Folks, there are two images in all of the last year I will remember. This one:
and this one:
These two images go above all politics, all speculation about who was wrong, who was right, and who was there or not there. Mother Nature whipped our collective industry butts on this one, regardless of who was at fault. I’ve speculated, we’ve all speculated. Cross bracing, guy wires, ballast tanks, longer than 10 minutes weather warning, all of it has been speculated. What’s still reality is that we’ve got five people still dead, millions in damages, and some very, very bad situations right now on the ground at the Indiana State Fair.
I really hope that this entire investigation is kept as transparent as air, and I really hope that Governor Daniels stops talking about it, because every time he does, he gaffs something bigger than the last gaff he made. Let’s remember that the score is still five dead.
SIDE NOTE: I have gotten some information on how to donate to Nate’s family. Please send donations to:
IATSE LOCAL 30
ATTN:NATHAN BYRD FAMILY (you MUST SPECIFY)
1407 EAST RIVERSIDE DRIVE
INDIANAPOLIS, IN 46202-2037
None of this is going to be pretty. We’re going to have experts calling other experts nasty names, people telling other people they have no bearing for their arguments, and when all else fails, we’ll hear people calling each other stupid. The score is still FIVE DEAD. I’m leaving out the wounded numbers right now because those people will all most likely live to see another show another time, but the only thing that matters is that a concert went horribly awry, five people are now dead because of it, and unfortunately politics has swept in and begun to politicize the horrific tragedy that our industry is dealing with right now.
This whole situation is really wearing on my heart. I’m no different than anyone else when it comes to having feelings, but my favorite thing on the planet is this industry, and it hurts to watch it take a black eye like this because of negligent decision making.
Let me just post some great articles to read on this mess, there have been a lot of them. I’ve written three alone.
Erich Friend’s List of Articles on the Indiana State Fair Collapse
Governor Daniels Says State Fair Collapse ‘Defied Safety Preparations.”
Meteorologists Say Governor Daniels Calling Weather A Fluke ‘Isn’t Right’
Read this BoingBoing article for the commentary at the bottom
AP article by Tom Coyne about Safety and the Collapse
A story from Accuweather about the collapse and “Gustnadoes”
Inspections are NOT Required for Indiana Outdoor Stages (crazy read, holy crap)
Kirk Garreands’ article at ProLightingSpace – MUST The Show Really Go On?
and here are my three articles, please check out these links and learn more about this horrific incident:
Indiana State Fair Stage Collapse, Five Dead. Now What?
Sorry, Governor Daniels, We’re in the Business of Keeping Our Fans Safe – The Indianas State Fair Collapse Continues
Indiana Homeland Security Says Outdoor Stages are Not Structures – More on the Indiana Stage Fair Collapse
From the Facebook Group for Nate Byrd – the folks at NRG Staging pay tribute to a fallen brother: