Dr. Gil Fried is a nationally known expert in the field of crowd safety and facility safety. He has written 12 books, teaches, lectures, and consults on numerous crowd relatedissues including being an expert witness in numerous crowd management cases over the past 30 years. Dr. Fried has been featured on NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt and on CNN as an expert on incidents with crowds.
Below is Dr. Fried's research:
How to get out safely in a crowd incident
A fans’ guide to safety in public assembly facilities
By Prof. Gil Fried, Interim Assistant Dean, College of Business, University of West Florida
2022 was not a great year for crowd related tragedies. Just in September and October the following sample incidents happened:
-Nine people were killed at 20 injured at a stampede after a concert in Guatemala.
-A 14-year-old youth in Philadelphia was shot and killed along with four otherwounded students after a football scrimmage.
-A stampede ensued after police fired tear gas into a crowd at an Indonesiansoccer game killing 174 people and injuring over 323 fans.
-140+ people died in a bridge collapse in India when the crowd was trying to swaythe bridge back and forth.
-At least 151 people died in a Halloween event crowd surge in Seoul, South Korea.
2023 is not shaping to be any better. Some issues faced in 2023 include:
-Several artists had phones or other items thrown at them while on stage and one singer threw a microphone into the audience.
-There were seven shootings in August at various high school football stadiums ortheir parking lots.
-Fights have continued to break out in the stands at football games with the death of a Patriot’s fan during a Sunday Night NFL game.
-Fans have scaled fences or rushed gates at various events to rush/evade security and gain access to events in a very dangerous manner.
We all want to be safe and there are many safe places to go in life. However, we all know that many injuries occur in our own home, even though we know or think we know it is safe. The safety factor is magnified when we are in an unfamiliar environment andmight get disoriented based on light (or lack thereof), noise, people, smoke, and/or drugs/alcohol. The tragic fire at The Station night club in 2003 that claimed 100 lives and injured 230 highlights this fact. The following quick guide is designed to highlight some safety strategies that can makegoing to your next event safer for you and those around you. These strategies are based on actual cases or incidents that have been handled by the author or uncovered while doing research on several books.
1) Go in groups and try to wear distinctive clothing that help everyone stand out. Group members should identify where they should meet if they must leave the facility in a rush.
2) Before arriving at the facility remember where you parked and if there are multiple vehicle exit ways in case there is a traffic related concern. Parking close to an exit might make your walk longer to the facility, but your exiting will take less time.
3) Check facility before the event to examine where it is located, physical shape, sloped floors, mushy environment (grass or mud) due to rain, etc. All such conditions can causeharm. Never undertake any activity without knowing the risks. One case I handled involved a kid who was mud sliding at a concert and he did not know that at the bottom of the hill there was a drainage pipe he did not see. He was seriously injured when heslid headfirst into the pipe.
4) When you enter a facility locate all the nearby exits as the place where you entered might not be the closest or easiest exit.
5) If you are at a rock concert that has general admission (festival) seating, make sure you are not standing by the railing in front of the stage. A patron can be trapped with little room to move by the barriers and can likely face other patrons bumping into them when they are dancing. If you feel unsafe tell the security person at the railing that you want to be lifted out. Make sure you have plenty of fluids to drink or ask security for water aspeople are often dehydrated in the pit area. If you want to be near “the action” try staying by the sides rather than the middle (in front of the stage) to avoid being hit when moshpits form or people start pushing forward to the stage area.
6) Consider special issues such as children or those with disabilities since it might take longer to get them out of a facility. Some facilities have special alcoves for disabled patrons to wait for evacuation. When you enter a facility make sure you ask an employee what strategies or issues you should know if there is an emergency.
7) Consider the time of the year as in winter we usually wear coats which gives us more weight and increases our size-which impacts our movement.
8) Be careful with stairs and ramps. An average stairway used to be 44 inches wide so that two people can walk up together. However, when we walk down stairs we take more that 22 inches of space with our hip movement. This phenomenon was seen during 9/11 when it was hard for people to go down the stairs and people had to move to the side to allow firefighters to go up the stairs.
9) Know the facility’s rules such as any code of conduct so you know all the rules youneed to follow to have a good time and to avoid being expelled from the facility. Therules are there for everyone’s safety. Also remember that the security personnel andushers are trying to do a job and protect people. Thus, treat them with respect and listento their instructions.
