Massachusetts stores will be beefing up security, staggering lines and handing out first-come, first-served tickets for hot Black Friday sale items to avoid the kind of stampede that killed a Wal-Mart employee five years ago in New York.
"The busy shopping season should not put retail workers at risk of being injured or killed," said David Michaels, the nation's assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health.
In response to letters the Occupational Safety and Health Administration sent out last week, many retailers plan to follow OSHA guidelines, including having trained security or police on hand, placing barricades away from the front of the store's entrance and not allowing more customers to enter once the store reaches its maximum occupancy.
"We continually look for ways to raise the bar on safety for our customers and our employees; their safety is and always has been our highest priority," said Alyssa Peera, a spokeswoman for Toys "R" Us, whose seven Bay State stores will be opening at 1 a.m. "Each year, we evaluate and strengthen our crowd control policies, procedures and store operations right up to Black Friday."
Senior members of the chain's store management teams, including security, will be monitoring crowds waiting outside to identify potential problems before they happen, Peera said.
The chain has tried to ensure it has enough inventory of the most popular toys, she said, But in cases where the demand exceeds the supply, staff will issue tickets to customers for the product on a first-come, first-served basis.
Wal-Mart, whose 47 Massachusetts stores will open on Friday at 1 a.m., will allow customers to line up to get wristbands reserving the item they want, then leave the line to do the rest of their shopping and pick up the item within a two-four period before they leave the store, said Alex Serra, a Wal-Mart spokeswoman.
Best Buy, which will be opening at 1 a.m., also will be giving out tickets reserving items for people in line, as well as distributing store maps so that people will know in advance where to find them, said John Garrasi, who manages the chain's Watertown store.
Wrentham police will have as many as 46 officers working "midnight madness" at Wrentham Village Premium Outlets and a dedicated frequency they'll be able to communicate over, Chief James Anderson said.
There also will be message boards posted on Interstate 495 and Route 1A, telling motorists how much of a wait they can expect to reach the mall.
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