# High School Stage Collapse in Anaheim, CA, 30-40 people injured



## dvsDave (Mar 9, 2014)

A stage collapsed during a student event at Servite High School, an All-Boys Catholic School in Ahaheim, CA. Police, firefighters, and medics responded shortly before 11pm (PST) on Saturday night to a call that the stage gave way. 30-40 were rushed to the hospital with mostly minor injuries (broken bones, bruises, and scrapes), according to the dispatcher. It's not immediately clear how many of those people are students. 

Anaheim police spokesman told reporters that bout 250 girls from Servite's sister school, All-Girls Rosary High School were on the stage at the time. The students were performing in "Red and Gold," Rosary High's annual musical theatre challenge, in which teams prepare for six weeks to put on choral, dance, drama and other performances.

Original Article: Stage collapses at Calif. high school; 30-40 hurt


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## BillConnerFASTC (Mar 9, 2014)

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/l...t-High-School-in-Anaheim-249170891.html#html# has a photo that suggests it was as I guessed a pit filler. Looks homemade. This or one more event and the exemption from having to get a building permit for scenery will be deleted.


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## dvsDave (Mar 9, 2014)

Youtube video of the collapse: 


Image of the pit from twiiter user racheesy


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## Eboy87 (Mar 9, 2014)

I think this brings up a very salient point, especially in this day and age of instant news. I've done a few shows where the set was built by students, and while there was an adult to supervise, they didn't have a background in carpentry or theatre. One particular show comes to mind with a two-level set that my boss and I (we were brought in for audio only) refused to go on because it looked so unsafe. Our protests were met with indifference. I'm curious to see if this particular incident was because the pit fillers were built wrong, or if it was just straight up overloaded. In either case, I wonder if there was a trained* adult present who supervised construction/installation, or who could point out if there was too much weight on the deck. 

I agree with Mr. Connor that with all the stage collapses, both minor and major, that have been reported lately, we're going to have to start applying for even more permits to put on a show. Without hopping on a political soapbox, the hoops and cost of staging a show would put quite the strain on the smaller theatre companies and schools. I fear that it'll price them out of doing more than a couple shows per year.

I do wish everyone injured a speedy recovery. Luckily it was just minor injuries.

*By "trained" I mean a TD with a degree and experience. Not a Freshman in college TD.


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## Footer (Mar 9, 2014)

BillConnerASTC said:


> http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/l...t-High-School-in-Anaheim-249170891.html#html# has a photo that suggests it was as I guessed a pit filler. Looks homemade. This or one more event and the exemption from having to get a building permit for scenery will be deleted.



It will take a lot more then that. Maybe it will happen in Anaheim, but I doubt it. 

Even with that, you have a crazy load on that stage... all jumping... One more reason why you should not build "scenery style" pit fillers. They usually get left in place and used for way more then they were "designed" for. Looks like only a partial collapse, that extension looks like it goes back further. 

Looks like a school that has some money. They have some moving lights and some EAW (?) subs in that pit. To bad they did not do the real R&R approach and use the subs to support the downstage edge...


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## Footer (Mar 9, 2014)

Servite High School Theatre

This was a HS theatre set up as a road house.... with staff. 

Groundplan with pit covers... http://servitetheatre.org/pdf/ServiteTheatreGroundPlan.pdf

This was done by trained people. Looks like standard saw & lumber construction taught in every college and high school in the country.


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## MNicolai (Mar 9, 2014)

Eboy87 said:


> I wonder if there was a trained* adult present who supervised construction/installation, or who could point out if there was too much weight on the deck.



A potential factor at play is that even if someone was around who supervised the construction -- even if the construction was superior and extremely well-built and engineered for its purpose, that purpose may have been for a show 12 years previous where only 15 people walked around on the extension.

I've known a lot of pieces of scenery and modifications to facilities that have been in place longer than most of the people working on the show. Some scenery is on its sixth production in as many years with nothing more than a new paint job. Some modifications to facilities (egress push-bars gaffed in, A-frames with wheels added, orchestra pits repurposed as costume storage) date back 2 or 3 TD's.

No faculty member walking in to supervise an event like this is going to consider the strength of the pit fillers, nor are most scenery builders going to think that some day 60 students might jump up and down in rhythm on top of the scenery they built for a given show that ended up being saved for future shows years later. To that end, if there was a TD (or venue/facility manager or the like) employed at this venue (which I'm going to say is likely, given the moving lights), I would not put it past them to have not factored in the load capacity of the pit fillers before letting the event proceed. It would also not be unprecedented for them to have not seen this part of the performance play out until it happened in front of an audience the night of the accident.

