IOD Group

Direct donation site:http://www.cicf.org/

UPDATE:  I have received information on how to make donations to Nate Byrd’s family.  Send donations to:

IATSE LOCAL 30 ATTN:NATHAN BYRD FAMILY (you MUST SPECIFY) 1407 EAST RIVERSIDE DRIVE INDIANAPOLIS, IN 46202-2037

Right now we have a task to do for our fallen brother’s family in Indiana, everybody.  Nathan Byrd was up in the truss when it fell to the ground in a storm.  He was working to support his two kids, who are now in need of support because their father died in the tragedy at the Indiana State Fair Hoosier Lottery Grandstand stage on Saturday, August 14, 2011.  You’ve read the articles I’ve written about the disaster, and undoubtedly seen the video.

Nathan Byrd’s obituary:

Nathan Lee Byrd 51, of Indianapolis, passed away August 14, 2011. He was born September 24, 1959 to Alvin Lee and Loretta J. (Wilkerson) Byrd.

A lifelong resident of Indianapolis, Nathan was a graduate of Manual High School. He was a member of I.A.T.S.E. Local #30, where he was instrumental in the erection and lighting of stages for various venues in the Indianapolis area. He was a member of Calvary Tabernacle.  Visitation will be Wednesday, August 17, 2011 from 4:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at Shirley Brothers Thompson Road Chapel , 3333 E. Thompson Rd., with funeral services Thursday at 1:00 p.m. at Calvary Tabernacle, 902 Fletcher Ave.  Nathan is survived by his parents, Alvin and Loretta Byrd; children, Trevor and Natalie Byrd; siblings, Randy Byrd, Kim Byrd, Marilyn Barfield (Joe), Scott Byrd and Bryan Byrd. http://www.shirleybrothers.com

This is a rough time for the families of all involved.  If you can do anything to help Nathan Byrd’s family, I know that they would be so grateful.  The brothers and sisters of IATSE Local 30 have started a fund for Nathan Byrd’s family at http://www.cicf.org/.  If you have a few bucks, please help them out.  This is, as you can imagine, is not a good time for them.  If you can’t afford to help, then help yourself as we all have to do.   

Luck shone on Steve Stover, a stagehand from IATSE Local 30 who was also in the truss when it fell, but managed to not be killed in the fall.  From the last I heard about this after checking in on it, Steve is still in ICU in critical condition, is expected to make a recovery, but he’s apparently in for a long-winded recovery.  Lighting Designer Cosmo Wilson is asking that we send Steve a card for when he comes to in the ICU.  I just filled one out, slapped a stamp on it, and it is on its way.  If you wanna send Steve a little note, please do so by sending it to his hospital room:

Indiana University Health Steve Stover / Room A5216 PO Box 1367 Indianapolis, IN 46206

 Thanks for everything you do, everybody.  Help if you can, and send good thoughts if you can’t help out right now.

Our hearts go out to these victims.

IOD group

18 August 2011From BBC

Belgium stage collapse kills at least four at Pukkelpop

  TV pictures from the festival showed fallen rigging

HASSELT, Belgium (AP) -- A storm swept through a popular open-air music festival in this town eastern Belgium on Thursday killing at least three people and injuring more than 70 others, an official said.

Ambulances and police cars raced to and from the site of the Pukkelpop festival, near the town of Hasselt, 50 miles east of Brussels, late Thursday, their sirens blaring. Concertgoers described scenes of panic as the sky darkened, the winds whipped, rain poured, hailstones nearly half an inch (larger than 1 centimeter) across pelted the crowds, and concert structures buckled.

"It was frightening. It looked terrible. All the structures collapsed," said Brinnie Gardner, 20, of Aukland, New Zealand, who is on a tour of Europe with a friend. "There was panic. It was crazy."

Hugo Simons, Hasselt's head of emergency medical planning, told VRT radio that three people had died, 11 had been severely injured and 60 had sustained light injuries as a result of the storm.

Organizers estimated that 60,000 people were at the three-day festival, which started Thursday, when the storm broke. Many were streaming out of the grounds after the storm, which turned the festival site into a scene of mud and destruction within about 10 minutes.

Video from the site showed stage equipment dangling in high winds as rain-soaked concertgoers at the music festival ran for cover. Trees and branches all around the area were downed, evidence of the sudden ferocity of the winds.

Ambulances ferried the seriously injured to nearby hospitals. Some of those lightly injured were being treated at a local sports complex. More than 20 ambulances were dispatched to the festival ground.

