Open-Air-Events-and-Venues-NI-Fire-Safety-Guide-Final-Draft-from ...

IntroductionWHo SHould uSe tHIS guIde?This guide is for all employers, managers, organisers of events, occupiers, and owners ofopen air events and venues. It tells you what you have to do to comply with fire safety law,helps you to carry out a fire risk assessment and identify the general fire precautions youneed to have in place.This guide is intended for open air events, and venues, such as• theme parks,• zoos,• music concerts and festivals,• sporting events,• race meetings,• fairgrounds,• street festivals,• religious festivals,• balloon festivals,• car-boot sales,• county fairs, and• other similar events.This guide does not cover sports stadia, permanent buildings or structures, large temporarystructures and air-supported structures. Where your event or venue includes the use ofthese, reference should be made to the appropriate guides in this series (see back cover forother guides in this series).The guide has been written to provide guidance for an appropriate person to help them tocarry out a fire risk assessment of less complex open air events or venues. If you read theguide and decide that you are unable to apply the guidance, then you should seek advicefrom a competent person.3

More complex premises will probably need to be assessed by a person who hascomprehensive training or experience in fire risk assessment. However this guide can beused at a large event to address fire safety issues within a specific area such as a marquee.It may also be useful for:• employees;• volunteers and volunteer organisations;• employee-elected representatives;• trade union-appointed health and safety representatives;• enforcing authorities;• all other people who have a role in ensuring fire safety in open air events andsimilar venues.Where you handle and store flammable materials and substances, this guide will helpyou take account of these in your risk assessment and help you determine the necessaryprecautions required to minimise the likelihood of them being involved in a fire.Fire safety is just one of many safety issues management must address to minimise therisk of injury or death to staff and the public unlike most of the other safety concerns, firehas the potential to injure or kill large numbers of people very quickly. This guidance isconcerned with fire safety only, but many of the measures discussed here will impact uponother safety issues and therefore it is recognised that these differing safety demands cansometimes affect one another and management should consult other interested agencies(e.g. Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI)), where necessary, to confirmthat they are not contravening other legislation/guidance.You can get advice about minimising fire losses from your insurer.FIRe SAFety legISlAtIonPrevious general fire safety legislationThe Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 1 and the Fire SafetyRegulations (Northern Ireland) 2010 2 replace previous fire safety legislation. Any firecertificate issued under the Fire Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1984 4 will cease to haveany effect. If a fire certificate has been issued in respect of your premises or buildingson the premises were built to recent building regulations 3 , as long as you have made no4

material alterations and all the physical fire precautions have been properly maintained,then it is unlikely you will need to make any significant improvements to your existingphysical fire protection arrangements to comply with the Order 1 and Regulations 2 . However,you must still carry out a fire risk assessment and keep it up to date to ensure that all thefire precautions in your premises remain current and adequate.If you have previously carried out a fire risk assessment under the Fire Precautions(Workplace) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001 5 as amended 2003 6 , and thisassessment has been regularly reviewed, then all you will need to do now is revisethat assessment taking account of the wider scope of the Order 1 and Regulations 2 asdescribed in this guide.Your premises may also be subject to the provisions of a licence or registration e.g. underthe Licensing (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 7 or the Local Government (MiscellaneousProvisions) (Northern Ireland) Order 1985 8 and Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service(NIFRS) may wish to review your risk assessment as part of the licensing approval process.If your venue is used for sporting events you need to be aware of safety at sports groundslegislation (e.g. the Safety of Sports Grounds (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 9 which mightapply (see also the Nothern Ireland Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds 10 ).BackgroundThe Order 1 and Regulations 2 apply in Northern Ireland. They cover general fire precautionsand other fire safety duties which are needed to protect ‘relevant persons’ in case of firein and around most ‘premises’. The Order 1 and Regulations 2 require fire precautions to beput in place ‘where necessary’ and to the extent that it is reasonable and practicable in thecircumstances of the case.Responsibility for complying with the Order 1 and Regulations 2 rests with the ‘appropriateperson’. In a workplace, this is the employer and any other person who may have controlof any part of the premises, e.g. occupier or owner, manager. In all other premises theperson or people in control of the premises will be responsible. If there is more than oneappropriate person in any type of premises, all must take all reasonable steps to co-operateand co-ordinate with each other.If you are the appropriate person, you must carry out a fire risk assessment, which mustfocus on the safety in case of fire of all ‘relevant persons’. It should pay particular attentionto those at special risk, such as disabled people, those who you know have special needsand children, and must include consideration of any dangerous substance liable to be onthe premises. Your fire risk assessment will help you identify the risks that can be removedor reduced, and to decide the nature and extent of the general fire precautions you need totake.5

If your organisation employs five or more people, your premises are licensed or analterations notice is in force, you must record the significant findings of the assessment. It isgood practice to record your significant findings in any case.There are other fire safety duties you need to comply with:• you must appoint one or more ‘competent persons’, depending on the size and use ofyour premises, to carry out any of the preventative and protective measures required bythe Order 1 and Regulations 2 (you can nominate yourself for this purpose). A competentperson is someone with enough training and experience or knowledge and otherqualities to be able to implement these measures properly.• you must provide your employees / volunteers with clear and relevant information on therisks to them identified by the fire risk assessment, about the measures you have takento prevent fires, and how these measures will protect them if a fire breaks out.• you must consult your employees (or their elected representatives) about nominatingpeople to carry out particular roles in connection with fire safety and about proposals forimproving the fire precautions.• you must , before you employ a child, provide a parent with clear and relevantinformation on the risks to that child identified by the risk assessment, the measures youhave put in place to protect them from fire and inform any other appropriate person ofany risks to that child arising from their undertaking.• you must inform non-employees, such as residents, temporary or contract workers,of the relevant risks to them, and provide them with information about who are thenominated ‘competent persons’ and about the fire safety procedures for the premises.• you must co-operate and co-ordinate with other appropriate persons who also havepremises in the open air event or venue, inform them of any significant risks you find andhow you will seek to reduce/control those risks, which might affect the safety of theiremployees.• you must provide the employer of any person from an outside organisation who isworking in your premises (e.g. agency providing temporary staff) with clear and relevantinformation on the risks to those employees and the preventative and protectivemeasures taken. You must also provide those employees with appropriate instructionsand relevant information about the risks to them.• If you are not the employer but have any control of premises which contain more thanone workplace, you are also responsible for ensuring that the requirements of theOrder 1 and Regulations 2 are complied with in those parts over which you have control.6

• you must consider the presence of any dangerous substances and the risk this presentsto relevant persons from fire.• you must establish a suitable means of contacting the emergency services and providethem with any relevant information about dangerous substances.• you must provide appropriate information, instruction and training to your employees,during their normal working hours, about the fire precautions in your workplace, whenthey start working for you, and from time to time throughout the period they work for you.• you must ensure that the premises and any equipment provided in connection withfire-fighting, fire detection and warning, or emergency routes and exits are covered bya suitable system of maintenance and are maintained by a competent person in aneffective manner, in efficient working order and in good repair.• your employees must co-operate with you to ensure the workplace is safe from fire andits effects, and must not do anything that will place themselves or other people at risk.The above examples outline some of the main requirements of the Order 1 and Regulations 2 .The rest of this guide will explain how you might meet these requirements.Responsibilities for short term hiring or leasing and for shared useSome premises or parts of premises may be leased as an empty and unsupervised facility(e.g. temporary structures and marquees). The fire safety responsibilities of those leasingthe premises (and, therefore, in charge of the activities conducted within the premises), andthose of the owner/lessee, need to be established as part of the contract of hire.In some premises (e.g. race meetings), part of the premises may be hired out to anotherorganisation for a separate function (e.g. a catering facility or hospitality area). The firesafety responsibilities of those leasing that part of the premises (and, therefore in chargeof the activities conducted there) and those of the owner/leasee, need to be established aspart of the contract of hire.The appropriate person for each individual unique, occasional or separate eventor function will need to be clearly established and documented, and their legal dutiesmade clear to them. In particular, and where necessary, the appropriate person will need totake account of their own lack of familiarity with the layout of the premises, the fire safetyprovisions and the duties of other appropriate persons within the premises.Who enforces the Fire Safety legislation?Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service will enforce the Order 1 and Regulations 2 in mostpremises. The exceptions are:7

