Indiana panel to consider state’s first rigging rules

INDIANAPOLIS — An Indiana commission is ready to consider adoption of the state’s first rules governing the type of stage rigging involved in last summer’s deadly state fair stage collapse.

Members of the Indiana Fire Prevention and Building Safety Commission are scheduled to discuss and possibly vote on approval of the proposed rules during its Wednesday meeting in Indianapolis.

A state law passed during this year’s legislative session directed the commission to adopt temporary rules in the wake of the Aug. 13 stage rigging collapse that killed seven people before a scheduled Sugarland concert at the state fairgrounds.

The new rules will become Indiana’s first regulations for outdoor stage rigging and related temporary structures. They are intended to serve as a placeholder until permanent rules are in place.