, not load bearing trim. Big difference.
 
Yeah, this was just a poorly conceived retro-fit with disastrous consequences.

A local PAC here in the twin cities had a similar situation in that they had a pit cover that was supported by a metal truss system. It took a 4-man crew 4 hours to pull or replace the cover and after several years of doing that 2-3 times a month they decided to have it re-engineered so that the truss system was only needed when the pit cover needed to be lowered below stage level to create a sunken area. They hired a structural engineer to do the re-design using the same pit cover pieces (which were custom made by Secoa originally). The new system only requires a 2 man call for one hour. It involves heavy-duty pieces of angle-iron (steel actually) lag-bolted into reinforced concrete that the pit cover rests on.

Also, it's engineered in such a way that it for some unforeseen reason one of the metal pieces were to begin pulling out of the concrete or snap off it would only create a "soft spot" between two sections. of the cover. I don't see how it could EVER collapse catastrophically.
 
This is classic deck failure - the ledger fastening did not hold. I'm ignoring the comment made by a fire marshal in a code meeting in the past hour that referred to drama teachers as "the world's greatest threat to humanity." Yes - definitely overstated - but not baseless.
 
This is classic deck failure - the ledger fastening did not hold. I'm ignoring the comment made by a fire marshal in a code meeting in the past hour that referred to drama teachers as "the world's greatest threat to humanity." Yes - definitely overstated - but not baseless.

He was probably referring more to how drama teachers make kids in to free thinking, artistically expressive pinko commies.
 
I think the threat here is that schools expect a drama teacher (or English teacher) to also be the de facto technical director. It's relatively easy to get capital funding to put in all kinds of technical equipment, and almost impossible to get operating funding to hire a pro to oversee it.
 
I think the threat here is that schools expect a drama teacher (or English teacher) to also be the de facto technical director. It's relatively easy to get capital funding to put in all kinds of technical equipment, and almost impossible to get operating funding to hire a pro to oversee it.

Yes. Someone not qualified is assigned, asked, feels obligated, and/or trys to do tech work. Powers that be lack of understanding and respect for what happens on a stage. Often not shy to accept praise for it. I think it was obvious that no one knew the drama teacher built a new pit filler and probably unlikely any real knowledge of scenery being built, etc. Somehow I don't think the same individuals are as ignorant of what is happening in many of the interscholastic athletic activities. Not everywhere, but too often the case.
 

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