Jump to content

Stage Collapse In Birmingham


Stu

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 52
  • Created
  • Last Reply

I had a similar incident occur at a gig I ran at the college I work at, the stage is all on ground level with a 5.5 foor deep orchestra pit with "table" style fills to bring the orchestra pit back up to floor level when it is not in use. I had a crowd of about 200 in a venue licensed for over 500 with maybe 20 people standing on the orchestra pit (not clearly marked) so I presumed would stand up to the same kind of treatment as the floor as there are no warnings. The vibration from people moshing on the orchestra pit caused some packing under several of the legs to move and there fore the legs to drop by about 8 inches. The Floor was stable but it was still un nerving for me to see it move so easily with no warning.

If anybody has any views on this then please feel free to msg me or email me at Phil@teamsatan.com or visit my site at www.soundengineer.i8.com and message me off there!

cheers guys

Phil

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 years later...

It seems to me that maybe the reason for there being a risk in this case was that it got caught in between 2 risk assessments. The company told the theatre that they would be bringing audience members up onto the stage. The stage was safe. The venue realised that it was not safe to go onto the pit cover (and, apparently, even warn technicians not to put so much as a Source 4 on there) so put up big signs which technicians and actors would all notice and act upon. No-one assessed the risk of some tw*t (sorry, I mean 'enthusiastic audience member') jumping onto the pit cover. Looks like the venue have agreed that it was them who should have done so, and this is a lesson to all of us who risk assess for venues: just getting a RA in from a company isn't enough - you must also check it has no implications for ones own RAs.

 

I'll certainly be learning from this one! :mods:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest lightnix
Guilty plea over stage collapse

 

Two companies have pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety laws after part of a stage collapsed in 2003.

Thirty people were injured when the stage fell during a production of Sing-Along-A-Sound-of-Music at Birmingham's Alexandra Theatre.

Producers Sing Along Productions and theatre managers Clear Channel said the accident was a result of a communications breakdown between them.

The case has been sent to Birmingham Crown Court for sentencing...

Full story - BBC News

 

Firms admit safety breach after 'nuns' fell through stage

 

Fifteen theatregoers dressed as nuns crashed into an orchestra pit after a stage collapsed, a court heard yesterday. Some suffered serious fractures, while others escaped with cuts and bruises.

They were among 40 members of the audience invited on stage at the Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham during a Sound of Music tribute show.

Birmingham magistrates' court heard that during the show in September 2003 the compere, Deborah King, asked for volunteers for a fancy dress competition.

More than 40 people dashed up, uncontrolled, and she moved some of them on to plywood boarding attached to the main stage...

Full story - telegraph.co.uk

 

 

:mods: - Topic moved to Safety forum (which didn't exist back when the thread started).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Being an ex-civil engineer the only advice I I can give for making certain that the area is strong enough is to get a compentent structural engineer to look and design extra supports. The actual effective weight of a large person jumping may be the same as 3 or 4 normal people standing (please dont quote me on this!!).
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Reading between the lines, is what happened that the pit wasn't being used so it was covered with thin sheet and painted to look like the 'real' stage floor?

 

I have to say that I did this once years ago, and it was only afterwards that the danger of doing this suddenly surfaced. My view at the time was that I warned everyone, so that was enough. Sudden audience participation, I'm sure, would have resulted in similar end results. Isn't it a shame that most improvements in safety result from something bad!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.