I guess it’s not a good week to go clubbing. I’m watching CNN’s reporting of the deaths at the Great White concert in Rhode Island. This is just insane as it followed the horrible horrible events in Chicago, with the 20+ dead from being trampled to death. The tragically ironic thing in the Rhode Island case is there was a cameraman there from a local news station there doing a segment on nightclub safety. His pictures of the fire are just startling. Just scary.
I’m flashing back to the mid-90’s. I was invited to the premiere of a wrestling federation called the PCW (one of many with those initials). Their first show was held in a club in Reading, PA. The nightclub had a bar then an open area in front of the stage. The ring was stuck up in the middle of the open area and there wasn’t a lot of room to get around. I was there with a friend and we were having a drink at our table when we heard a commotion. A rival wrestling promoter got in an argument with security and suddenly blam the smell of pepper spray fills the room. The crowd panics at first, but everyone calms down as we grab napkins to cover our mouths and we file out a low staircase to get outside. It could have been much worse, I was surprised that it wasn’t, but I’m getting goosebumps at how lucky we were.
A second flashback was about a year later. A famous incident (in wrestling circles) at the ECW arena in Philly, PA. It was the main event and the idea was for the bad guy to hit the good guy with a flaming chair. At the same time the lights were scheduled to go out as part of another angle. None of us knew that as the bad guy hits the good guy with the flaming chair and the chair flies off into the crowd right in front of us. Huge flame as it flies through the air and the lights go out. The arena fills with smoke and it was weird. No real panic, we all don’t know what’s going on. We’re in the dark, the place is filling with smoke and there’s fire in front of us. Some 1200 people look at each other and walk calmly out of the building. Only one person was hurt, he tried to grab the chair for some reason and he later sued the ECW and lost his court case because his claims didn’t hold up in court.
Thinking back, I was lucky in both situations. In Chicago it was pepper spray that started the fatal stampede. In Rhode Island it was botched “pyrotechnics.” One person reacting differently, one person panicking and it all could have turned out differently. It scares me to death right now just to think about these people who didn’t get out. My thoughts and my heart are with them and their families right now.
k9