• Crown-occupied/owned premises where the Health and Safety Executive for NorthernIreland will enforce;• Premises within armed forces establishments where the defence fire and rescue servicewill enforce.The enforcing authority will have the power to inspect your premises to check that you arecomplying with your duties under the legislation. They will look for evidence that you havecarried out a suitable fire risk assessment and acted upon the significant findings of thatassessment. If you are required to record the outcome of the assessment they will expect tosee a copy.If the enforcing authority is dissatisfied with the outcome of your fire risk assessment orthe action you have taken, they may issue an enforcement notice that requires you to makecertain improvements or, in extreme cases, a prohibition notice that restricts the use of allor part of your premises until improvements are made.If your premises are considered by the enforcing authority to be, or have the potential to be,high risk, they may issue an alterations notice that requires you to inform them before youmake any changes to your premises or the way they are used.Failure to comply with any duty imposed by the Order 1 and Reguations 2 or any noticeissued by the enforcing authority is an offence. You have a right of appeal to a CountyCourt against any notice issued. Where you agree that there is a need for improvements toyour fire precautions but disagree with the enforcing authority on the technical solution tobe used (e.g. what type of fire alarm system is needed) you may agree to refer this for anindependent determination.If having read this guide you are in any doubt about how fire safety law applies to you,contact your local fire safety office through Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue ServiceHeadquarters. Contact details are available from www.nifrs.org.If your premises were in use before 2010, then they may have been subject to the FireServices (Northern Ireland) Order 1984 4 and the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations(Northern Ireland) 2001 5 , as amended 2003 6 . Where the layout (means of escape) andother fire precautions have been assessed by the Fire and Rescue Service to satisfy theguidance that was then current, it is likely that your premises already conform to many ofthe recommendations here, providing you have undertaken a fire risk assessment (and keptit up to date as required by the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations (Northern Ireland)2001 5 , as amended 2003 6 .New buildings or significant building alterations should be designed to satisfy currentbuilding regulations 3 which address fire precautions. However, you will still need to carry outa fire risk assessment, or review your existing one (and act on your findings), to comply withthe Order 1 and Regulations 2 .8

Part 1 Fire risk assessmentMAnAgIng FIRe SAFetyGood management of fire safety is essential to ensure that fires are unlikely to occur; thatif they do occur they are likely to be controlled quickly, effectively and safely or that if a firedoes occur and grow, to ensure that everyone in your premises is able to escape to a placeof total safety easily and quickly.Good management of fire safety at a temporary or permanent open air event or venue willhelp to ensure that any fire safety matters that arise will always be addressed effectively.Therefore identification of the ‘appropriate person’ is imperative.PlanningIt is of fundamental importance to appreciate that planning for effective fire safety for anopen air event, site or venue should start at the same time as the planning for all otheraspects of the proposed event.The planning issues for an event, site or venue can be considered in a number of stages:• venue design, selection of workers, selection of contractors and subcontractors,construction of the stages, marquees, fencing, (the ‘build up’);• safe delivery and installation of equipment and services which will be used at the event,e.g. stage equipment used by the performers, lighting, and the protection of crew, (the‘load in’);• effective fire safety during the event (‘the event’);• safe removal of equipment and services, (the ‘load down’);• control fire risks once the event is over and the infrastructure is being dismantled, (the‘breakdown’);The risk assessment that you must carry out will help you to ensure that your fire safetyprocedures, fire prevention measures, and fire precautions (plans, systems, and equipment)are all in place and working properly, and the risk assessment should identify any issuesthat need attention. Further information on managing fire safety is available in Part 2 onpage 47.exAMPleS oF FIRe At oPen AIR eventSPrior to stepping through the risk assessment process, it is worth noting some examplesof fires at open air events. There have been a number of cases of severe fires over the last9

50 years, many of which have resulted in a significant loss of life. Table 1 below providesexamples of a small number of these fires, covering fatal and non-fatal fires from differentcountries.Table 1: Examples of fires at open air eventsdescription venue type Ignition Fuel Additional commentsReligious Camp Gas stove Tents Dry conditions, closelycamp, Meccaplaced tents, 400 deathsHartford, Circus Unknown Main circus Gasoline and paraffinConnecticut tent waterproofing of tentcanvas caused fast flamespread, 163 deathsThorpe Park, Fairground Unknown Timber Evacuation strategy andUK structures fire service intervention& fair rides resulted in no deathsMovieworld, Theme park Unknown Gas and Unexplained explosion in theAustralia chemical chemical pyrotechnics compound,mix 3 injuries, no deathsNiteroi Circus, Circus Deliberate Tent & Fire started by disgruntledBrazil fire setting circus employee, 323 deathsmaterialsEdgewater Theme park Lightning Wooden 400 people escaped fromPark, Detroit structures the wooden structure when thefire started, 2 deathsKenilworth, Racecourse Unknown Dry Fire spread fromSAneighbouring field to car park, wherefield and 131 vehicles completelyvehicles burnt out, no deathsWHAt IS A FIRe RISk ASSeSSMent?A fire risk assessment is an organised and methodical look at your premises and/or event,the activities carried on there and the likelihood that a fire could start and cause harm tothose in and around the premises.The aims of the fire risk assessment are:• To identify the fire hazards.10

• To reduce the risk of those hazards causing harm to as low as reasonably practicable.• To decide what physical fire precautions and management arrangements policies arenecessary to ensure the safety of people in your premises if a fire does start.The term ‘where necessary’ (see Glossary) is used in the Order 1 and Regulations 2 , thereforewhen deciding what fire precautions and management arrangements are necessary, you willneed to take account of this definition.The terms ‘hazard’ and ‘risk’ are used throughout this guide and it is important that youhave a clear understanding of how these should be used.• Hazard: Anything that has the potential to cause harm.• Risk: The chance of that harm occurring.If your organisation employs five or more people, or your premises are licensed or analterations notice requiring it is in force, then the significant findings of the fire riskassessment, the actions to be taken as a result of the assessment and details of anyoneespecially at risk must be recorded. You will probably find it helpful to keep a record of thesignificant findings of your fire risk assessment even if you are not required to do so.HoW do you CARRy out A FIRe RISk ASSeSSMent?A fire risk assessment will help you determine the chances of a fire starting and the dangersfrom fire that your premises present for the people who use them and any person in theimmediate vicinity. The assessment method suggested in this guide shares the sameapproach as that used in general health and safety legislation and can be carried out eitheras part of a more general risk assessment or as a separate exercise. As you move throughthe steps there are checklists to help you.Before you start your fire risk assessment, take time to prepare, and read through the restof Part 1 of this guide.Much of the information for your fire risk assessment will come from the knowledge thatyour employees, colleagues, volunteers and representatives have of the premises, includingexperience gained from previous events, as well as information given to you by peoplewho have responsibility for other parts of the premises. A tour of your site will probably beneeded to confirm, amend or add details to your initial views.It is important that you carry out your fire risk assessment in a practical and systematicway and that you allocate enough time to do a proper job. It must take the whole of yourpremises into account, including areas that may be infrequently used. If your premises are11

small you may be able to assess them as a whole. In some premises you may find it helpfulto divide them into a series of assessment areas using natural boundaries, e.g. stagingareas, sports fields, spectator areas marquees and concessions.If your premises are in a multi-use venue then the information on hazard and risk reductionwill still be applicable to you. However, any alterations to your individual part of the premiseswill need to take account of the overall fire safety arrangements in the complex, venue orevent.Your premises may be simple, with few people present or with a limited degree ofentertainment activity. However, if your site stages an event, which will have a range ofdifferent occupiers (e.g. concessions) then the measures provided by the other occupiersmay have a direct effect on the fire safety measure of the overall site.Under health and safety law (enforced by the Health and Safety Executive for NorthernIreland (HSENI) or the local council) you are required to carry out a risk assessment inrespect of any work processes in your workplace and to take or observe appropriate special,technical or organisational measures. If your health and safety risk assessment identifiesthat these processes are likely to involve the risk of fire or the spread of fire then youwill need to take this into account during your fire risk assessment under the Order 1 andRegulations 2 and prioritise actions based on the level of risk.You need to appoint one or more ‘competent persons’ (this could be you) to carry out any ofthe preventive and protective measures needed to comply with the Order 1 and Regulations 2 .This person could be you, or an appropriately trained employee, or where appropriate, athird party.Your fire risk assessment should demonstrate that, as far as is reasonable, you haveconsidered the needs of all relevant people including disabled people.Figure 1 shows the five steps you need to take to carry out a fire risk assessment.12

