🔵 CROWD SURGE / CRUSH RISK — RESPONSE PROTOCOL

Density | Flow control | Relief routes | Escalation

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⚠️ CORE PRINCIPLE Crowd crush can kill quickly and without warning. Your priority is to reduce pressure, restore movement, and create space. Do not add to density by “piling in”. Create control points and relief routes. Escalate early — once a surge begins, it can outpace your response.

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🚨 TRIGGER

• Crowd density rising rapidly (people compressing / shoulder-to-shoulder)
• Uncontrolled forward push, surge, or “wave” movement
• People unable to move freely; arms pinned; feet lifting off ground
• Fallen person(s) reported or visible (trip → pile-on risk)
• Pinch point congestion (barriers, gates, doorways, stairs, barriers, merch, toilets)
• Panic behaviour (running, screaming, sudden mass direction change)
• Reports of breathing difficulty, fainting, or distress in a dense area

⚠️ EARLY WARNING SIGNS (RECOGNISE FAST)

• Density increases without a clear reason (crowd still arriving behind)
• Stop-start “accordion” movement; people swaying
• Crowd noise changes (panic, shouting, distress)
• Barriers flexing; staff being pressed back
• People climbing, pushing sideways, trying to escape
• Items dropped and not retrievable (indicator of immobility)
• First aid calls rising in the same location (heat, fainting, hyperventilation)

⏱️ IMMEDIATE ACTIONS (FIRST 30–60 SECONDS)