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Thursday, May 23, 2013
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BREAKING: Eight hospitalized from heat exhaustion at Hoover ceremony
by Gregory R. Norfleet · News · August 04, 2012
Ambulances took eight high school band members to the hospital out of 10 who fell ill with heat exhaustion and dehydration during the Celebration of Life Ceremony Saturday afternoon at the Hoover Complex.
Hoover Band Director Martin Rhees said paramedics reported to him that everyone taken to the hospital skipped breakfast that morning.
However, he said emergency responders told him that everyone is expected to make a full recovery, or were simply going for observation.
The ceremony, which honors the life of Herbert Hoover, started outdoors by the grave site of the Hoover National Historic Site, but rain began to fall about 10 minutes in and Site Superintendent Pete Swisher, who had been monitoring the storm cell, ordered the event shut down and moved indoors.
The crowd, speakers and bands from West Branch High School and Herbert Hoover High School of Glendale, Calif., filled the auditorium of the Hoover Library-Museum, with West Branch players on stage and Hoover High players, still in their full dress uniforms, lining the three walls that surround the seats.
The ceremony continued from where it had left off. When the fourth speaker began his turn, a Hoover High band member, overcome by heat, stepped out of line and band chaperones moved in to help him, take off his dress shirt, carry his instrument and escort him out of the room. About five or six minutes later, a second Hoover band member stepped out; a third left another five or six minutes after that.
The keynote speaker, U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack was well into his address when a fourth Hoover band member left the room, also assisted by chaperones.
Organizers decided to interrupt Loebsack's speech to let the two bands perform "America the Beautiful." During the performance, the storm, with 50-mile-per-hour winds, was raging outside, causing the power to blink off. At the end of the song, the audience gave the bands a standing ovation.
At about 12:57 p.m., the power went out and stayed out for about 10 minutes. Emergency lights came on in the hallways; organizers stopped the ceremony, security brought flashlights and many in the audience used cell phones to light their way out of the dark auditorium.
West Branch Fire Department was on the scene attending to the band students, two of whom were seated in the rotunda and others throughout the permanent exhibits. Hoover band members were told to remove their outer layers to cool off, but more of them began feeling faint.
Because of the powerful storm, the crowd remained inside eating Hoover birthday cupcakes in the foyer or wandering through the exhibits. When another Hoover band member fell faint inside the "Years of Compassion: 1914-1923" section, the crowd was ordered away from the section to help the air conditioning cool things off there.
West Liberty Ambulance and Johnson County Ambulance Service pulled up outside the glass doors of the Library-Museum to begin taking those overcome to the hospital. At least three were taken out on stretchers and a fourth rolled out on a folding wheelchair with a handle like a dolly. Others walked out with assistance.
One of the Hoover chaperones, Rene Soriano, went out to the Hoover grounds to find food for the band members and first came upon the West Branch Masonic Lodge, which was serving pork. Ray Slach, a Mason who had given Soriano a place to stay for the weekend (several West Branch families are hosting Hoover Tornado players and chaperones), responded with "Let's go," Soriano said, and men began packing up food to take to the Hoover Library-Museum, setting up lunch in the reading room of the archives for more than 60 who remained.
Gatorade, water, grapes and pork were laid out on a table and Nancy Slach began serving while Library-Museum staff and volunteers began setting up folding tables and chairs.
Rev. Richard Paulus, dressed as Samuel Adams, joined the group to entertain the students with conversation.
While rain had been predicted for today after months of drought conditions, many commented on how it came during one of the main events of Hoover's Hometown Days and was so strong that it closed down the Celebration of Life ceremony and more than 100 food and craft booths set up for the event throughout the Hoover Complex, Village Green and downtown West Branch.
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