1234FIRe SAFety RISk ASSeSSMentIdentify fire hazardsIdentify:Sources of ignitionSources of fuelSources of oxygenIdentify people at riskIdentify:People in and around the premisesPeople especially at riskevaluate, remove, reduce and protect from riskEvaluate the risk of a fire occurringEvaluate the risk to people from fireRemove or reduce fire hazardsRemove or reduce the risks to people• Detection and warning• Fire-fighting• Escape routes• Lighting• Signs and notices• MaintenanceRecord, plan, inform, instruct and trainRecord significant findings and action takenPrepare an emergency planInform and instruct relevant people; co-operate and co-ordinate with othersProvide training5 ReviewKeep assessment under reviewRevise where necessaryRemember to keep your fire risk assessment under review.Figure 1: The five steps of a fire risk assessment13

SteP 1 IdentIFy FIRe HAzARdSFor a fire to start, three things are needed:• a source of ignition;FUELFlammable gasesFlammable liquidsFlammable solids• fuel; and• oxygen.If any one of these is missing, a fire cannotstart. Taking measures to avoid the threecoming together will, therefore, reduce thechances of a fire occurring.The remainder of this step will advise onhow to identify potential ignition sources, thematerials that might fuel a fire and the oxygensupplies that will help it to burn.1.1 Identify sources of ignitionYou can identify the potential ignition sourcesat your event or venue by looking for possiblesources of heat, which could get hot enoughto ignite material found in your premises.These sources could include:• cooking and catering appliances andequipment, including barbecues;• smokers materials, e.g. cigarettes, matchesand lighters;OXYGENAlways present in the airAdditional sources fromoxidising substancesNaked flameMechanically generated sparksIGNITION SOURCEHot surfacesElectrical equipmentStatic electricitySmoking/naked lightsFigure 2: The fire triangleHot surfaceElectrically generated sparks• camp fires/bonfires;• electrical, gas or oil-fired heaters (fixed or portable);Figure 3: Sources of ignition• hot processes, e.g. welding by contractors, blacksmiths;• faulty or misused electrical equipment;• light fittings and lighting equipment, e.g. halogen lamps or display lighting;14

• hot surfaces and obstruction of equipment ventilation, e.g. generators;• naked flames, e.g. candles or gas or liquid-fuelled open-flame equipment;• flares, fireworks and pyrotechnics;• deliberate ignition (e.g. deliberate fire setting, vandalism);• refuelling;• natural phenomena (e.g. lightning);• mechanical friction (e.g. fairground rides)• vehicle catalytic converters.Indications of ‘near-misses’ (e.g. scorch marks on tents/marquees, discoloured or charredelectrical plugs and sockets, cigarette burns, etc) can help you identify hazards which youmay not otherwise notice.1.2 Identify sources of fuelAnything that burns is fuel for a fire. You need to look for the things that will burn reasonablyeasily and are in enough quantity to provide fuel for a fire or cause it to spread to anotherfuel source. Some of the most common ‘fuels’ found at open air events or venues are:• flammable liquids and solvents, e.g. cleaning products, alcohol (spirits), white spirit,methylated spirit, cooking oils, disposable cigarette lighters, fuel for generators (whetherpetrol or diesel), paints, varnishes, thinners and adhesives;• flammable gases e.g. liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) propane and acetylene;• displays and stands;• non-flame retardant tents and marquees;• plastics and rubber, e.g. polyurethane foam-filled furniture and polystyrene-based displaymaterials;• upholstered seating and cushions, textiles and soft furnishings, such as hangingcurtains and clothing displays, costumes, drapes and hangings, scenery and banners;• packaging materials, litter and waste products, particularly finely divided items e.g.stationery, advertising material, decorations, shredded paper and wood shavings, timberoff cuts, and dust;15

• fireworks and pyrotechnics;• animal feed, animal bedding; vegetation (e.g. long grass);• temporary floor coverings;• pallets used to transport goods;• vehicles in the venue or at car parks.You should also carefully consider brought in materials that might introduce anunanticipated source of fuel and how they might contribute to the spread of fire.Further information is available in Part 2 Section 11.3 Identify sources of oxygenThe main source of oxygen for a fire is in the air around us. In an enclosed building this isprovided by the ventilation system in use. This generally falls into one of two categories:natural airflow through doors, windows and other openings; or mechanical air conditioningsystems and air handling systems. In many buildings there will be a combination ofsystems, which will be capable of introducing/extracting air to and from the building. Eventsand venues open to the air have no such restrictions and additionally are more likely to beaffected by high winds that may increase the fire growth rate and fire spread. Sources ofoxygen can sometimes be found in materials used or stored on the site such as:• Some chemicals (oxidising materials) which canprovide a fire with additional oxygen and so helpit burn. These chemicals should be identifiedon their container (and control of substanceshazardous to health data sheet, see Figure 4) bythe manufacturer or supplier who can advise asto their safe use and storage;• Oxygen supplies from cylinder storage.• Pyrotechnics and fireworks which containoxidising materials and need to be treated withgreat care.Figure 4: Label on oxidsing materials16

Checklist• Have you identified all potential ignition sources?• Have you identified all potential fuel sources?• Have you identified all potential sources of oxygen?• Have you recorded your findings?SteP 2 IdentIFy PeoPle At RISkAs part of your fire risk assessment, you need to identify those people at risk if thereis a fire. To do this, you need to identify who will be present at your premises, wherepeople are working, either at permanent locations (e.g. ticket desks, catering facilities,hospitality areas, fairground rides, music stages) or at occasional locations around the siteand consider who else may be at risk, (e.g. spectators, customers, visiting performancecompanies, visiting contractors) and where these people are likely to be found.You must consider all the people who use the site or venue but you should pay particularattention to people who may be especially at risk. These include:• employees and volunteers who work alone, e.g. security staff;• people who are unfamiliar with the site, e.g. visitors and customers, new employees;• people with a disability* (including mobility, hearing or vision impairment) or those whomay have some other reason for not being able to leave the site quickly. e.g. people in astate of undress (stage performers), or parents with children;• unaccompanied children and young persons;• people with a language difficulty or whose first language is not English;• people with sensory impairment due to alcohol, drugs or medication;• those responsible for animal safety and evacuation during a fire;• other people in the vicinity of your event or venue;* Visit the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland www.equalityni.org or the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission www.nihrc.org formore information.17

• In evaluating the risk to people with disabilities you may need to discuss their individualneeds with them. For larger events and venues used extensively by the public you mayneed to seek professional advice.Further guidance on people with special needs is given in Part 2, Section 1.11.Checklist• Have you identified who is at risk?• Have you identified why they are at risk?• Have you recorded your findings?SteP 3 evAluAte, ReMove, ReduCe And PRoteCt FRoM RISkThe management of the premises and the way people use it will have an effect on yourevaluation of risk. Management may be your responsibility alone or there may be others,such as the owners of the site or organisers of the events, who also have responsibilities.At multi-occupancy sites or events all those with some control must co-operate: you need toconsider the risk generated by others on the site.3.1 evaluate the risk of a fire occurringThe likelihood of a fire starting may be low if there are few ignition sources and combustiblematerials are kept away from them.In general, fires start in one of three ways:• accidentally, such as when smoking materials are not properly extinguished or whendisplay lights are knocked over;• by act or omission, such as when electrical equipment is not properly maintained ordisposable barbecues are placed into waste bins containing combustibles.• deliberate fire setting, such as setting fire to rubbish bins placed too close to temporarystructures such as tents or marquees;18

