Riley texted me last night as I was headed back from Abbotsford BC, here is y tradgic story:
Concerning the Starfield show Abbotsford BC Canada Friday night April 25th 2008.
Being a roommate of Alex’s for the past three years, he played Shane & Shane for me that I fell in love with. Fast warding to February 2008, as Brittany, one of my special needs students is laying in a hospital bed near death do to her Huntington’s Disease. So I made a “soft rock’ play list on my ipod to play in the background of her hospital room, artists include: Blindside, Bon Jovi, Bush, The Classic Crime, Foo Fighters, Johnny Cash, Live, P.O.D., Phil Collins/Genesis, Shane & Shane, Showbread, Smashing Pumpkins, Stone Temple Pilots, Switchfoot, Toto and U2.
Alex told me about the current Shane & Shane tour months ago. I got excited to tell Shane & Shane how soothing there music was to Brittany’s soul and spirit as I tried to ease her suffering.
Leaving Seattle about 3pm Friday heading north Alex and I picked up another roommate Justin, then Alex’s fiancé Alisha. We got to Abbotsford BC about 6:30ish. The show being sold out, Central Heights Church wouldn’t turn the four of us away being the we traveled from Seattle. They asked us to serve as apart of World vision flyer and information team. I was grateful to be serving rather than attending the concert.
Opener Bethany Dillon had a three song set, Shane & Shane had a 5 song set, the Iranian speaker Dan Nasser spoke for about 35 minutes on John chapter 6:35, towards the end we handed out 900 World vision child sponsor packets. Tim Neufeld, Lead singer of Starfield came up and sang an acoustic song to end the sermon. Then we had an intermission for about 30 minutes; I observed the World vision booth, as it was high traffic. As the headliner Starfield took the stage, I stayed in the foyer with Alisha and Alex, as we saw the opportunity to spent time talking to the Shane & Shane band mates, while the focus was in the sanctuary. I was on a bench with my back to the wall; I felt the vibrations of the headliner. Having done roadie work everything was set for the headliners.
Into the second song I heard a huge electrical pop, I knew that the circuit breaker blew. Then a huge crash along with the fire alarm, screaming and mass movement. I knew something worse had happened; I rush in as the crowd started running out, I was calmly asked thoughts running past me to walk out to a safe distant. Attempting to calm the panic as I moved forward, as the crowd thinned out I saw the fallen scaffolding in the collapsed hole in the floor that was the basement as a water pipe burst fallen fans and rescuers where is the area below. I headed back to the escort the safe out to the foyer and was assisted the crowd control out there. As I am knowledgeable and certified in CPR and First Aid, for the severally medically fragile persons with disabilities which who I work with. Every walking wounded had many around them to assist, so I knew my role was to assist and escort the unnecessary outside to safety. I came acrossed Justin helping a head wound victim, we knew each other were ok, I told him the Alisha and Alex were in the foyer with me at the time. Minutes later Fire and rescue arrived in mass asking the uninjured to move away from the injured so they do there job. The 4 of us concluded the best way to help is to give them the space they were asking for, leaving the scene and heading back to Seattle.
While early on the back, we in silence. Having my roadie’ing knowledge remember walking up a set of stair to the sanctuary. Also eyeballing the scaffolding structure and sound, lights and projectors attached during the sermon while waiting by the exit doors in back. Rationalizing that its possibly top-heavy looking at the base. Questioning myself what’s below the sanctuary if the crowd were to get lively at some point. Having hosted heavier concerts at my church, I figured they had the knowledge to know their structural integrity.
Our church and I will have you in pray Central Heights Church and I’ll be following the news while here in Seattle