10) Always watch for crowded aisleways and report such conditions to an usher orsecurity personnel. Similarly, you should report any suspicious behavior, drunken fansthat are bothering others, those using excessive vulgarity/swearing, and criminal activity. People go to public assembly facilities to have fun and you are one of the key links that can help make sure everyone is having fun.
11) Since your goal is fun, remember to keep your cool. Do not get stressed out by linesor delays. Do not push others or try to wiggle your way in. Just remember, is it worth the possible loss of life (yours or someone else’s) just so you get to your seat one minute earlier?
12) If you are stuck in a crowd, try to move to the sides and exit rather than pushing to goforward or move back. Also, if you fall, try not to get up, but try to call to the side (rather than trying to crawl or move to the front -if there is a stage).
13) Listen for instructions over loudspeakers, on scoreboards, or from venue personnel. Listening to other fans can actually lead you in incorrect directions or pursue aninappropriate action.
14) If you get separated from others try to exit the area of concern alone. While we aretempted to go back after others, this is unsafe (such as trying to enter a burning buildingto save a pet). Before entering a building/venue identify a potential rendezvous point where people can meet and meet there if there is any issue rather than searching the venue.
15) Report any unsafe conditions to ushers or other event personnel. If you see something, say something.
16) Utilize resources such as fan hot lines or tip lines and report any inappropriate ordangerous behavior. Through, as an example, reporting an intoxicated fan behaving in aninappropriate manner, one can possibly prevent harm to themselves, others, and theintoxicated fan.
17) Walk away. It is often that simple. If you are in a situation or environment that is notright, don’t engage or escalate the confrontation. Just walk away with a smile. Mostpeople are at a game, concert, or event for a good time and it is important to rememberthat.
18) Be a de-escalator, rather than a reporter. Today many people whip out their cameras and start shooting video rather than actually just talking with the people and explaining that they should not engage in conduct that will get them ejected, banned from a venue, and arrested. Remind everyone it is a game or fun event. This is especially true if someone in your friend/family group is acting inappropriately.
19) Whenever possible stick around and provide information to authorities such as venue officials, medical personnel, and police officer. Every piece of information could becritical and as much information you can share can help apprehend a perpetrator or help the event prevent future simialr incidents.
We cannot make a facility 100% safe. However, we can take steps to understand and appreciate our environment which will help us maintain our own sense of safety and allow us to quickly respond to hazards.
Biography :
Gil Fried is a tenured Full Professor at the University of West Florida and chair of the Administration & Law Department, which encompasses legal studies, construction management, sport management, and public administration. He started at UWF in 2021. Prior to his appointment at UWF, Professor Fried was a Professor in the Pompea College of Business at the University of New Haven for 21 years and retired with the designation of Professor Emeritus in 2021. Professor Fried is a specialist in sport law, finance, and facility management. He received his masters in sport management and his law degree from The Ohio State University. He has written over 13 books on sport risk management, sport facility management, sport analytics, esports, and sport finance. One of the books he wrote is the Academy for Venue Safety and Security (AVSS) textbook used by the International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM). His other textbooks are used in over 140 universities in the United States and have been translated into Chinese, Russian, and Korean. He lectures nationally on financial risk management, facility risk management, crowd management/venue safety, and sport safety. His books and lecturing are supplemented with writing numerous industry articles. He has published over 400 articles focused on facility and law related concerns. Besides writing for others, he is also the Editor of Sports Facilities & the Law newsletter. He is regularly quoted in industry publications and periodicals. In 2011 he was awarded the prestigious Betty van der Smissen Leadership Award from the Sport Recreation and Law Association (SRLA) for outstanding contributions to the field of sport law education. In 2012 he was awarded the Sport Management Outstanding Achievement Award by the National Association of Sports and Physical Education (NASPE). This award recognizes professionals who have made outstanding contributions and provided leadership in the field of sport management. Professor Fried coordinates the Patron Management Institute and developed their Certificate in Patron Management Program (CPM). The CPM program is the only multi-disciplinary training program developed through and with industry leaders and designed to ensure participants learn and internalize risk management best practices. He has handled a large number of sport/music industry liability cases and has worked as an expert witness in various cases from stadium stampedes to foul ball cases. Some of his cases have involved significant national attention such as the Camp Randall stampede (University of Wisconsin), the Aramark Meadowland drunk driving case, the Wal-Mart Black Friday crowd case, Stow assault case, and the basketball crowd rush case (Kaye) in Phoenix. He also serves on several board of directors of sport related businesses and organizations. He has an active consulting practice called Gil Fried & Associates, LLC and has several major clients from corporations to insurance companies.
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