Look critically at your event or venue and try to identify any ‘accidents waiting to happen’and any acts or omissions which might allow a fire to start. You should also look for anysituation that may present an opportunity for a deliberate fire setter.Further information on evaluating the risk of fire starting is available in Part 2, Section 1.3.2 evaluate the risk to peopleIn Step 2 you identified the people likely to be at risk should a fire start anywhere at yourevent or venue and earlier in step 3 you identified the chances of a fire occurring.It is unlikely that you will have concluded that there is no chance of a fire occurringanywhere at your premises so you now need to evaluate the actual risk to those peoplepresent should a fire start and spread from the various locations that you have identified.When considering the possible incidents that might occur, you should also considerthe likelihood of any particular incident occurring, but be aware that some very unlikelyincidents can put many people at risk.To evaluate the risk to people at your premises, you will need to understand the way fire canspread. Fire is spread by three methods:• convection;• conduction; and• radiation.ConvectionFire spread by convection is the most dangerous and causes the largest number of injuriesand deaths. When fires start in enclosed spaces, such as temporary buildings, the smokerising from the fire gets trapped by the ceiling and then spreads in all directions to form anever-deepening layer over the entire room or space. The smoke will pass through any holesor gaps in the walls, ceiling and floors into other parts of the building. The heat from the firegets trapped in the enclosures and the temperature rises.In open air the risk of fire spread due to convection will be mainly confined to the movementof hot embers.ConductionSome materials, such as metal, can absorb heat and transmit it to an adjoining space,where it can set fire to combustible items that are in contact with the heated material.19

RadiationRadiation heats the air in the same way as an electric bar heater heats a room.Any material close to a fire will absorb the heat until the item starts to smoulder and thenburn.Smoke produced by a fire also contains toxic gases which are harmful to people. In mostcases, the greatest contributor to the risk to people is whether they are in the open air orin an enclosure where smoke can spread quickly, block exits, and affect people’s ability toescape.It is essential that the means of escape and other fire precautions are adequate to ensurethat everyone can make their escape to a place of total safety before the fire and its effectscan trap them.In evaluating the risk to people, you will also need to consider situations such as:• the evacuation of large numbers of people, e.g. a music concert or festival;• fire and smoke spread from fires external to your event/venue, such as grass firesaffecting occupant means of escape;• a fire developing in an unoccupied space, such as a storage area in a hospitality unit,that people have to pass to escape;• fire spreading rapidly between concession stands due to there close proximity with eachother and presence of combustible materials;• rapid fire spread in areas with highly combustible piled storage, e.g. bails of hay;• fire and smoke spreading due to poor installation of fire precautions, e.g. incorrectlyinstalled fire doors or incorrectly installed services penetrating fire walls;• the impacts of fences or corralling on the movement of people;• hazardous materials present.Further guidance on fire risks is given in Part 2 Section 1.3.3 Remove or reduce the hazardsHaving identified the fire hazards in Step 1, you now need to remove those hazards ifit is reasonably practicable to do so. If you cannot remove the hazards, you need to20

take reasonable steps to reduce them if you can. This is an essential part of the fire riskassessment and as a priority, this must take place before any other actions.Ensure that any actions you take to remove or reduce fire hazards are not substituted byother hazards or risks. For example, if you replace a flammable substance with a toxic orcorrosive one, you must consider whether this might cause harm to people in other ways.Remove or reduce sources of ignitionThere are various ways that you can reduce the risk caused by potential sourcesof ignition, for example:• ensure that flares and fireworks are not brought into the event or venue by members ofthe public;• ensure that all pyrotechnics, fireworks, flares and other hazardous equipment areinstalled, used, maintained, protected and stored in accordance with the manufacturer’sinstructions;• wherever possible replace a potential ignition source by a safer alternative;• replace naked flame and radiant heaters with fixed convector heaters. Restrict themovement of and guard portable heating appliances;• restrict/control the use of naked flames e.g. campfires, barbecues, candles;• operate a safe smoking policy;• ensure electrical, mechanical and gas equipment is installed, used, maintained, andprotected in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions;• ensure cooking and catering equipment is installed, used, maintained, and protected inaccordance with the manufacturer’s instructions;• control areas where vehicles are parked;• take precautions to avoid deliberate fire setting.Remove or reduce sources of fuelThere are various ways that you can remove or reduce the risks caused by materials andsubstances, which burn, for example:• ensure that display materials (including artificial and dried foliage), props, scenery andstands, are fire retardant, or have been treated to give some fire retardancy;21

• reduce stocks of flammable materials, liquids and gases on display in public areas toa minimum. Keep remaining stock in dedicated storerooms or storage areas where thepublic are not allowed to go, and keep the minimum amount required for the operationof the business;• ensure that all upholstered furniture, curtains, drapes, tents and marquees, are fireretardant, or have been treated to give some fire retardancy;• ensure safe practice with respect to refuelling generators. Use of petrol generatorsshould be discouraged, wherever possible, in favour of diesel generators;• develop a formal system for the control of combustible waste by ensuring that wastematerials and rubbish are not allowed to build up and are carefully stored until properlydisposed of, particularly at the end of the day;• ensure adjacent marquees, temporary structuresand other fire hazards are sited an adequatedistance apart;• ensure scenery and props not in current use onan open stage are stored away in an approvedscenery or prop store.• ensure that the quantity of all pyrotechnics,fireworks and other hazardous equipment arekept to a minimum. Additionally ensure that theyare stored safely and securely until they are used;• take action to avoid any parts of the event orvenue, being vulnerable to deliberate fire settingor vandalism;• reduce the risk of grass/moorland fires byproviding fire breaks and keeping grass short.Figure 5: Storage of flammablesFurther guidance on removing and reducing hazards is given in Part 2, Section 1.Remove or reduce sources of oxygenYou can reduce the potential source of oxygen supplied to a fire by:• not storing oxidising materials near any heat source or flammable materials;22

• controlling the use and storage of oxygen cylinders, ensuring that they are not leaking;• controlling the use and storage of pyrotechnics and fireworks.3.4 Remove or reduce the risks to peopleHaving evaluated and addressed the risk of fire occurring and the risks to people(preventative measures) it is unlikely that you will have concluded that no risk remains offire starting and presenting a risk to people at your premises.You now need to reduce any remaining fire risk to people to as low as reasonably practicableby ensuring that adequate fire precautions are in place to warn people in the event of a fireand allow them to safely escape.The rest of this step describes the fire protection measures you may wish to adopt to reducethe remaining fire risk to people (see steps 3.4.1 to 3.4.6).The level of fire protection you need to provide will depend on the level of risk that remainsin the premises after you have removed or reduced the hazards and risks.Part 2, Section 4 can help you decide the level of risk that you may still have.Flexibility of fire protection measuresFlexibility will be required when considering this guidance; the level of fire protection shouldbe proportional to the risk posed to the safety of the people at your premises. Therefore,the objective should be to reduce the remaining risk to a level that is as low as reasonablypracticable. The higher the risk of fire and risk to life, the higher the standards of fireprotection will need to be.Your fire precautions may not exactly fit the solutions suggested in this guide and they mayneed to be applied in a flexible manner without compromising the safety of people.For example, if the travel distance in a marquee is in excess of the norm (see Part 2, Table5 on page 86) it may be necessary to do any one or a combination of the following tocompensate:• Provide earlier warning of fire using automatic fire detection.• Revise the layout to reduce travel distances.• Reduce the fire risk by removing of reducing combustible materials and/or ignitionsources.• Control the number of people in the marquee.23

• Limit the area to trained staff/volunteers only (no public).• Increase staff/volunteer training and awareness.note: This list is not exhaustive and is only used to illustrate some examples of trade-offs toprovide a safer event or venue.If you decide to significantly, vary away from the benchmarks in this guidance youshould seek expert advice before doing so.3.4.1 Fire detection and warning systemsThe means of giving a warning of fire should be suitable for the particular event or venue,taking account of its size, layout, number of people likely to be present and the nature ofthe event.In some small events/venues the only practicable solution for people to raise an alarmupon the discovery of a fire could be a simple shout of ‘fire’ or a simple manually operateddevice, such as a gong or air horn that can be heard by everybody. At larger or morecomplex sites a public address system is likely to be the most effective means of providing awarning and directing the evacuation. Organisers/staff will need a managed fire evacuationplan to facilitate this.For permanent buildings or temporary tents/marquees where a simple warning is notsufficient, an electrical warning system may be required incorporating sounders andmanually operated call points (break – glass boxes).Where there are areas where a fire could develop to the extent that escape routes could beaffected before the fire is discovered, an automatic fire detection system may be necessary.At complex events/venues, particularly those accommodating people in different areas,(e.g. a zoo), it is likely that a more sophisticated form of warning and evacuation, possiblyphased may be required.Where the provision of a system connected by cables may not be appropriate, a radio signalbased system should be considered.You may need to consider special arrangements for times when people are working alone,are disabled, or when your normal occupancy patterns are different, e.g. when maintenancestaff or other contractors are working at the weekend / night or people are attending tohorses at night during a county show.It is important to consider the means of communication between staff and volunteersimplementing the emergency plan.24

