FIST is an acronym for several factors that underlie a crowd disaster:
(1) the crowd force (F)
(2) the information upon which the crowd acts (I), including (a) flight from a real or perceived threat and (b) competitive rush for a highly-valued objective (craze)
(3) the physical space involved in terms of individual density and larger scale architectural features (S)
(4) the timing and duration of the incident (T)
Interventions to avoid crowd disasters:
(1) appointment of a crowd manager and the use of a crowd management center for large gatherings
(2) ability to make adjustments to factors affecting ingress and egress to avoid bottlenecks
(3) availability of real time information and communication among the staff
(4) authoritative communication with the crowd
(5) understanding of hazards in the environment and population flows
(6) preparing for a potential emergency (fire, weather, power outage, etc) with availability of emergency personnel
(7) staff training