This incident is a good Exhibit A for why if you engineer something for a very specific use-case (a single production), it's wise to take into consideration the safety implications of your creation. If someone could come in later and unknowingly use it in a manner in which it was not intended that could result in injury or death, it may be best for you to destroy your creation and throw it in a dumpster than to leave it for others to use at their leisure.

Related, I know of more than a couple TD's with BFA's in Theatre Design/Tech who should have no business being responsible for the safety matters of their facilities, who know enough to skate by but not enough to have prevented an incident such as this. I've seen a pattern of BFA programs grossly neglecting adequate safety in their curricula. The result is a vast number of professionals who don't know what they don't know and are incapable of responsibly assessing the risks in front of them as well as the risks that they may leave behind for someone else.

The world could use a few more @BillConnerASTC's and @teqniqal's, but unfortunately their level of expertise in these matters I imagine comes from their own research far more than from a bachelor's level of education in theater design would offer.


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## BillConnerFASTC (Mar 9, 2014)

Footer said:


> It will take a lot more then that. Maybe it will happen in Anaheim, but I doubt it.
> 
> Even with that, you have a crazy load on that stage... all jumping... One more reason why you should not build "scenery style" pit fillers. They usually get left in place and used for way more then they were "designed" for. Looks like only a partial collapse, that extension looks like it goes back further.
> 
> Looks like a school that has some money. They have some moving lights and some EAW (?) subs in that pit. To bad they did not do the real R&R approach and use the subs to support the downstage edge...




Keep in mind that it has already happened in at least one jurisdiction in Massachusetts and if a few building officials get on this the International Model Code, used as the basis by a large majority of jurisdictions, will be changed to delete the exception. Scenery must already meet the building and fire codes, this is just an exception for the permit including plan review and inspection.


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## BillConnerFASTC (Mar 9, 2014)

By the way, I believe and have not seen contrary interpretations that a pit filler shall support 125 psf, just like the stage floor. Clearly this was not that strong, and since it's in the plan footer found, I'd be hard pressed to call it scenery anyway. The school's insurance will take a big hit for this. I'd guess they'd settle and do what is necessary to avoid criminal charges. And no doubt there will be repercussions in the building department in addition to the school's staff.


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## MNicolai (Mar 9, 2014)

Interesting that in that photo, it appears the house lights have still not been brought up several minutes after the accident occurred.


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## gafftaper (Mar 9, 2014)

That photo looks a lot like the construction for my old college's theater. There's a rail on the front of the stage and large wide legs that get knocked into place. That was original construction from the 70's. It's still there, and rather scary. You get a group dancing in unison and it's gonna move too.


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## gafftapegreenia (Mar 9, 2014)

I am curious as to what, if any, methods were used to secure the platforms to the rail in front of the pit, to the lip of the permanent stage deck, and to each other. Even the best, engineered pit covers will fail if they are not firmly secured to each other and the permanent structure. From the video it looks like the pit covers basically slipped off the lip of the stage. Pit covers with their own leg systems aren't a bad idea either! 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free


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## BillConnerFASTC (Mar 9, 2014)

gafftapegreenia said:


> I am curious as to what, if any, methods were used to secure the platforms to the rail in front of the pit, to the lip of the permanent stage deck, and to each other. Even the best, engineered pit covers will fail if they are not firmly secured to each other and the permanent structure. From the video it looks like the pit covers basically slipped off the lip of the stage. Pit covers with their own leg systems aren't a bad idea either!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free




Good questions - ones I face on almost every project. If the pit rail is removable, than the answer is almost always a separate support structure. The photo shows one where the rail is not structural and they wanted to be able to put additional seats on the pit at audience level. (In addition, the ply floor is over a sub pit to retrofit a lift.) The support frame is braced sufficiently for lateral loads.

When possible, I prefer a permanent pit rail and with shelf angles on the stage edge and pit rail to support the lids or, as I prefer, support a tensioned wire grid that stays in place. The permanent rail then also includes lip speakers, warning light (Edge Lyte), and cable passes rather than floor pockets on the stage. The permanent rail and stage edge are sufficient to laterally support it. Other photo.


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## venuetech (Mar 9, 2014)

other views


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## venuetech (Mar 9, 2014)

Certainly the collapse should not have happened. But does anyone think that it is unwise to put 250 persons onto a stage this size?
I have a slightly larger stage with (near as I can determine from documents) a occupancy of 200 for the stage.


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## gafftapegreenia (Mar 9, 2014)

venuetech said:


> Certainly the collapse should not have happened. But does anyone think that it is unwise to put 250 persons onto a stage this size?
> I have a slightly larger stage with (near as I can determine from documents) a occupancy of 200 for the stage.



