We've received some questions from exhibitors on a power outage that occurred at the Sands after the close of the 2010 SHOT Show.
The following is a response from Karen Haigh, senior director of operations for Reed Exhibitions, which manages the SHOT Show for NSSF:
As if the 2010 SHOT Show wasn't exciting enough, at the close of this year's SHOT Show, some of you who stayed that night to pack up might have noticed something out of place.
About 45 minutes into the return of the firearm crates and containers, the lights went out. We thought it would be helpful for you to understand what exactly did happen and how we handled it.
A forklift driver was working on a special request to move a crate from one level to another. The shortest distance between two points involved a transformer with a power line on a telephone pole. Unfortunately, this telephone pole provided power for most of the Sands Expo, and, even more unfortunately, the power cable inside the conduit was accidentally hit by a forklift blade. Fortunately, the fork lift driver kept his cool in a very hot situation and survived to tell his tale.
The Sands Expo Building Engineer had just gotten home and was looking forward to a relaxing Friday evening. Century Security immediately jumped into action and temporarily stopped all traffic going in or out of doors in order to keep control until the situation had been assessed.
Keeping tabs on 12,000 firearms with no lights operating was on the top of their mind as was the safety of individuals on the show floor. Show management, Sands Expo management and Freeman all worked together with Century, and, very shortly after, allowed people to leave the building.
Now keep in mind that the freight doors hadn't opened yet and needed to open (usually electronically) in order to complete the return of the firearm crates. A couple of select freight doors were opened by using forklifts so that the firearm crates could continue.
Until the lights came back on, it would not be safe to let labor onto the show floor because an accident was sure to happen.
Remember the Sands Building Engineer who was enjoying getting home for the weekend? He was out the door in a flash and back on property in record time. His team worked furiously with the power company to get the lights and power restored. At about 6:30 p.m., labor was immediately let onto the show floor and move-out continued.
Since then, protective barriers have been placed around the telephone pole and power line, and emergency lighting has been upgraded.