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Crowd Crushes Can Be Catastrophic!
With the Coachella Festival concerts coming up the first few weeks in April, people from throughout not only California, but from the world will be attending. It’s a good time to educate our community members to always maintain situational awareness. This also applies to us as firefighters, as many of us will be attending Coachella Festival concerts. We live in an age where tragedy can strike unexpectedly. But there are some preparation tips to keep in mind.
Thinking of on the tragedy in Seoul Korea on the night of October 29th, 2022, a crowd crush occurred where 151 people lost their lives during an outdoor Halloween party. Sadly, I am reminded of other potential “risks” with high crowds such as the Las Vegas shooting in 2017 that killed 60 and injured over 400.
The Coachella Valley will see an additional quarter million people arrive in a short amount of time. The 10, 60, & 15 freeways along with surface streets will be crowded. In fact, downright packed. First Responders will be taxed throughout the valley and outlining areas due to such a high influx from all points of San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, Orange and Los Angeles Counties.
The Festival: Make sure you know what to bring. It’s always warm and windy. Bring empty water bottles. They will have water filling stations. You cannot bring in bottled water. Small tubes of sunscreen? Lip Balm? Backpacks? Check with event organizers to ensure you know what is allowed in and what is not!
If it looks too crowded, event seems unorganized or If you’re getting pushed against those around you, that might be a sign that the event is becoming unsafe. Start looking for an exit!
A Crush. No, it’s not something you had on that cute little girl sitting across from you in sixth grade. If you’ve ever been to a big concert, rally, sports event, or festival, you may have found yourself in the midst of a crowd of people packed together as far as the eye can see. Such large gatherings are common and usually don’t result in any serious problems.
But if a crowd surges beyond the capacity of the space, or if there’s bad crowd management, chaos could result. When a crowd of people moves in the same direction at the same time, some may collide and pile up against or on top of each other. This can get very dangerous very quickly. Experts refer to such an incident as a stampede, crowd surge, or crowd crush.
DURING A CRUSH:
- Try your hardest to stay standing.
- If you can keep your hands at your chest, like a boxer, this protects your rib cage and keeps a space around your lungs so you can breathe.
- If you fall, curl into a ball and cover your head. DO NOT lay on your back. Several bodies on top of you can equal up to 1,000 pounds of pressure on you suffocating you!
- After a large crowd push there’s always a brief lull. In these moments try to move diagonally working your way to the side.
- Maintain situational awareness. Look for additional exits.
- Keep your eyes open to changes in crowd density and movement.
- Where comfortable shoes and clothing to move about easily.
Remember, “It doesn’t matter how big you are, how strong you are, if you get caught in a crush, everything is beyond your control”.
Lastly, music, alcohol and egos do not mix. The events will change many attendee’s personality. If you find yourself in a confrontation back off and do not engage. The small amount of time it takes to just move on and forget about it, will spare you a lifetime of head and heartache, money, jail, or hospital time or worse.
Remember it will be hot, it is usually windy. Make sure you wear appropriate clothes and shoes, sunscreen and stay hydrated. Enjoy yourself and always think “situational awareness!”
This should be shared with your community as part of your Community Risk Reduction program. Those planning on attending this event and other large-scale concerts or venues will appreciate it.
Editor’s note: California State Firefighters Association is honored to help your agency with Community Risk Reduction articles for you to use for your agency’s social media, press releases to local media, cable tv, or presentations to community organizations etc. These articles are intended to reduce fires, accidents, and injuries by sharing these within your community. This week’s article is designated for Wildfire Preparedness Day which is May 4th . This article and its content can be used at your discretion at any time you feel is appropriate for your community. Do you need other resources for Community Risk Reduction, or do you have questions on how to best use these resources? Feel free to contact [email protected]
Sam DiGiovanna is a 40-year fire service veteran. He started with the Los Angeles County Fire Department, served as Fire Chief at the Monrovia Fire Department, and currently serves as Chief at the Verdugo Fire Academy in Glendale. He is Director at Large for the California State Firefighters Association, Associate Director for the Calif Training Officers Assoc. and consultant for Lexipol www.Lexipol.com