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Thursday, August 18, 2011

Ind. Gov't. - "Ind. self-policing raises questions on fair probe" [Updated]

Charles Wilson of the AP has a long story this afternoon, here as published via the Atlanta Journal Constitution website, that begins:

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana's decision to essentially police itself as it investigates a fatal stage collapse at the state fair is raising questions about how objective the probe will be.

Workplace safety agencies, state police and fair officials are looking into Saturday's collapse that killed five people and injured dozens more. All are under the jurisdiction of the state, which also put on the fair. The lone outside agency brought in so far is an engineering firm hired by the Indiana State Fair Commission, raising questions about its independence.

Other states in similar positions have formed special commissions with outside experts to handle investigations, including of a bonfire collapse at Texas A&M University and the Columbine High School shootings in Colorado. Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels so far hasn't mentioned the idea, and instead has repeatedly referred to the wind gust that toppled the stage but spared other nearby structures as a freak occurrence that couldn't have been anticipated.

[Updated at 5:25 PM] within the hour, the Governor's office has issued a press release announcing:
INDIANAPOLIS (August 18, 2011) – The nationally recognized public safety and crisis management firm Witt Associates has been hired to assist the Indiana State Fair Commission’s investigation of the tragedy at the Indiana State Fair on Aug. 13.

Governor Daniels contacted James Lee Witt, chief executive officer of Witt Associates, today to hire Witt’s company to conduct a comprehensive, independent analysis of the state fair’s preparedness and response to Saturday night’s event. Witt Associates, with headquarters in Washington, D.C., will complete an investigation and provide a report to the Fair Commission and the governor on all aspects of the adequacy of state fair procedures and the effectiveness of decision-making during and after the event as well as the response to the accident.

“With Thornton Tomasetti conducting the structural investigation and Witt Associates reviewing decision-making and preparedness, we believe we have the best people in America looking at every angle of the accident,” said Andre Lacy, chairman of the Indiana State Fair Commission.

Here is the just-posted AP story in the AJC. It apparently has replaced the earlier version, quoted above.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on August 18, 2011 04:22 PM
Posted to Indiana Government | Stage Collapse