Lehigh University Police Chief Edward Shupp expected the crowds but not the aftermath of the rave party at Lehigh on Saturday that sent dozens to area hospitals in what is being called a "mass casualty incident" that involved drugs and alcohol and strained emergency responders.
Area hospitals reported treating 44 people who attended the event at Rauch Fieldhouse. Shupp said the majority were treated for dehydration due to alcohol and
substance abuse. One student said his friend broke her ankle.
University police also reported six arrests around Rauch, including four people under 21 who were intoxicated and taken to a hospital. One arrest was for disorderly conduct when a person was denied entry into Rauch.
"It may be viewed differently by different people, but we handled it the best that we could. You just can't plan for something like this. It could happen anywhere," Shupp said.
The show starred DayGlow, a touring troupe that features disc jockeys, techno music, stilt-walkers, acrobatic dancers and gallons of fluorescent paint, which is sprayed on eager audience members.
The sold-out event was coordinated by California-based New Castle Entertainment and attracted 4,200 concert-goers, including members of the public as well as students from Lehigh and other colleges.
University spokesman Jordan Reese defended Lehigh's handling of the show, saying management of the fieldhouse, which is on the Murray H. Goodman campus next to Stabler Arena, prepared adequately.
"Stabler staff contacted other venues that hosted this particular event and made preparations, as they always do, to ensure the facility would be well-staffed and the promoter was compliant with safety requests," Reese said.
In September, 15 people were hospitalized for overdosing on drugs or alcohol at a sold-out DayGlow paint party in Syracuse, N.Y. About 5,000 people attended that party, according to news reports.
With a beefed-up staff of university officers and Bethlehem city police officers, Shupp said the university "wasn't at all overwhelmed."
Shupp said those in attendance were patted down and searched before being allowed to enter.
"No drugs were observed by officers. No one was charged with any kind of drug possession. Could someone have done something in their car or home before the event? There's no way of knowing," he said.
But Robert F. Mateff, director of Northampton County Emergency Management, said the rave party turned into "a mass casualty incident" that "put a strain" on the county's emergency response system.
"We are going to follow up with Lehigh University about this, as we do with any big incident," Mateff said Monday. "They need to examine this event."
DayGlow got under way at 8 p.m. Mateff said Dewey Fire Company's ambulance squad called for help after 9 p.m. Ambulance units from Suburban Rescue,
Bethlehem Township and Easton responded, he said.
Twenty people from the rave were taken to Lehigh Valley Health Network's hospitals in Bethlehem and Salisbury Township and 24 went to St. Luke's Hospital & Health Network's Bethlehem Township and Fountain Hill hospitals, representatives said.
"Even with the best-laid plans in place, things can happen and we had to call in more medical units than we expected," Shupp said.
Reese, in an email message, stressed that although the event was held on Lehigh property, it was not university-sponsored. "It was public," he said.
New Castle Entertainment, Reese said, leased the fieldhouse for the show and provided security.