Accident at Winter Garden

[bwaylyric]

Terrible news!

Winter Garden accident

[Sutton Ross]

Oh my God, horrible! 

[HogansHero]

So sad to hear this. I hope more info is forthcoming soon from a less superficial source.

[SayNoToJugs]

I hate that they reduce them down to just "a stagehand." Hope a proper memorial is held soon.

[Highland Guy]

BWW:   Why did you choose to provide a link to an article that is so unnecessarily graphic?  

[Sutton Ross]

Yeah, the truth about death is usually..... graphic.

[ArtMan]

Can someone educate me on what a fly floor is?  I tried a search and still just as clueless.  

[HogansHero]

well, there are a number of our colleagues here who can explain in more detail if needed but "fly" refers to the rigging system above the stage by which scenic elements (etc) are "flown" onto the stage. So a fly floor is the surface on which one stands to access the fly. 

[Jordan Levinson]

HogansHero said: "So sad to hear this. I hope more info is forthcoming soon from a less superficial source."

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Stagehand-Dies-Following-Fall-From-Fly-Floor-At-The-Winter-Garden-Theatre-20201112

Devastating news.

[ArtMan]

Hogan, so is the fly floor , a small surface in which one stands?  How high above the stage?  A safety belt/harness required?  Thanks for the info.

[Broadway Joe]

That's really sad to hear. 

 

SayNoToJugs said: "I hate that they reduce them down to just "a stagehand." Hope a proper memorial is held soon."

The family might not have been notified yet 

[itsjustmejonhotmailcom]

ArtMan said: "Hogan, so is the fly floor , a small surface in which one stands? How high above the stage? A safety belt/harness required? Thanks for the info."

Here's a decent illustration of a fly floor. They are usually 50+ feet above the stage, and yes fall protection equipment is usually required when up there. 

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/428756826998718637/

[ArtMan]

Thanks for the info, Jon.

[Alex Kulak2]

I don’t know if anyone will take comfort from this, but a fall from that high would have killed the stagehand instantly. At least they didn’t suffer.

[ghostlight2]

 That looks more like a grid than a fly floor, itsjustmejon.

Think of a fly floor as a loft on one side of the stage. It isn't an easy thing to fall off of, and no, people don't ever wear harnesses on the fly floor.

[ghostlight2]

Alex, the news report says he died at the hospital.

From what I am hearing, he fell from the grid, essentially the highest place in the theater, directly above the stage. There are not a lot of places you can fall from, but the ladder well is one of them. Maybe he missed a rung on the ladder. Tripped? Had a heart attack?

[HogansHero]

it's hard to know which reports to believe at this stage, but if you credit the porter, the ladder certainly seems like the more plausible explanation. Horrible regardless. 

[ghostlight2]

Yes. 

The articles talking about the stagehand retrieving "props" makes zero sense. People are just throwing out terms they've heard.There are two "fly floors" in most theaters. Think of them as lofts on either side of the stage in the wings. One is for electrics, the other is for scenery. It is usually about 50 feet in the air, but there's a rail and it is not easy to fall from.

Above that is the grid, and Winter Garden has one of the highest. The grid spans the width of the stage. You can see the stage through the slats, which is disconcerting, but again, little chance of falling and also again, people do not wear harnesses up there - not yet, anyway. 

Awful any way you look at it.

 

[HogansHero]

The first report that I saw also suggested this involved striking the BJ set but the impression I had was that there was not a crew there, just the victim and the porter were mentioned. Striking the BJ set would not be a solo operation, even if it were only a part. (Again, I am not pretending to be an expert on this; anything I know is from the vantage point of terra firma. I have a pretty good significant fear of heights, even on my kitchen ladder.) There was also mention of head protection and that's another area that will hopefully be explained at some point. It is concerning that the name has apparently been withheld so far, which suggests to me they are having trouble notifying next of kin, itself a tragedy.

[ghostlight2]

There was a crew there. Head gear would not have mattered at all.The grid at the Winter Garden is one of the highest that Broadway has, somewhere around 90 feet.

The stagehand's name is known. It's a large family. Most have been notified.

[Phantom of London]

Terrible news.

[HogansHero]

Thanks, Ghost. I'm shutting down my curiosity now, out of respect.

[Fosse76]

ghostlight2 said: "Alex, the news report says he died at the hospital."

Actually, the article stated he was pronounced dead at the hospital. That doesn't mean he didn't die on the scene. Generally, only a physician or nurse can pronounce a death (it varies by state). Since they usually don't get dispatched to the scene, the pronouncement doesn't happen until they arrive at thYe hospital. 

**ETA

NYS doesn't restrict pronouncements of deaths to only physicians or nurses. However, that doesn't mean he wasn't dead on the scene. 

[HogansHero]

Fosse76 said: "ghostlight2 said: "Alex, the news report says he died at the hospital."

Actually, the article stated he was pronounced dead at the hospital. That doesn't mean he didn't die on the scene. Generally, only a physician or nurse can pronounce a death (it varies by state). Since they usually don't get dispatched to the scene, the pronouncement doesn't happen until they arrive at the hospital."

EMTs (and others who are not doctors) can pronounce in New York. In the early days of the pandemic, some deceased people were taken by EMTs directly from home to the refrigerated morgue trucks after they pronounced. 

ETA: He could have been dead but EMTs are trained to continue efforts until certain protocols have been followed. The hospital was close by, so it is entirely possible they had not given up. 

ETA #2: The Times report clarifies (a) that it was indeed a ladder (from the fly floor) and (b) that he was doing routine maintenance.

[nealb1]

Just so horrible. May he rest in peace. Without a stage crew, there would be no plays or musicals for us to see and admire.