In last Tuesday’s (8/16) News-Sentinel (Indianapolis), Associated Press reporters Tom LoBianco and Tom Coyne write, “As the Indiana State Fair reopened after a deadly collapse of a concert stage, questions lingered about the structure’s safety, why fans weren’t evacuated as a storm moved in and whether anything could have been done to prevent the tragedy. … Saturday night’s accident happened when a wind gust estimated at 60 to 70 mph toppled the roof and the metal scaffolding holding lights and other equipment. The stage collapsed onto a crowd of concert-goers awaiting a show by the country group Sugarland. … Just 15 miles north in the suburb of Fishers, about 6,700 people attending a performance by the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra were evacuated Saturday from the Conner Prairie Amphitheater. Tom Ramsey, the orchestra’s vice president and general manager, said the group reviews information from a private weather company and consults with the National Weather Service, with a goal of giving patrons at least 30 minutes to get to their vehicles if bad weather threatens. ‘We saw a storm that contained lightning dip south a little bit. Once we saw that, I made the decision to stop the concert and send everyone to their cars,’ he said.”
Posted August 22, 2011