Large campsites should normally be provided with fire watchtowers and campers should beprovided with fire safety advice.If you are not sure whether your current arrangements are adequate, see the additionalguidance on fire warning systems in Part 2, Section 2.Checklist• Can the means of detection ensure a fire is discovered quickly enough for thealarm to be raised in time for all the occupants to escape to a place of totalsafety?• Can appropriate means of warning be clearly heard, and/or seen, andunderstood by everyone throughout the whole site, event, or venue?• If the fire-detection and warning system is powered electrically, does it have aback-up power supply?• Have the public address systems been checked before the event?3.4.2 Fire-fighting equipment and facilitiesFire-fighting equipment can reduce the risk of a small fire, e.g. a fire in a waste-paper bin,developing into a large one. The safe use of an appropriate fire extinguisher to control a firein its early stages can also significantly reduce the risk to other people in the event or venueby allowing people to assist others who are at risk.The provision of fire-fighting equipment for outdoor events will vary according to the localconditions and what is brought on to the site. You should consider the need for equipmentfor tackling fires in vegetation, vehicles, and marquees.Arrangements may need to be made to protect fire-fighting equipment located outdoorsfrom the effects of frost, vandalism, and theft.25

Main types of portable extinguishers, their uses and colour codingWATER POWDER FOAM CARBON DIOXIDE (CO 2)For wood, paper, textile For liquid and electrical fires For use on liquid fires For liquid and electrical firesand solid material firesDO NOT USE on liquid,electrical or metal firesDO NOT USEon metal firesDO NOT USE onelectrical or metal firesDO NOT USE onmetal firesThe contents of an extinguisher is indicated by a zone of colour on the red body.Halon extinguishers are not shown since no new Halon production is permitted in the UKFigure 6: Types of fire extinguishersAt small sites or venues, having one or two portable extinguishers of the appropriate type,readily available for use, may be all that is necessary.At complex sites or venues where a number of portable extinguishers are required theyshould be sited in suitable locations. Extinguishers should also be sited adjacent to, but notnear to, fire hazards. It may also be necessary to indicate the location of extinguishers bysuitable signs.Fire blankets may also be appropriate for use on your site and their installation should beconsidered for higher risk areas, e.g. catering facilities.Some sites or venues may have permanently installed fire-fighting equipment. Other fixedinstallations and facilities to assist fire fighters, such as ‘fire’ water mains may also havebeen provided.People with no training should not be expected to attempt to extinguish a fire. However,all staff and where appropriate volunteers, should be familiar with the location and basicoperating procedures for the equipment provided. If your fire strategy requires that certainpeople, e.g. fire marshals, will be expected to take a more active role, then, they should beprovided with more comprehensive training.At some events an independent specialist fire team may be employed. Where this is thecase the use of an all terrain vehicle may be necessary to enable them to reach all areas,especially where camping areas are provided. A protocol should be agreed between theevent organisers, Fire and Rescue Service and fire team to define responsibilities, actionsand reporting procedures.26

Facilities for fire fighting also include the access routes for Fire and Rescue Service andother emergency service vehicles. At all outdoor venues you must ensure that you haveprovided adequate and appropriate vehicle access to all parts of the venue. You should alsoconsider how these routes would be affected by the people at your site or event.For more guidance on portable fire extinguishers see Part 2, Section 3.1, for fixed firepoints, Part 2, Section 3.2 and other facilities (including those for firefighters) see Part 2Section 3.3.Checklist• Are the portable fire extinguishers or any fixed firefighting equipment providedsuitable for controlling the risks identified?• Are there enough extinguishers sited throughout the premises at appropriatelocations?• Are the right types of extinguishers located close to the fire hazards and canusers get to them without exposing themselves to risk?• Are the extinguishers visible or does their position need indicating?• Do you regularly check equipment provided to help maintain the escaperoutes?• Do you carry out daily checks to ensure that there is clear access for fireengines?• Are those who test and maintain the equipment competent to do so?• Do you have the necessary procedures in place to maintain any facilities thathave been provided for the safety of people in the building (or for the use offirefighters, such as access for fire engines and firefighting lifts)?3.4.3 escape RoutesOnce a fire has started, been detected and a warning given, everyone at your venue or eventshould be able to escape to a place of total safety unaided and without the help of the Fireand Rescue Service. However, some people with disabilities & others with special needsmay need assistance from other people.27

Escape routes should be designed to ensure, as far as possible, that any person confrontedby fire, is able to turn away from it and escape to a place of reasonable safety, e.g. outsideof a marquee. From here, they will be able to go directly to a place of total safety.The level of fire protection that should be given to escape routes will vary depending onthe level of risk of fire within the premises and other related factors. Generally simpleenclosures found at open air events & venues will require fairly simple measures to protectescape routes compared to more complex (permanent buildings).When determining whether your event or venue has adequate escape routes, you need toconsider a number of factors, including;• the type & number of people present at the event or venue and their distribution aroundthe site;• the number and size of exits from marquees and other enclosures and from outdoorareas, e.g. in any fences, hedges or other barriers around the site;• exits and gateways are unlocked and staffed by stewards throughout the event;• all exits and gateways are clearly indicated by suitable signs which are illuminated ifnecessary;• the occupants are directed to all available exits so that their evacuation is without delay;• identify an area/field as a designated place of total safety, which may be within the siteboundaries, to which people are evacuated;• the designated place of safety does not place people at undue risk from other sources,e.g. vehicles on a busy road.At the planning stage, consult the Fire and Rescue Service about the proposals for meansof escape.the type and number of people using the event or venueThe people present at your event or venue will sometimes be entirely employees (outsideof opening hours), but will most of the time be a mixture of employees, volunteers andmembers of the public. Employees can reasonably be expected to have an understandingof the layout of the site or venue while members of the public, particularly in more complexsites, will be unlikely to have knowledge of any escape routes.The number of people present will influence your assessment of the requirements forescape routes. You must ensure that your escape routes are sufficient to enable themaximum number of people likely to use your event or venue at any time to escape safely.28

number and suitability of escape routesEvery venue should be provided with exits that are sufficient for the number of peoplepresent with respect to their width, number and siting.From a marquee or other enclosures there should usually be at least two escape routesavailable but a single escape route may be acceptable in some circumstances (e.g. partof your premises accommodating less than 60 people or where travel distances arelimited). Where two escape routes are necessary and to further minimise the risk of peoplebecoming trapped, you should ensure that the exit routes are completely independent ofeach other. This will prevent a fire affecting more than one exit route at the same time.When evaluating escape and exit routes, you will normally need to build in a safety factor bydiscounting the largest exit from your escape plan then determine whether the remainingexits or escape routes will be sufficient to evacuate all the occupants within a reasonabletime. Exits and escape routes that provide escape in a single direction only may needadditional fire precautions to be regarded as adequate.Exit doors or gates on escape routes should normally open in the direction of travel, and bequickly and easily opened without the need for a key.Management of escape routesIt is essential that escape routes, and the means provided to ensure they are used safely,are managed and maintained to ensure that they remain usable and available at all timeswhen the public are present on the site.Inform staff and volunteers, in training sessions about the escape routes within the site.Escape routes should be kept clear and hazard free at all times. Arrangements should bemade to prevent external escape routes from becoming obstructed by vehicles, stalls etc.Items that may be a source of fuel or pose an ignition risk should never be located close toan escape route (e.g. from a tent or marquee).emergency evacuation of persons with mobility impairmentThe means of escape you provide must be suitable for the evacuation of everyone likelyto be at your event or venue. People with a disability are often not able to leave the siteor venue quickly. This may be the result of mobility, hearing, vision or other impairment.Similarly, those who may have some other reason for not being able to leave the sitequickly, e.g. people in a state of undress (stage performers), elderly customers, or parentswith children should be considered separately. This may require additional planning andallocation of staff roles – with appropriate training.30