I would not be surprised if the final investigation found some fault with the number of people on stage. 

Where did you get the 250 number from ?


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## MNicolai (Mar 9, 2014)

gafftapegreenia said:


> I would not be surprised if the final investigation found some fault with the number of people on stage.
> 
> Where did you get the 250 number from ?



2 dozen injured as California school stage falls


> About 250 students from nearby Rosary High School, an all-girls sister school, were singing and dancing on the platform when they fell five feet, Anaheim police Lt. Tim Schmidt said.




> Inspectors will double-check the school's stage permit to determine if it's up to date. They will also review whether the permit included a weight restriction or a limit on the number of people who could be on stage. The investigation is expected to take two weeks.
> 
> The stage was extended out in the 1980s to provide more square footage, Schmidt said. It was the add-on that collapsed.


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## gafftaper (Mar 9, 2014)

> Inspectors will double-check the school's stage permit to determine if it's up to date. They will also review whether the permit included a weight restriction or a limit on the number of people who could be on stage.


Do any of you actually have stage permits? Ones that need to be updated? How does that work? We don't have anything like that here in Washington.

> The stage was extended out in the 1980s to provide more square footage, Schmidt said. It was the add-on that collapsed.


But in this picture it's called a pit cover. So was it designed by the original architect or was it a group of dad's side project. There's a big difference. Look how far down it is in that picture above... it has to be a pit and not just an "extension". Perhaps it was a pit without a cover and then they decided to build their own cover?


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## zmb (Mar 9, 2014)

gafftaper said:


> Do any of you actually have stage permits? Ones that need to be updated? How does that work? We don't have anything like that here in Washington.



Filtering out Google results from Friday on after searching for California Stage Permit, all I find is that stagecraft is exempt in most situations. Maybe it's confusion with a building occupancy permit which might carry both restrictions on number of people in a single space or maximums on live loads.

And if there was professionally-engineered and installed pit cover, it would seem very likely that load limit would be included, definitely less than the stage. But there's also the issue that it might not have been reassembled correctly knowing that the directions sometimes aren't the clearest.


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## Footer (Mar 9, 2014)

If it was put on in the 80's it could be been done by anyone, from the Facility Manager of the space or the school carpentry/maintenance staff... or a legitimate contractor. From the pictures above, on the outside it looks like a professionally done pit cover. This is not a case of some dads coming in and busting some stuff out before the big spring musical. Its too clean for that.


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## Eboy87 (Mar 9, 2014)

Footer said:


> ... They have some moving lights and some EAW (?) subs in that pit. To bad they did not do the real R&R approach and use the subs to support the downstage edge...



Not to make light of the situation, but at least the subs are strapped so they don't walk... (having seen a few too many x-array walk right off the subs)

I dunno if the information has come out yet, but are the decks that collapsed original from the 1980's expansion? In looking at the photos, I can't tell if they're steel decks (the dvs one's photo, bottom left quarter, the silver and black rail of it is visible), or if they're wooden decks (same photo, one standing upstage of subs, and one caddywompus SR of subs) covered with marley?

My background is audio, not carpentry, but that photo of the mess in the pit just looks like it was a disaster waiting to happen. If it was done in house, we all know the oldest, most beat-up platforms get used as pit fillers (at least the places I've seen).


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## BillConnerFASTC (Mar 9, 2014)

zmb- are you finding stagecraft is exempt from codes or exempt only from having to have a permit? Big difference. Many minor items are exempt from permit but still must meet the building code.

Would be interesting to learn what was original construction and what had been modified and if the modifications were done under a building permit. Our pit covers are designed to same loading as stage - 125 PSF - per code. Unless of course we plan for a lift truck or scissors or boom lift then its more with special attention to concentrated loading. Not hard to do. Same as for put lifts.

I believe its only a few jurisdictions that require annual inspections and permits, like a liquor license.


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## techieman33 (Mar 9, 2014)

I could see the pit cover requiring a permit, it's not scenery, it's part of the building structure.


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## What Rigger? (Mar 17, 2014)

I've done 2 productions in this venue in the past 10 years. Last one was about 4 years ago. I do not work for the school, but for 2 separate outside vendors.


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## venuetech (May 14, 2014)

an updated news story

"Students set to perform on Servite High's rebuilt stage"

"Shortly after the stage collapse, Servite High and Anaheim city officials confirmed that the school failed to submit a required building permit for the stage extension, which was placed over an orchestra pit. Servite was not fined for previously failing to file a permit with Anaheim’s Planning Department, city spokeswoman Ruth Ruiz said."

Students set to perform on Servite High's rebuilt stage - The Orange County Register


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