NFPA Journal - July/August 2017 - 64

OVERLOAD
SENSORY

Event safety
resources

nfpa.org/101®,
Life Safety Code®
includes the Life Safety
Evaluation, a tool
included in NFPA 101
geared toward designers,
managers, and inspectors
of event facilities.
It also references a
number of areas that
are critically important
to responders.

eventsafetyalliance.
org
The Event Safety Alliance® is an organization
dedicated to promoting
life safety throughout
all phases of event production and execution.
The group publishes
the Event Safety Guide,
a resource directed
specifically at the live
event industry that
compiles the best operational practices and
draws on existing life
safety standards and
the insights of industry
professionals.

esta.org
The Entertainment
Services and Technology
Association is an
industry group whose
mission includes
increasing safety
through the development
of standards and
certifications.

64 | NFPA JOURNAL * J U L Y /A U G U S T 2 0 1 7

controlled from a central location, usually backstage. As with requirements for
sound, a horn/strobe and a thorough
set of instructions on what to turn on
and off would be required to address
any issues with ambient lighting. Special-effects lighting could be controlled
at either the sound or lighting location,
or at its own location, with its own notification device and set of instructions
for operators. If we add certification
requirements for the operators and functional testing of each notification device
prior to every show, we will achieve the
desired level of safety for the venue.
Can we require a venue to place a
qualified attendant at the constantly
attended location? Of course we can.
Depending upon the jurisdiction, we
may be able to require trained fire
department personnel to be stationed
there at the owner's expense. Can we
require sight and sound technicians to
have proper training on how to react to
a fire condition? Of course we can. Can
we require a visual notification device
to be installed at both the lighting and
the sound control locations? Can we also
offer certification training for operators,
training for qualified crowd managers
and attendants, and permit fee reductions for installation of these additional
devices? Of course we can.
Had the performers, producers, and
support staff at The Station nightclub
in Rhode Island been aware of these
needs and been trained to react appropriately, it is possible that some if not
all of the 100 lives tragically lost in a
catastrophic fire that night in 2003
could have been saved. All parties need
to understand how the signal for an
emergency condition is transmitted to
the sound technician, lighting technician, and performers, and what actions
need to be taken to keep the attendees
safe. Too often, however, sound and
lighting technicians are not trained to
react appropriately in the event of a fire
emergency. This type of education, or
lack thereof, is not readily identifiable
in the random inspections performed by
enforcing agencies. The Facility Management and Operational Plan, a component
of the LSE, requires the communication
channels and authority between all of
these related parties to be clearly defined.

While incorporating safety measures
in assembly occupancies can be a
challenge, developing a mutual understanding between the fire and life safety
industry, code officials, the performance
industry, and venue operators is a
critical step to ensure attendees have
a memorable experience while staying
safe. The fire and life safety industry
must appreciate the evolving nature of
the entertainment industry and work to
establish solutions that complement the
goals of the performance companies.
Engineers can provide the best possible suppression and detection systems
and enforcers can remain as diligent as
possible in enforcing the prescriptive
codes designed to provide adequate fire
and life safety-but the next step in this
journey is the education of venue operators, owners, managers, producers, and
technician, to bring into focus the role
they must play in safeguarding their
attendees.
Solving this problem will require the
three E's: engineering, to keep up with
emerging technology and continue to
provide the best solutions for fixed fire
protection and detection; enforcement,
to constantly remind the operators that
this is an issue they cannot ignore; and
education, to help operators understand the issues and be part of the
solution. Like most issues in fire safety,
enforcing will only reach those we can
see and will only last as long as we
continue to look. Telling someone to do
something can be marginally effective;
teaching them to do it and explaining the importance of doing so can
translate into better compliance and
retention rates.
As newer, brighter, bigger, louder,
and more spectacular ways emerge to
enliven the performances we enjoy, we
need to put equal or greater effort into
the safety side of that equation. Safety
at any venue must continue to be a selling point, and it will require the action,
effort, and motivation of all stakeholders. Can you really say that effort is too
great to take on? I can't.
WARREN BURNS is regional practice leader at
Telgian Engineering & Consulting. He currently
sits on the technical committee for NFPA 1221,
Installation, Maintenance, and Use of Emergency
Services Communications Systems.
http://www.nfpa.org/101 http://eventsafetyalliance.org http://www.esta.org
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - July/August 2017
