# Rigger dies in Mississippi



## derekleffew (Apr 27, 2008)

Story from the Desoto Times here. 

Please take all possible precautions when working at height; or anywhere in your venue for that matter.


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## porkchop (Apr 27, 2008)

The grid at most theaters is much higher than that, makes you realize how dangerous things that are taken for granted can be. Some bad things are a cause of a knowledge/intelligence deficiency and some bad things come because of bad luck, everyone should avoid both as much as possible. All due do respects to the family I'm not saying the case in question was do to anything more than bad luck I just am pointing out that in some other times you wonder how people have lived this long. Work safe and within your limits ALWAYS!!!!


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## len (Apr 27, 2008)

More on the story. This article says he had no fall protection. http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/apr/26/osha-probing-workers-fatal-fall/


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## porkchop (Apr 27, 2008)

> Officials said this is the first fatality at the city-owned amphitheater that opened last year on Getwell Road.



Well isn't that an accomplishment two years and ONLY one death, sometimes I wonder about writers.


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## soundlight (Apr 28, 2008)

When I see people climbing truss towers without a harness, it really scares me...30' up in the air, no fall protection, hanging on to a vertical support that is structurally supported by what at the top? Nothing. Just the truss that's connected to the rolling block at the base, usually only on two sides, three if you need a corner block to hang the line arrays off of. You get up to the top and lock your leg in. If one of your feet happens to slip, your leg breaks as it flips out of where it was locked in to the truss, and then you probably fall headfirst toward what? Truss. And what's going to bend, your head or the truss? Your head.


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## Les (Apr 28, 2008)

What Rigger? said:


> Now think, is that REALLY how you want to go out? Not in defense of your country, not in saving another life, not in being hit by lightning...but setting up for some sh!thouse band...




If that's not bad enough, he was killed on "Getwell Drive".


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## len (Apr 29, 2008)

I was contacted to be LD for a tour in 2005. Turned out to be for them. I didn't pursue it because of a schedule conflict. Kind of scary to think I could have been on that stage - I'm no white glove LD.


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## soundop (Apr 30, 2008)

yea, this is scary, and i scared my crew with this story, considering our gird is probably the worst built gird in history, everytime some one goes up there you can hear the wood crunch from being dry, but im assuming if it can hold the weghit for fly lines, it should be able to hold a human, i know i aint going on my highschools grid after reading this,

the whole legacy thing, if you want to be remebred by people dont be a tech, be a actor, i mean there are no techs known by names or call signs, and no one walks around talking about us, were shrouded in our blacks for most of our lives, i am personally happy with having my kids (if i ever have any) know what i did, and pass it down to future generations, in the end were all going to end up six feet under.

also kind of a scary question, but who would want their ashes put in their theater when they die?


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## gafftaper (May 7, 2008)

There's a little new info on this story from a PLSN news update. The coroner said he wasn't wearing a harness when the accident happened. The company owner, who was there when it happened, says he was wearing a harness but was temporarily not hooked in for some reason (no one saw exactly where he was and what he was doing when he fell). This one may turn into an interesting investigation for OSHA.


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## derekleffew (May 7, 2008)

Grog12 said:


> Yeah if it had said Ozzie...or Elton John...or something..then it'd be ok


The second time I ran a truss spot, 1981, it was for Elton John, with no harness. In fact, harnesses didn't become mandatory (for truss spot ops) in Las Vegas until after 1994. As late as 2000, I stopped a road crew member from climbing a wire rope ladder without a harness. 

Our industry has gotten much safer, but still has a long way to go before zero accidents. Here's hoping ETCP, OSHA, and others, will help to ensure that.


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## Footer (May 8, 2008)

derekleffew said:


> In fact, harnesses didn't become mandatory (for truss spot ops) in Las Vegas until after 1994. As late as 2000, I stopped a road crew member from climbing a wire rope ladder without a harness.



I get freaked out enough climbing circus ladders, let alone doing it un-clipped. The second you become comfortable at heights is the second you should come off the truss/steel/ladder/what have you.


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## What Rigger? (May 8, 2008)

Instead of lecturing (again) about how dumb it is to die so that a roomful of punters may rock out to some long-faded, c-list 'hair metal' band (and being from SoCal, I hate that label...except it totally fits when talking about Poison) or, God forbid, one of Air Supply's peers...I'm gonna turn y'all on (once more) to my favorite thing of all time:
Rope Access. 
Expensive to get the training? Yes.
Expensive to get the full rack? Yes.
But my life? Priceless.
And with this tool, I can do things and go places in the air now like you wouldn't f*cking believe. It don't get much safer than this without staying on the ground. I'm almost ready to renounce ladders. Almost.
My trainers: www.ropeworks.com

For EVERYone: YOU are expected home at night. YOU must never never never never be without fall protection. You must NEVER unclip from your lanyard. You MUST be trained in how to use it properly.

It's all love, yo!


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## gafftaper (May 8, 2008)

Although I'm not sure what a "punter" is. I'm right there with you on safety Rigger. 

Hopefully the young folks out there are listening to this.


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## Dustincoc (May 8, 2008)

gafftaper said:


> Although I'm not sure what a "punter" is. I'm right there with you on safety Rigger.
> 
> Hopefully the young folks out there are listening to this.



From the CB Wiki Glossary:
"
punters
Audience members, attendees, customers, guests, "the public." Slightly derogatory term invented by the Brits. No clear idea of origin, although one theory suggests it's potentially rooted in cockney rhyming slang (punters + munters (colloquial term for ugly people) = punters). The public of Shakespearean England were known for their dirt and ugliness.

Wikipedia Defines it as
The most common use of punter is probably the slang or colloquial use in both British and Australian English meaning a paying guest or customer. More specialized usages include: in Britain (primarily in London and Essex), a punter may be the patron of a brothel; in Britain and Australia, a punter may be a gambler, particularly an amateur betting on horse racing or a player in the game of Baccarat, or a beginner skier or snowboarder, especially one with particularly bad style. In all these senses there may be an implication that the punter is going to pay more than he needs to.
In Hindi, punter also means a dude, as in "Punter hai re ekdum", meaning "He is a cool dude"."


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## Grog12 (May 8, 2008)

Eh...I like the traveller term Buffer better.


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## TimMiller (May 9, 2008)

I did a show with collective soul once, and i'm not allowed to do another show with them, due to a close fight between the monitor guy and me. He was trying to get some from a drunk girl who was walking around naked and i asked her if she needed me to call someone. I runed his possible "get lucky" night. After you have had several close friends raped and then several others killed or seriously injured by drunk drivers, i try to look out for people who have had a little too much at shows.


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