Use of these facilities will need to be linked to effective management arrangements as partof your emergency plan. The plan should not rely on Fire and Rescue Service involvementfor it to be effective.Further guidance on escape routes is available in Part 2, Section 4.Checklist• Can all the occupants escape to a place of reasonable or total safety in areasonable time?• Are the exits in the right place and do the escape routes lead as directly aspossible to a place of total safety?• Are the escape routes adequate for the numbers and type of people that mayneed to use them? e.g. members of the public, including disabled people.• If there is a fire, could all available exits be affected or will at least one route fromany part of the site or venue remain available?• Where appropriate, have you identified the assembly areas and are they in theappropriate location?• Will everybody be able to safely use the escape routes?• Can all exit doors and gates be opened easily and immediately if there is anemergency?• Have restrictions to the flow of people been considered and where necessary,removed?• Are arrangements in place to keep all escape routes & exit clear?3.4.4 emergency escape lightingPeople at your event or venue must be able to find their way to a place of total safety if thereis a fire by using escape routes that have enough lighting. If some of your escape routes areinternal and without windows, or your venue is used during periods of darkness, then, someform of back-up to the normal escape route lighting (emergency escape lighting) should beprovided.31

For simple venues or events with very small numbers of people, suitably placed torches foruse by trained staff or volunteers may be acceptable.At larger sites or venues it is likely that a more comprehensive system of automaticemergency escape lighting will be needed to illuminate the escape routes and you shouldconsult with a suitably qualified person for the type and specification of installationrequired.Where your event or venue is entirely in the open and it is attended during the hours ofdarkness, you need to consider the provision of emergency escape lighting throughoutthe site to illuminate all areas where people are accommodated and the escape routes toplaces of reasonable and total safety.Further guidance on emergency escape lighting is given in Part 2, Section 5.Checklist• Will your event take place or your venue be used during the hours ofdarkness.• Are all the escape routes sufficiently illuminated for use at all times people arepresent.• Have you provided emergency escape lighting by means of either an independentback-up power supply to the normal lighting or by means of separate lighting withan independent source of power.3.4.5 Signs and noticesSignsSigns must be used, where necessary, to help people identify escape routes/exits, findfire-fighting equipment and emergency fire telephones. These signs are required under theHealth and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 12, 13 andmust comply with the provisions of those Regulations.For a sign to comply with the Regulations, it must be in pictogram form (see Figure 7). Textand directional arrows can supplement the pictogram if this is considered necessary tomake the sign easily understood, but you must not have a safety sign that uses text only.32

A fire risk assessment that determines that no escape signs are required (because, forexample, trained staff will always be available to help direct members of the public toescape routes) is unlikely to be acceptable to an enforcing authority other than in thesmallest and simplest of premises e.g. a small marquee with a single entrance.The extent of escape signage provided will depend on the size of your event and the easewith which people can locate the exits. If the location of exits is obvious from any point,signs located above the exits are likely to be sufficient. If exits are not apparent, additionalsigns, which direct the people present to the exits, will be required. You must also considerthe size of the signage provided.Where the locations of fire-fighting equipment are readily apparent and the fire-fightingequipment is visible at all times, e.g. in a foyer within a temporary or permanent building,then signs may not be necessary. In all other situations it is likely that the fire riskassessment will indicate that signs will be necessary.noticesNotices must be used, where necessary, to providethe following:• instructions on how to use any fire safetyequipment ;• the actions to be taken in the event of fire; and• to help the Fire and Rescue Service (e.g. to showthe location of fire water mains?)Figure 7: Typical fire exit signWhere your site or venue is used during periods ofdarkness all signs and notices should be illuminatedby a suitable lighting installation.All signs and notices should be positioned so thatthey can be easily seen and understood.Figure 8: Simple fire action noticeFurther guidance on signs and notices is given in Part 2, Section 6.33

Checklist• When necessary are escape routes, exits, the locations of fire-fighting equipmentand emergency fire telephones indicated by appropriate signs?• Are you maintaining all the necessary signs and notices so that they continue tobe correct, legible and understood?• Are you maintaining signs that you have provided for the information of the Fireand Rescue Service?3.4.6 Installation testing and maintenanceNew fire precautions should be installed by a competent person.You must keep any equipment, devices or facilities that are provided at your site, event orvenue for the safety of people, (e.g. fire alarms, fire extinguishers, lighting, signs, fire exits),in effective working order.You must ensure that regular checks, periodic servicing and maintenance are carried outwhatever the size of your site or venue and that any defects are put right as quickly aspossible.Checks should be undertaken before, during and after the event.You, or a person you have nominated, can carry out certain checks and maintenance work.Further maintenance may need to be performed by a competent service engineer. Wherecontractors are used, third party certification is one method where a reasonable assuranceof quality of work and competence can be achieved. (See Part 2, Section 8.)The following are examples of checks and tests that should be considered. The examples oftesting and maintenance given are not intended to be prescriptive and other testing regimesmay be appropriate.daily checks (and/or checks before an event)Remove any bolts, padlocks and security devices from fire exits (including perimeter fences)and check escape routes to ensure they are clear from obstructions. Check that all safetysigns and notices are legible. Where practicable, check all emergency lighting units arein place and in working order. Check the provision of fire extinguishers and that they are34

present. Check the operation of communications systems such as public address systemsand radios. Check that staff, volunteers and stewards with designated responsibilities areavailable.Weekly tests (and/or before an event)Test fire-detection (where provided), fire warning systems, and manually-operated warningdevices by following the manufacturers or installers instructions. Check the batteriesof safety torches. Check that fire extinguishers and hose reels are correctly located andin apparent working order. Fire pumps and standby generators should be tested for 30minutes each week.Monthly tests (and/or before an event)Test all emergency escape lighting systems and safety torches to make sure they haveenough charge and illumination according to the manufacturers or suppliers instructions.Monthly tests should be at an appropriate time when, following the test, they will not beimmediately required, e.g. when no events are scheduled.Six-monthly tests (and/or before an event)A competent person should test and maintain the fire-detection and warning system andemergency escape lighting.Annual tests (and/or before an event)The emergency escape lighting and all fire-fighting equipment, fire alarms and otherinstalled systems should be tested and maintained by a competent person.Where your event has only a short duration (e.g. 3 days) you may need to carry out all of theabove plan checks to ensure that your site or event is adequately protected.Appendix A provides an example of a fire safety maintenance checklist. You will find it ofbenefit to keep a log book of all maintenance and testing.Further guidance on maintenance and testing on individual types of equipment andfacilities can be found in the relevant section in Part 2.35

Checklist• Do you regularly check all escape routes and associated lighting and signs?• Do you regularly check all your fire-fighting equipment?• Do you regularly check your fire-detection and alarm equipment?• Are those who test and maintain the equipment properly trained to do so?• Do you have records of your testing?Step 3 Checklist• Have you considered the risk of fire starting?• Have you evaluated the risk to people at your site or venue if a fire starts?• Have you removed or reduced the hazards that might cause a fire?• Have you removed or reduced sources of ignition?• Have you removed or reduced sources of fuel?• Have you removed or reduced sources of air or oxygen?• Have you removed or reduced the risks to people if a fire occurs?• Have you determined whether your escape routes and exits are adequate?• Do you have adequate signs and notices?• Have you determined whether your emergency escape lighting is adequate?• Have you considered the need for fire detection and for warning?• Have you considered the need for fire-fighting equipment?• Is the fire fighting equipment suitable for the purpose and in the right place?36

• Have you considered whether you need any other equipment or facilities?• Do you regularly test and maintain fire safety equipment?• Have you considered how the emergency services will get to, in and around yoursite or venue?SteP 4 ReCoRd, PlAn, InFoRM, InStRuCt And tRAInIn Step 4 there are four further elements of the risk assessment you should focus on toaddress the management of fire safety at your event or venue. At smaller sites this couldbe done as part of the day-to-day management. However, as the venue or the organisationgrows it may be necessary for a formal structure and written policy to be developed. Furtherguidance on managing fire safety is given in Part 2 on page 47.4.1 Record the significant findings and action takenIf you employ five or more people, your venue or event is licensed, or an alterations notice isin force, you must record the significant findings of your fire risk assessment and the actionsyou have taken.Significant findings should include details of:• the fire hazards you have identified (you don’t need to include trivial things like a smalltin of solvent-based glue);• the actions you have taken, or will take, to remove or reduce the chance of a fireoccurring (preventive measures);• persons who may be at risk, particularly those especially at risk;• the actions you have taken or will take to reduce the risk to people from the spread offire and smoke (protective measures);• the actions people need to take in case of fire, including details of any personsnominated to carry out a particular function (your emergency plan);• the information, instruction and training you have identified that people need and how itwill be given.37

