February 20 and 21 in Burnaby (Vancouver area), British Colombia, Canada.  Two days of workshops and presentations.  Go to: www.actsafeconference.ca for more information. Workshop Presentation on Tuesday 3:30 - 5:00PM Presenter: Erich Friend Subject:    Hazard Recognition - Whoa!  I didn't see that coming . . . Come see what it is you don't see ..read more

www.prolightsound-guangzhou.com ..read more

January 21, 2017 - Bucharest, Romania.  A fire, believed to be started by sparklers on drinks and / or patrons smoking that ignited the roof decor, gutted the Bamboo Nightclub and sent at least 41 people to the emergency room.  No deaths have been reported.  About half of the victims were transported by Emergency Vehicles, while others made their way there on their own.  Reported injuries included smoke inhalation, hypothermia because they ran from the burning building into outdoor temperatures of -12°C (-10°F) leaving their coats behind, and sprained ankles or broken bones ..read more

2016-02-03 -Last summer we reported about an incident in west Texas where a Stage Manager was killed when a pyrotechnics storage bunker for an outdoor show exploded  (http://theatresafetyblog.blogspot.com/2015/08/fireworks-storage-building-explodes-and.html) OSHA has now investigated the incident and issued a statement:  “A 21-year-old worker, with three months of work experience under her belt, lost her life because Texas Panhandle Heritage Foundation failed to provide appropriate training and protective equipment to workers handling pyrotechnics.” That was the assessment of Eliza ..read more

On February 20th, 2003, a fire broke out in a nightclub that killed 100 people in just minutes.  Rob Feeney was there, and was one of the lucky ones that got out before the fire and smoke became to intense to survive.  Join Rob to read more about his experience at the NFPA's Fire Sprinkler Initiative blog. http://sprinkler.blog.nfpa.org/2015/12/burn-survivor-from-the-station-nightclub-fire-now-nfpas-newest-blogger-and-fire-sprinkler-champion.html For other posts about nightclub fires use the Theatre Safety Blog's search for keyword 'Station Nightclub ..read more

2015-10-31 - Bucharest, Romania - An late night fire in a basement nightclub claimed 39 lives, injured over 190, and was completely predictable and preventable.  A heavy metal band Goodbye to Gravity gave a free Halloween concert at the Colectiv nightclub just south east of the city center, and during the show some fireworks (pyrotechnics) were set-off which ignited a foam covered column that was adjacent to the stage.  Witnesses said the fire rapidly spread across the foam and pine wood covered ceiling causing a panic in the crowd. Ironically, the band had just played 'This is t ..read more

Typical 4-point suspension ANSI type I protection Traditional hard-hats used by construction workers aren't much more than a skid lid to keep your hair on your scalp.  That isn't to say it isn't a good thing, especially for us 'folically challenged' folks.  However, when you flip one of these over and study the inside you suddenly realize that the shock absorption mechanism is anything more than a few nylon ribbons that are supposed to 'predictably' fail and take some of the wham! out of the slam!-bam! of a falling object. There is no joy in scraping your skull along the b ..read more

Nanning, China 2015-10-29 - China News reports that during the construction of the stage for an upcoming Jolin Tsai concert the ground supported stage truss system collapsed.  On worker was killed, and 13 other were injured.  On of the injured is in serious condition, while the others only suffered minor injuries. Truss System Before the Collapse The incident occurred around 5PM local time at the Guangxi Sports Center Arena. After the collapse workers assess damage. Deconstructing a tangled web of steel, aluminum, and stretched cables is a dangerous endeavor - st ..read more

The Theatrefolk Podcast offers-up a thoughtful piece on Theatre Safety - come and tune-in as Lindsay Price interviews Kristy Ross-Clausen about rigging, emergency egress routes, hand and foot PPE, and flame-proofing ..read more

The Educational Theatre Association (EdTA) serves the High School and College level theatre teachers and students through two publications Dramatics and Teaching Theatre.  The Fall 2015 issue of Teaching Theatre features two articles about performer safety that are good resources for your library.  Share them with your staff and students.  The magazine can be found on the EdTA web site (www.edta.org) and a direct link to the PDF download is here.  If you are not a member of EdTA, consider joining to support this organizations great resources.  They also have a Communi ..read more