#stage falls

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."