Stage rigging collapses at Indiana State Fair

Video of the collapse:

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I just finished volunteering (managing the merch! fun stuff!) at a very small music fest that runs near where I live, and there was quite some interesting weather (this to be specific, and this was after I finished holding down one of the legs on the AV tent to keep it blowing away). From that experience, and chatting with the organizers afterwards, I believe it's just an attitude of "it won't happen to us, we're too small/big/professional/low-key/lucky/ignorant!" Of course, that's the wrong way to go about disaster planning, but 99% of the time it "works," so people don't change. It's heartbreaking when people die because of it.
 
Was this just bad planning on the part of riggers/rental companies? Or was it a freak accident?


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In the midwest a storm can pop up out of nowhere, you see the clouds rolling in and then wham crazy high winds hit. There isn't always enough time to safe the stage before the winds hit. I don't know if it's happening more often because of the crazy weather this summer, or if maintenance is falling off as companies are struggling to get by and the gear is getting older and older. Either way it's sad to see it happen.
 
I think we are just hearing more about this now then we did before. Also, larger stages are now being put up because acts want to pull the same shows they put up in sheds into the portable stages. Its possible that the structure did not have enough guy wires on it. However, I doubt that. In reality, odds are the roof held up to more wind then it was designed to. Those roofs become giant sails in the wind. What is supposed to be done in a high wind situation is the roof is lowered. If a storm moves in quickly, that can't be done. Unfortunately, it becomes a situation where the promoter does not want to hear from someone that they need to cancel the show because there might be high winds.
 
While it is certainly a tragedy, it could have been much, much worse.
It could have happened AFTER Sugarland performed. :rolleyes:


Apologies to Christian and Jennifer, just trying to lighten the mood.
 
I just put up a radar loop, this front and its high winds were visible as the storm moved all the way across the state. Tragic...

If that's the case, I wouldn't be surprised if the National Weather Service had issued storm warnings, which should have triggered an evacuation.

I've said it before here, and I'll say it again: Anyone in charge of an outdoor venue needs to have an NWS SAME alert radio and someone monitoring it. SAME radios are cheap and they work by sounding an alert when it receives a warning for the location it is programmed for. They are a good thing to have in your home, too.

I know a couple of meteorologists from the NWS, and I know a fair amount about what they do. The NWS isn't perfect, but they save lives when people heed their warnings. Nobody ever died from having to leave a concert early or from having to refund some tickets.
 
It sounds as if to make these stages safer would be to have some sort of roof tarp release from the ground. It sounds as if removing the banners and roof tarp could have saved this one and many others.

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It sounds as if to make these stages safer would be to have some sort of roof tarp release from the ground. It sounds as if removing the banners and roof tarp could have saved this one and many others.

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And the video walls, line arrays, backdrops for the band, etc don't help either. This collapse has the makings of being "the station" for the mobile stages market.

...... Something involving tapatalk.......
 
It sounds as if to make these stages safer would be to have some sort of roof tarp release from the ground. It sounds as if removing the banners and roof tarp could have saved this one and many others.

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Most of the side and back panels are designed be raised or lowered out of the way quickly. I haven't seen a roof with the same ability yet though, they're generally just meant to be lowered down as far as possible in the case of approaching storms, you don't always have time to get riggers in the air and get it ready to do so though.
 

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