Documents detail no evacuation plan before fatal Prairie Fest tent collapse
An emergency plan shows no specific procedures for evacuating crowds in the event of severe weather at Wood Dale's Prairie Fest, where a man was killed and 22 others were injured when a festival tent collapsed in a sudden storm.
The plan, released Wednesday to the Daily Herald two weeks after it filed a Freedom of Information request with the city, also includes an email exchange among city leaders indicating nearby Wood Dale Junior High School could be used as a shelter. But there is no indication of whether the school was open to fest-goers seeking a safe haven.
Steven Nincic, a 35-year-old father of two, took cover under the tent when the storm hit the grounds Aug. 2, the final day of the festival. He was struck by a pole as the tent collapsed in a powerful gust of wind and died from massive head injuries. City Manager Jeff Mermuys and a Wood Dale police officer standing inches from Nincic were among the injured.
Documents released by the city Wednesday include more than 30 pages that cover police and firefighter staffing and lists of objectives for law enforcement, including keeping an eye on weather that could affect safety.
But nothing appears to suggest an evacuation plan for severe weather. In a separate email chain, though, the junior high school was mentioned as a potential “safe place.”
The day before the start of the festival, an executive assistant for the city asked Wood Dale Elementary District 7 Superintendent John Corbett if the junior high could be made available for festival attendees in the event of “inclement/dangerous weather (ie, tornado warning),” according to the email.
“Sure,” Corbett replied, asking for a “suggested procedure.”
Police Chief Greg Vesta responded the next day: “I would say if we are given a severe thunderstorm watch or obviously tornado watch we should consider having someone available to opening the school. Right now there is no severe weather predicted through Sunday, so I think we are fine.”
City officials Wednesday directed all inquiries to their attorney, who would not comment on the documents.
“As I indicated on the phone, the only comment I can provide pertains to the surveillance video that aired on CBS (TV) this week,” attorney Patrick Moran wrote in an email. “The officers shown in that video did not direct anyone to the tent, nor does the surveillance video used in the report show officers directing anyone to the tent. As for your other questions, the city has no comment at this time due to the pending litigation.”
The video, captured by a city surveillance camera and aired on CBS 2 this week, shows the Nincic family starting to exit the grounds but then turning around and heading off-camera with two police officers.
Attorney Louis Cairo, who is representing Nincic's wife and several others injured in the tent collapse, said he also sought documents related to an evacuation plan but received #8220;nothing related.#8221;
An attorney for the tent supplier told Cairo, however, #8220;there was supposed to be an evacuation plan by the city of Wood Dale, which specifically indicated that going under the tent was the last place in the world you wanted to be,#8221; Cairo said.
Nincic's wife told her attorney that police stopped them, warned of bad weather and #8220;to get under the tent now,#8221; Cairo said. #8220;They just started running, They followed the police.#8221;
A wrongful-death lawsuit filed last week claims Prairie Fest organizers chose not to evacuate the festival grounds despite a National Weather Service severe thunderstorm warning forecasting hail and winds of up to 60 mph. The suit alleges festival organizers #8220;inappropriately encouraged#8221; crowds to take cover under the tent, instead of moving them inside Wood Dale Junior High, #8220;in direct contradiction to the City's evacuation plan.#8221;
Named as defendants are McCook-based Classic Party Rentals and Chicago Special Events Management, but not the city of Wood Dale. The companies, the suit argues, failed to safely secure the structure and to post signs alerting festivalgoers of where to seek shelter during storms.
Nincic's family is seeking at least $50,000 in the complaint. Three other people who attended the festival are listed as plaintiffs.
#8226; Daily Herald staff writer Justin Kmitch contributed to this report.