Images of the disaster showed fallen lighting scaffolds. Dutch NOS television reporter Rick Hoogkamp, who was attending the concert Thursday, said several tents collapsed. An AP reporter saw concession stands blown down and a large food tent spread across the ground.

One of those who watched a tent collapse was Laura Elegeert, 17, of Saint-Nicolas, Belgium.

"It was utter confusion, mass panic," Elegeert said. "People were trying to get out of this tent that collapsed by using their pocket knives and cutting holes in the fabric."

Two cranes were brought in to try to lift the large tent late Thursday, but the ground appeared too swamped for them to reach the area.

Chokri Mahassine, the organizer of the festival, said, "We have for now put the festival on hold until we understand the situation completely."

The three-day festival's lineup features internationally known acts, including Foo Fighters, Eminem and The Offspring.

This was the second deadly incident at an outdoor festival in a week. On Saturday, parts of a stage collapsed at the Indiana State Fair in Indianapolis, killing five people and injuring dozens when winds of up to 60 miles per hour (96 kilometers per hour) to 70 miles per hour (112 kilometers per hour) hit the site.

Last month, a German woman died in a 30-meter (100-foot) fall from a tower at the Roskilde music festival in Denmark, but police said she likely committed suicide.

I have just read this report on Billboard. It states that a lighting crew member was killed in the Indiana State Fair incident. http://smal.in/Billboard_IN

We know that one of the most trusted staging companies in the midwest "Mid America Sound" was the vendor. We are deeply sadden at the lose of one of our fellow lighting professionals as well as the other victims.

Our hearts go out to those whom have lost loved ones. This is a horrible and tragic event.

That said...Folks (I'm talking to you stage industry!) this is starting to feel like a ground hog day from hell. This is at least the fourth incident I can recall off the top of my head in the 2011 festival season. The majority of our industry including our professional friends and colleagues are highly trained and certified in there various specialties.

However, we all must take a giant step back in our industry and correct our practices. We must as an industry demand certification and re-evaluation of our staging people, riggers, stage managers, production managers, festival management & manufacturers responsible for the fabrication and implantation of these stages. Safe and effective practices must be in place for these portable stages and proper training for all involved.

It is paramount for the millions of fans and artists whom utilize them each year. Accidents do happen, but we seem to be missing something for so many to occur in such a short period of time.

We must not allow this to occur in our industry. This tragedy should never ever happen. No one should die at a show.

Our hearts go out to those whom have lost loved ones.

IOD group

(below is the story)

INDIANAPOLIS — At least three 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 up to 200 were seated in the outdoor VIP area called the "Sugar Pit" when the rigging collapsed at 8:50 p.m. ET.

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

"It was the most traumatic thing I've ever seen," witness Crystal Wilburess, told WTHR. "Everybody just came in together as a team," she said, describing hundreds of people rushing in to help lift heavy equipment off the injured.

Medics and rescue crews throughout Indianapolis converged 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.

Fallen lighting rigging extended about 15 feet onto track, where some concert-goers were seated between the stage and the grandstand.

Concert-goers told WTHR that a gust came from the west and rocked the rigging, causing some panic in the crowd prior to the stage's collapse. Evacuation efforts were already under way and the concert had been put on hold minutes before the collapse.

Emergency workers established a command center and triage area to tend to the injured. Those hurt were being moved to a tunnel below the grandstand stage. A hole was reportedly being dug in the dirt track to try to reach people trapped beneath the rigging.

Indiana Homeland Security has declared a Level 1 emergency.

Sugarland tweeted around 9:45 p.m., "We are all right. We are praying for our fans, and the people of Indianapolis. We hope you'll join us. They need your strength."

Photo mapping on a whole new level! IOD group recently became aware of a Auto desk project called: Photofly. This free software allows you to have your photo's automatically mapped as a DWG file making it usable in a wide array of Cadd programs. It works by you sending in your photo's of a object (any size including buildings) via free software to auto desk and they email the completed 3d mapped file back to you. These photo's must be taking every meter or so (3'3") around the object. They even have a tutorial to show you how. The examples speak for themselves. However, if these are any measure of the success of this software and rendering system.. WOW!

Good friend of IOD Group, Alison Clancy of the band "Huff This"have released a new video for there up coming album! Enjoy!

HUFF THIS!

FREE DOWNLOADS HERE NEW ALBUM COMING SOON: tuff love