Extreme Fear

Jeff:

It is very easy for eyewitnesses and even tactical responders to mistake “crowd crush” for a stampede. Most crowd-related deaths are caused by this. We think people need at least one square yard around them to breath and function. When compressed on all sides in a tight crowd, people can be out cold in a minute and dead within 5-6 minutes. The body is often carried along for a good long while until either the crowd loosens and it drops, or people eventually notice they are packed in alongside a dead person and they freak and try to run. This crowd running becomes an “escape mob” and the body/bodies do get trampled upon, so to first responders or ER teams, it can look like they were killed by the stampede. Truth is, they were dead, as in this instance, before they ever hit the ground.

I have seen this as an EMT in huge group events and have studied and written about this for a while, specifically about group, crowd and mob behavior in chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) terrorism. Collective human behavior in extreme fear scenarios is a pretty tricky thing.

Great blog! Keep up the good work.

Steve

German death enclosure: There is irony on so many levels here.

I'm sadden by the loss of life, and wonder if anyone can be held libel because of the poor planning. But on the other hand I don't understand why people would willingly crowd up like this.

I have no interest in attending crowed venues (sporting events, rock concerts, raves, demonstrations, mosh pits, and such), but obviously there must be something about them that draws people. I can assume that there is something about the energy produced by a mass of people that strikes at some psychological desire, or need.

As a person who grew up in Alaska, where wide open spaces are valued, I know I don't have the experience necessary to comprehend why others would want to be crowded.

But I do know from my youth what it felt like to be pulled along by a group of my peers. The guys I sometimes hung out with would do things I wouldn't normally do, but reflectively I hated given up my individualism to part of their group. I've at times pondered why I went along with their activities.

I know I don't like to be controlled by others, and when I feel like I am I tend to rebel (internally or externally). In thinking over this article I wondered if I was there if I would have rebelled against the culture of the situation, or would have become a part of the press.