You may also wish to record discussions you have had with staff or staff representatives(including trade unions). Even where you are not required to record the significant findings, itis good practice to do so.At small/simple sites or venues (e.g. village fete) record keeping may be no more than a fewsheets of paper (possibly forming part of a health and safety folder), containing details ofsignificant findings, any action taken and a copy of the emergency plan.At larger/complex venues or events, it is best to keep a dedicated record including detailsof significant findings, any action taken, a copy of the emergency plan, maintenance of fire –protection equipment and training. There is no one ‘correct’ format specified for this.It might be helpful to include a simple line drawing to illustrate your precautions (figure 9).This can also help you check your fire precautions as part of your ongoing review.You must be able to satisfy the enforcing authority, if called upon to do so, that you havecarried out a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment. Keeping records will help you dothis and will also form the basis of your subsequent reviews. If you keep records, you do notneed to record all the details, only those that are significant and the action you have taken.The findings of your fire risk assessment will help you to develop your emergency plan, theinstruction, information and training you need to provide, the co-operation and co-ordinationarangements you may need to have with other appropriate people and the arrangements formaintenance and testing of the fire precautions. If you are required to record the significantfindings of your risk assessment then these arrangements must also be recorded.Further guidance about fire safety records with an example is given in Part 2, Section 7.1.38

Main EntranceCateringCateringHJHSideStallsHHHAdultRide(Waltzer)HHHSideStallsHHEntry/ExitHRock-o-PlaneHEntry/Exit• Fire applicanceaccessHHHAdultRide(Twist)HSideStallsHHHDogemsHHHSideStallsCarParkHJHEntry/ExitStallsEntry/ExitStallsCar ParkAssembly AreaLivingVanGeneratorTruck/LorryJJuvenileRideHHoopla Tree BoundaryKeyEmergency lightingFire exit signFire extinguisherFigure 9: A site layout plan39

Checklist• Have you recorded the significant findings of your assessment?• Have you recorded what you have done to remove or reduce the risk?• Are your records available for inspection by the enforcing authority?4.2 emergency planYou need to have an emergency plan for dealing with any fire situation. The purpose of anemergency plan is to ensure that the people on the site or venue know what to do if there isa fire and that the site can safely be evacuated allowing people to move to a place of safety.If you or your organisation employ five or more people, or your event or venue are licensedor an alterations notice requiring it is in force, then details of your emergency plan must berecorded. Even if it is not required, it is good practice to keep a record.Your emergency plan should be based on the outcome of your fire risk assessment and beavailable for your employees, their representatives (where appointed) and the enforcingauthority.At a small simple site the emergency plan may be no more than a fire action notice.In multi-occupied, larger and more complex events or venues, the emergency plan willneed to be more detailed and compiled only after consultation with other occupiers andother appropriate people, e.g. owners who have control over the site and those in charge ofvarious activities. In most cases this means that an emergency plan covering the whole sitewill be necessary. It will help if you can agree on one person to co-ordinate this task.Provisions for events involving animalsAnimals are liable to panic in fire and in view of this there should be additional safeguardsto ensure that the public are able to use the means of escape to reach a place of totalsafety without being endangered by frightened animals.You therefore need to ensure that the presence of animals does not increase the risk of fireoccurring and that they are securely kept away from escape routes used by the public.Your emergency plan may also need to take account of any obligations you may have inrespect of the protection of any animals present in the premises.Further guidance on emergency plans is given in Part 2, Section 7.2.40

Checklist• Do you have an emergency plan and, where necessary, have you recorded thedetails?• Does your plan take account of other appropriate people on the site?• Is the plan readily available for staff, contractors, visitors, to read?• Is the emergency plan available to the enforcing authority?4.3 Inform, instruct, co-operate and co-ordinateYou must give clear and relevant information and appropriate instructions to your staffand the employers of other people working on your site, such as contractors, about how toprevent fires and what they should do if there is a fire.If you intend to employ a child, you must inform the parents of the significant risks you haveidentified and the precautions you have taken. You must also co-operate and co-ordinatewith other appropriate people who use any part of the site or venue. It is unlikely that youremergency plan will work without this.Information and instructionAll staff and volunteers should be given information and instruction as soon as they arriveon site and prior to starting work and regularly after that. Make sure you include people whowork outside normal working hours, such as cleaners or maintenance staff.The information and instructions you give must be in a form that can be used andunderstood. They should take account of those with a disability such as hearing or sightimpairment, those with learning difficulties and those who do not use English as their firstlanguage.The information and instruction you give should be based on your emergency plan and mustinclude:• the significant findings from your fire risk assessment;• the measures that you have put in place to reduce the risk;• what staff/volunteers should do if there is a fire;41

• the identity of people you have nominated with responsibilities for fire safety; and• any special arrangements for serious and imminent danger to persons from fire.In a small/simple site or venue, where no significant risks have been identified and thereare limited numbers of staff/volunteers, information and instruction may simply involve anexplanation of the fire procedures and how they are to be applied. This should include :• showing staff/volunteers the fire-protection arrangements, including the designatedescape routes;• the location and operation of the fire-warning system;• any other fire-safety equipment provided, such as fire extinguishers.For a complex site or venue particularly those with multiple occupiers (e.g. a county show),you should ensure that written instructions are given to people who have been nominated tocarry out a designated safety task, such as calling the Fire and Rescue Service or checkingthat exit routes are available for use at the start of each working day.Fire action notices can complement this information and where used, should be posted inprominent locations.Further guidance on information and instruction to staff, and on working with dangeroussubstances is given in Part 2, Section 7.3.Co-operation and co-ordinationAt some venues you may be the appropriate person. However, sites or venues owned bysomeone else, or where there is more than one occupier and others are responsible fordifferent parts of the site (e.g. motor racing circuit), it is important that you liaise with themand inform them of any significant risks that you have identified. By liaising you can coordinateyour resources to ensure that your actions and working practices do not placeothers at risk if there is a fire, and a co-ordinated emergency plan operates effectively.Where two or more appropriate persons share a site or venue the person with overallresponsibility for the site or venue must co-ordinate any measures necessary to protecteveryone from any risk that may arise. Employees also have a responsibility to co-operatewith their employer so far as it is necessary to help the employer comply with any legal duty.Further guidance on co-operation and co-ordination is given in Part 2, Section 7.3.42

Checklist• Have you told your staff about the emergency plan, including the identity ofpeople you have nominated to perform a particular task?• Have you given staff information about any dangerous substances?• Do you have arrangements for informing temporary or agency staff?• Do you have arrangements for informing other employers whose staff are guestworkers on your site, such as maintenance contractors and cleaners?• Have you co-ordinated your fire safety arrangements with other appropriatepeople at the event?• Have you recorded details of any information or instructions you have givenand the details of any arrangements for co-operation and co-ordination withothers?4.4 Fire safety trainingA key role is played by those responsible for keeping people safe at your site, event orvenue. Your safety may include actions and responsibilities by people who are not membersof your staff (e.g. volunteers). You must therefore provide adequate fire safety training forstaff and other people with responsibilities at your event or venue.The type of training should be based on the size, type, location and other features of yourevent or venue and should:• take account of the findings of the fire risk assessment;• explain your emergency procedures;• take account of the work activity and explain the duties and responsibilities of staff (andothers);• take place during working hours and be repeated periodically where appropriate;• address the roles of staff;• where appropriate, be tested by fire drills; and43

• be understandable by your staff and other people who may be present.At simple sites this may be no more than showing staff/volunteers the fire exits and givingbasic training on what to do if there is a fire. At sites or venues with a high staff turnover theorganisation of fire safety training will need to be planned.Your training should include the following:• what to do on discovering a fire;• how to raise the alarm;• what to do upon hearing the fire alarm;• the procedures for alerting members of the public and visitors including, whereappropriate, directing them to exits;• the arrangements for calling the Fire and Rescue Service;• the evacuation procedures for everyone to reach an assembly point at a place of totalsafety;• the location and, when appropriate, the use of fire-fighting equipment;• the location of escape routes, especially those not in regular use;• where appropriate, how to stop machines and processes and isolate power supplies inthe event of a fire;• the safe use of, and risks from, storing or working with highly flammable and explosivesubstances; and• the importance of general fire safety, which includes good housekeeping.All people identified in your emergency plan that have a supervising role in a fire emergencyshould be given details of your fire risk assessment and receive appropriate training.It is imperative that the person responsible for training is adequately trained to undertakethe role of informing, training and instructing others.Further guidance on fire safety training is given in Part 2, Section 7.4.44

