An Exercise in Fact Finding

When I saw the headlines that Donald Trump was rescued from an elevator in Colorado Springs, I didn't think much about it.  But, then I saw the following Facebook post that my cousin reacted to:

After reading through the article, I thought this might be a great opportunity to seek out some facts before coming to any conclusions.  So, I wanted to know: 

• What did Donald Trump actually say about the fire marshall?  Were his words taken out of context? (The article above had very little of what Mr. Trump actually said.)
• What was the actual listing of the location for this event?  Did it include the room?
• If the room was identified in the listing, is there a public posting (preferably online) of the capacity of the room? (The article does state a capacity, but I wanted a primary source.)
• How many tickets were given to the event?  Were they limited to the size of the room?

So...off on my (virtual) hunt for some facts!

What did Donald Trump actually say about the fire marshall?

To answer the first question, I went right to the source.  I found the event on youtube and watched it (and so should you if you want to form your own opinion). 

Mr. Trump at UCCS 7/29/16

If you don't watch the video or want to know what Mr. Trump said pertaining to the fire marshall here it is: 

This is why our country doesn't work.  You understand. So, we have thousands of people in a room next door.  We have plenty of space here.  We have thousands of people outside trying to get in, and we have a fire marshall that said, "Oh we can't allow more people in."  And it really is so unfair to the people...I'm, I'm so sorry and I have to apologize, but it's not my fault.  I just came here.  We have thousands of beautiful, wonderful, great people outside, and we have in the room next door over a thousand people.  They won't let them in.  And the reason they won't let them in is because they don't know what the hell they're doing. That's why. Okay. To bad.  That's why our country has...hey maybe they're a Hillary person.  Could that be possible? Probably.  I don't think there are too many of them. I don't think there are too many of them. Anyway, they set up a screen in the other room. They set up something outside, but what a, what a disgraceful situation.   So, but you people can't be complaining, right? You can't be complaining. Alright. So much, so much to straighten out in this country.  This is the kind of, this is the kind of think we have in federal government also by the way, folks, ya know. And then you wonder why were going to hell.  That's why were going to hell.  It's a thought...You know what it is...it's the thought process, right?

So, Mr. Trump did clearly identify the fire marshall once, so it is reasonable to say Mr. Trump was talking about him when he stated, "they don't know what the hell they're doing."

What was the actual listing of the location for this event?

Finding a listing for the event took a bit of digging because I started searching on July 31st...two days after the event and had to sift through several news references to the event and the elevator, etc.  But, if you do use the words, trump colorado springs university of colorado event in a Google search, the event reference from Mr. Trump's website is one of the first results.

Unfortunately, when I clicked on the link to go to the web page, I end up at a blank...literally blank web page (meaning, the URL is still active, but no content, even no html code is on the page).  So, here is a screen capture of the Google result that does include the room (Gallogly Event Center) at the University of Colorado - Colorado Springs.

In addition to the screen capture, I was able to find another source that clearly identified the room ion the Denver Post website.  So, I had a room.

What is the public posting of the room capacity?

So, the room capacity wasn't too difficult to find; I just Googled the university name, room name, and "room capacity."  The first result took me to the University Center, Room Description and Capacity Chart web page.  For the building Gallogly and room Event Center, this page clearly states the room capacity for lecture is 1500.  This is the largest capacity number for any configuration listed in the chart.  

I would assume this capacity would also be in any contract with an organization using the room.  So, why is Mr. Trump saying they should have "thousands" of people allowed in the room?  The room doesn't even hold two thousand.  Finally, on to the last question.

How many tickets were distributed?

If possible, I would go to the source of the tickets, the Donald Trump campaign. Unfortunately, there is no evidence that Mr. Trump was even in Colorado Springs on July 29th on his website...but a few results on Google's search. (Here's a search hint: you can search any website by using the "site:" keyword.  Check it out: colorado springs July 29, 2016 site:https://www.donaldjtrump.com.)

According to KKTV site, the fire department did allow a hundred more people into Event Center beyond the safe listed capacity the room. (NOTE: There was an overflow room, but I do not know which room it was so it is not part of my fact finding.)  However, they claim the Mr. Trump's campaign gave out more tickets than the capacity.  

Conclusions drawn from the facts

After finding all the facts: 

• Mr. Trump's claimed the Colorado Springs fire marshall and fire department "don't know what the hell they're doing", 
• The publicized location and venue: Gallogly Event Center at UCCS
• The publicly listed room capacity: 1500
• The number of tickets distributed: Mr. Trump says "thousands" of people in another room and outside, but the venue was only listed as stated above.

My conclusion is the Colorado Springs fire marshall and the fire department clearly focused on safety and following the law based on the evidence of the facts, and Mr. Trump's claim that "they don't know what the hell they're doing" is unfounded.  In fact, the Colorado Springs firefighters' union said it well: 

Colorado Springs firefighters know exactly what we are doing – we are professionals and we take our jobs very seriously. Occupancy levels are set to protect the public’s safety and we find it unfortunate that Trump’s campaign would question our judgment, expect us to break the law or waiver from our mission to protect our community.