BE AWARE OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS!!

Disaster waiting to happen....

Stairs Collapse At Dutch Music Festival

Check out these sites for more on crowd safety:

Crowd Management Strategies

http://www.crowdsafe.com/default.asp

You can take a course in crowd management!

1903	Iroquois Theatre, Chicago (fire)	602 dead
1911	Triangle Shirtwaist Factory (fire)	145
1930	Ohio State Penitentiary (fire)	320
1944	Ringling Bros. Circus (fire/stampede)	168
Some of the deadliest blazes at clubs and dance halls in the United States: Location Fatalities Cause Cocoanut Grove club, Boston; Nov. 28, 1942. 492 Unknown Rhythm Night Club dance hall in Natchez, Miss.; April 23, 1940. 198 Unknown Beverly Hills Supper Club in Southgate, Ky.; May 28, 1977. 165 Defective wiring The Station nightclub, West Warwick, R.I.; Feb. 20, 2003. 97 Stage fireworks Happy Land Social Club in the Bronx, New York; March 25, 1990. 87 Arson Dance hall in West Plains, Mo. ; April 13, 1928 (explosion). 40 Unknown Upstairs Bar in New Orleans; June 24, 1973. 32 Arson Puerto Rican Social Club in the Bronx, New York; Oct. 24, 1976. 25 Arson Gulliver's Discotheque in Port Chester, N.Y.; June 30, 1974. 24 Arson fire nearby spread to disco Source: The Associated Press, USA TODAY research

"When patrons walk into nightclubs, they should figure out where the exits are, whether it's a club or a restaurant or a rock concert," Boston Fire Commissioner Paul Christian says.

The first point to make is that absolute panic, or the "grip of terror" is quite rare in emergency situations. Most people maintain presence of mind and altruistic behavior is common. Most apparent trampling deaths later prove to be death by asphyxiation and poisonous fumes when emergency exits were locked or blocked.

But these are still considered to be examples of collective behavior as people must innovate and survive in ambiguous situations where the old rules aren't working.

Certain conditions are usually present for an event to be considered a panic:

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  Front to rear communication has broken down
  
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  Escape routes are blocked
  

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  Acquisitive: this describes the headlong surge (selfishly) toward a desired outcome—like the best seats at a concert
  
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  Fearful: this describes the headlong rush away from something—danger—toward an exit
  

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  When you enter a room, note ways to leave other than how you came in. When trouble hits, most people rush to the door they had entered, even if it's not the safest or quickest exit. The result is a human logjam.
  
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  Note how crowded the room is. If it's over legal capacity or simply feels too crowded for comfort, leave right away.
  
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  If you're getting intoxicated, remember you might need all your wits in an emergency.
  

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  If you see something that looks unsafe — a locked exit door or a dark or obscured exit sign — call 911 immediately.
  
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  If you sense something is wrong, don't wait for an alarm. Trust your senses and leave. "If something doesn't feel right, it probably isn't right," says Gary Keith of the National Fire Protection Association. "If you're wrong, you can always come back in."