On July 17, 1981 I know were I was at 7:05 PM. That is the date and time of the Hyatt Regency Skywalk Collapse in Kansas City (MO).
“The Hyatt Regency hotel walkway collapse was a major disaster that occurred on July 17, 1981 in Kansas City, Missouri, United States, killing 114 people and injuring more than 200 others during a tea dance. At the time it was the deadliest structural collapse in U.S. history…”
I was working security and safety at Research Medical Center. I was working the second shift (1400 to 2200 hours). My supervisor was Bob Barr. I was working in the parking garage and I heard on a radio about a collapse at the hotel. I went to the ER and informed the officer in the ER and my supervisor and the ER. My supervisor did not seem to care. At 8 PM I moved to my next post the ER of the hospital. They knew by then that it was a major disaster but we had not received a patient yet.
The hospital called in off duty personnel and got ready for patients. I saw department heads that were called in to the hospital parking in the ER parking lot and I went out and told them to move their cars out of the ER parking lot. My supervisor was saying things like that is Mr so and so head of plant operations etc. I said I know who it is and I do not care and I told them to move and they did move. Soon my supervisor moved me away from the action to a back hallway to control that area. Smile
RMC did very well with the patients that we got and the hospital also had beds and other equipment that was sent over to other hospital.
One of the big problems security had at the hospital was that a radio station DJ went on the air and told people they could help by going to their local hospital and giving blood. No hospital in Kansas City got any of their blood from walk in people giving the blood they got it all from a blood bank at a non-hospital location. When we told the people that came to the hospital we did not draw blood at the hospital and they had to give at some other location many did not believe us because they heard it on the radio and many were pissed off.
Kansas City police, fire, ems and the hospitals all did very well with the event. Kansas City emergency personnel and the hospitals had just done training on an event like that and it worked out very well.
I was also a police officer in a small town next to Kansas City and there were at least two homes that I knew about in the town were someone had died at the skywalk collapse. We had the houses on a watch list to check them.
Also a couple of the local police officer got in trouble because they went to the collapse. They were full-time officers with our department but were off duty at the time. They went to the collapse, in uniform, without asking permission. It was the city manager that was upset over it.
If you ask me “Where were you on July 17, 1981?” I would not remember the date but if you mention the Hyatt skywalk collapse I will remember the details.
Had footage of the entire evening's local news coverage at one time. But VHS had won the battle and none of my VHS tape of that vintage is viewable now. Nearly 100% snow, didn't get to digitize it in time. Curiously I still have Betamax material that's a touch older, yet works!
Posted by: Joe 2.0 | Saturday, July 18, 2009 at 12:54
Thanks for posting the link to that program - good review and I learned some things I never knew. A tragedy waiting to happen for sure but the lessons learned strengthened building codes and awareness nationwide so some good did come from it.
There is just now a move to construct a memorial to the disaster but removed from the scene on Gilham. Frank Freeman who's featured in the program lost his partner, Roger, in the disaster and Freeman is now the President of the Memorial Foundation.
http://www.kccommunitynews.com/johnson-county-sun-news/28565182/detail.html
Foundation website: http://skywalkmemorial.org/
Amazing that 30 years has elapsed and just now a move to have a permanent memorial. In general commercial firms don't wish to memorialize disasters or have their property become memorial landmarks. I don't know if there's anything in the lobby to commemorate the disaster or not.
Posted by: Dick | Saturday, July 16, 2011 at 14:35