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9 Ways a Music Festival Can Kill You

Cosmopolitan
By Elizabeth Narins, April 8, 2014.
1. You could overheat. Basking in the sun while festival-ing could have scary consequences: Christopher Yoder, 24, died of hyperthermia (overheating) at the 2011 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival.

To save yourself: Buy the $5 water bottle — or two, or three. As overpriced as beverages can be at concert venues, they help you stay hydrated. Other smart strategies: Wear light-colored, loose clothing, and park in the shade when possible — especially during the afternoon when temperatures peak, suggests Cody Lundin, founder and lead instructor of Aboriginal Living Skills School in Prescott, Arizona.

2. You could suffer drug overdose, drug-induced seizure, or another medical emergency. Olivia Rotondo, 20, died from a drug-induced seizure at Electric Zoo in 2013; Ellie Rowe, 18, died from central nervous system depression from ketamine powder and alcohol toxicity at BoomTown Fair in 2013; and Sasha Rodriguez, 15, died from hyponatremia (drinking too much water) after taking ecstasy.

To save yourself: In the case of a medical emergency, notify an authority as quickly as you can. And make sure your friends know the drill in case you’re not able to ask for help yourself: They should notify an authority to get a doctor or bring other types of aid to the patient (moving the person could exasperate unseen injuries). While waiting for help, make room and keep the patient as calm and comfortable as possible.

3. You could get crushed in the pit. Slick festival grounds and a pushy crowd caused eight people to be crushed or trampled during a Pearl Jam concert at a Danish rock festival in 2000.

To save yourself: Be wary of muddy grounds in unticketed venues: Instead of pushing your way up toward the stage, stake your ground near a railing toward one side or the back of the crowd, ideally near an exit.

If you feel the least bit uncomfortable in a crowded audience, listen to your gut and get out of the way. Instead of going backward against the tide as they push forward, move parallel to the stage until you get to a less dense area or to a barricade where security can pull you out. If you fall down, don’t scream (you’ll just lose oxygen and energy without being heard). Protect your head, neck, and organs in fetal position until you can move to your knees and stand up.

4. You could get trampled in the post-concert rush. In 1999, 50 teens and three police officers were trampled to death at an outdoor concert in Minsk, Belarus, as the crowd attempted to seek shelter from hail in a nearby subway station. Forty-two of those who died were women; police said teenagers wearing heels were the first ones down.

To save yourself: First off, never wear heels (or any footwear you can’t walk comfortably in) to an outdoor concert. Then remember you can’t stop a crowd from coming toward you, so just go with it: Run with or ahead of the crowd in the same direction, and try to move toward the side of a stampede to slide behind a barricade. If you trip, assume it’s impossible to get up. Instead of falling on your back or chest, try to fall on your side or your knees in fetal position with your arms over your head and hands on your neck. This way, you’ll protect your lungs and be able to breath if someone falls on top of you.

5. You could get hit by a drunk driver. Jamie West, 27; Steven Craenmehr, 35; Sandy Le, 26; and DeAndre Tatum, 18, were killed when a suspected drunk driver plowed into a crowd standing outside an club at the 2014 South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas. More than 20 others were injured.

To save yourself: You can’t avoid all accidents, but you can stay alert in crowds, particularly where pedestrians and vehicles share the road, says Paul Wertheimer, head of Crowd Management Strategies, a Los Angeles-based international crowd safety consulting service. Street corners where traffic moves in multiple directions tend to be the most dangerous: It’s where drivers are most likely to lose control and cars are most likely to collide or careen toward sidewalks. While you can’t do much when a car barrels toward you (besides avoid the center of the vehicle by diving to the left or right), you can stay aware and avoid standing near the curb. Stay as far as you can from moving vehicles, Wertheimer says.

6. You could get run over. Alicia Louise Cipicchio, 29, fell under a fur-covered double-decker party bus at Burning Man in 2014, and Katherine Lampman, 21, was run over after jumping off a moving art car to get a closer look at an exhibit at Burning Man in 2003.

To save yourself: Don’t just avoid operating heavy machinery when you’re under the influence of any substances. Use special caution when riding in them: Don’t overcrowd a shuttle or float, which increases the likelihood of people falling off, Wertheimer says. After you exit a vehicle, stay 5 to 10 feet away: the distance should give you time to react should the drive veer off path and toward you.

7. You could fall out a window. It happened to Emily McCaughan, 22, in 2012: Her drug-induced paranoid delusions led her to leave the Electric Daisy Carnival music festival early and alone. When she returned to the hotel, she fell more than 20 stories from her Circus Circus hotel room.

To save yourself: Avoid using hallucinogens, especially in unfamiliar places where it’s downright stupid to experiment. And never leave a friend alone when she is using illegal drugs.

8. You could get stabbed to death. Meredith Hunger, 18, suffered such a fate at Altamont Speedway Free Festival in 1969. After an attempt to rush the stage, he pulled a revolver, and was stabbed to death by a Hells Angel security guard.

To save yourself: Although most music festivals prohibit weapons, require you to pass through a metal detector to gain entry, and hire legit security teams instead of motorcycle clubs, don’t assume you’re in the clear (especially in festival parking lots where there tends to be less security). If someone wields a weapon, get as far from the hazard as possible by exiting the enclosed space or getting behind a barricade. If there’s nowhere to run or hide, drop to your knees. You’ll be less of a target for the attacker and police (who will assume the attacker is standing, according to Wertheimer). When you get outside, keep moving to let everyone behind you get out and clear the way for emergency responders to get in. Reconvene with your friends at a distant meeting point you determine on your way in.

9. You could catch on fire. Christopher Wallace, 30, ran into a three-story installation intentionally set on fire at the Element 11 festival in 2014.

To save yourself: Avoid open flames and locate fire exits as soon as you enter any structure or unfamiliar area. If you do catch on fire, avoid the urge to run, which increases the intensity of the flame and spreads the fire. Instead, drop and roll around, and take off any burning clothes if you can. In an enclosed area, it’s especially important to get low: People die of smoke inhalation before they die of burns, Wertheimer says. Drop to your hands and knees to get beneath the smoke, which could contain poison from burning plastics and paint. Then crawl to the nearest exit.

http://www.cosmopolitan.com/health-fitness/a38821/ways-a-music-festival-can-kill-you/

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