Checklist• Have your staff/volunteers received any fire safety training?• Have you carried out a practice evacuation recently (if practical)?• Are people/employees aware of specific tasks if there is a fire?• Are you maintaining a record of training sessions?• If you use or store hazardous or explosive substances, have your staff receivedappropriate training?SteP 5 RevIeWYou should constantly monitor what you are doing to implement the fire risk assessment, toassess how effectively the risk is being controlled.If you have any reason to suspect that your fire risk assessment is no longer valid or therehas been a significant change in your site or venue that has affected your fire precautions,you will need to review your assessment and, if necessary, revise it. Reasons for this couldinclude:• significant changes to the event, for example a last-minute introduction of fairgroundattractions, new acts, performances and activities;• alterations to the degree of enclosure or reconfiguration of a site venue or exhibit, e.g.additional temporary structures/marquees;• an increase in the number of, or changes to the type of people, or the presence ofpeople with a disability;• changes to the staffing structure;• the introduction, change of use or increase in the storage of hazardous substances;• failure of fire precautions, e.g. fire detection systems and warning systems;• altering locations of exits or fixed/mobile seating;• your past experience of incidents at other venues which did, or could have, injuredpeople and from which lessons can be learned and preventative action taken.45

You should consider the potential risk of any significant change before it is introduced. Itis usually more effective to minimise a risk before introducing it to your site. During theevent you should remain vigilant for any unplanned changes that introduce new hazards orincrease the risk from an existing hazard.Do not amend your assessment for every trivial change, but, if a change introduces newhazards you should consider them and, if significant, do whatever you need to do to keepthe risks under control. In any case you should keep your assessment under review tomake sure that the precautions are still working effectively. You may want to re-examinethe fire prevention and protection measures at the same time as your health and safetyassessment.If a fire or ‘near miss’ occurs, this could indicate that your existing assessment may beinadequate and you should carry out a re-assessment. It is good practice to identify thecause of any incident and, then, review and/or revise your fire risk assessment in the lightof this.A post event review is good practice for events that occur periodically to help ensurethat fire safety arrangements are relevant to and appropriate for the next event or to thechanging needs of your venue and its visitors. The review will help to identify areas wherechanges are needed and/or introduce suggested improvements. Review your event as soonas possible after it has finished, in order to ensure that any problems are still relativelyfresh in people’s memories. If many of the staff are likely to disperse, you may wish to carryout a rapid debriefing as soon as practicable and use the report of this in the full review. Ingeneral, representatives of all parties involved in the event should take part in the review.Where possible, select representatives who can give you the fullest picture of all aspectsof the event. Specific training for your own staff involved in the review process can help toimprove its effectiveness.5.1 Alterations noticesIf you have been served with an ‘alterations notice’ check it to see whether you needto notify the enforcing authority about any changes you propose to make as a result ofyour review. If these changes include building work, you should also consult the buildingcontrol body.end oF PARt 1You should now have completed the five-step fire risk assessment process, using theadditional information in Part 2 where necessary. In any review you may need to revisitSteps 1 to 4.46

Part 2 Further guidance on fire riskassessment and fire precautionsManaging fire safetyGood management of fire safety will helpto ensure that any fire safety matters thatarise are always effectively addressed.At small venues or events this can beachieved by the manager or owner planningand maintaining fire safety in conjunctionwith general health and safety.At larger events or venues it is goodpractice for a senior manager to haveoverall responsibility for fire safety. It maybe appropriate for this responsibility to beplaced with the manager designated withoverall responsibility for health and safety.An organisation’s safety policy shouldincorporate fire safety and should beflexible enough to allow modification. Thepolicy should be set out in writing and maycover such things as:• who will hold the responsibility for firesafety at the most senior level;• who will be the appropriate person foreach part of the site (this will be theperson who has overall control, usuallythe manager, but may be part-time orshift managers);• the arrangement whereby managers will,where necessary, nominate in writingspecific people to carry out particulartasks if there is a fire;• the arrangement whereby the overallappropriate person should monitorand check that individual managersare meeting the requirements of firesafety law.You should have a plan of action tobring together all the features you haveevaluated and noted from your fire riskassessment so that you can logically planwhat needs to be done. It should not beconfused with the emergency plan, whichis a statement of what you will do if thereis a fire.The plan of action should include what youintend to do to reduce the hazards andrisks you have identified and to implementthe necessary protection measures.You will need to prioritise these actionsto ensure that any findings which identifypeople in immediate danger are dealtwith straight away. In other cases, atpermanent outdoor sites or venues, wherepeople are not in immediate dangerbut action is still necessary, it may beacceptable to plan this over a period oftime.You or a designated appropriate personshould be in charge of and be presenton the site during the whole time the siteis open to the public and kept free fromwork, which would prevent the individualfrom being available immediately in theevent of an alarm of fire.You need to be aware that certain eventse.g. music festivals, can present additionaldangers for the audience, largely from theeffects of over excitement and irrationalbehaviour as well as the noise level andflashing lights. In such circumstances,and particularly where there is a mainlyyounger audience, you should ensurethat there are a sufficient number ofcompetent and adequately trainedstewards to cover an emergency situation.47

Before admitting the public to your site youneed to ensure that all of your fire safetyprovisions are in place and in working order,or, if not, that alternative arrangements arein place. Constant checks are needed whilethe public are present, and again afterthey have left. Detailed recommendationsare given in BS 9999 14 , the Event SafetyGuide 11 and the Northern Ireland Guide toSafety at Sports Grounds 10 .The guidance in Part 2 provides additionalinformation to:• ensure good fire safety management byhelping you establish your fireprevention measures, fire precautionsand fire safety procedures (systemsequipment and plans); and• assist you to carry out your fire safetyrisk assessment and identify any issuesthat need attention.48

Section 1 Further guidance on firerisks and preventative measuresThis section provides further informationon evaluating the risk of a fire and itsprevention at your event or venue. Youshould spend time developing long-termworkable and effective strategies to reducehazards and the risk of a fire starting. At itssimplest this means separating flammablematerials from ignition sources.You should consider:• housekeeping;• storage;• dangerous substances; storage, displayand use;• equipment and machinery;• electrical safety;• smoking;• managing construction, assembly andalterations;• restricting the spread of fire and smoke;• deliberate fire setting;• vehicles; and• help for people with special needs.1.1 HousekeepingFor most sites, good housekeeping willlower the chance of a fire starting, so theaccumulation of combustible materialsshould be monitored carefully.Keep waste material in suitable containersbefore it is removed from the site. If bins,particularly wheeled bins, are used, securethem in a compound to prevent them beingmoved to a position next to an enclosureand set on fire. Never place skips near anenclosure (tent or vehicle, see Figure 10) –they should normally be a minimum of 6 maway from any structure on the site.If you generate a considerable quantity ofcombustible waste material then you mayneed to develop a formal plan to managethis effectively.Good housekeeping reduces the chances ofescape routes being blocked or obstructedor potentially hazardous source of fuel fromdeveloping. The level of responsibility of anevent organiser and concessionaire withregards to housekeeping must be defined.All parts of the site or venue should beinspected before, during and after eachevent or period open to the public and anyaccumulation of waste or litter should beremoved without delay.Combustible waste and packagingSome events involve large quantities ofcombustible waste and packaging, whichmay have been used to protect goodsor exhibits in transit. The siting, use andremoval of these materials needs to becarefully managed to ensure that they cannot come into contact with potential ignitionsources, and do not cause obstructions.49

To reduce the risk, store excess materialsin a dedicated storage area. Do not storeexcess materials in areas where the publicwould normally have access.1.2 StorageFigure 10: Example of poor housekeepingat open air eventsMany of the materials found at your eventor venue will be combustible. If you haveinadequate or poorly managed storageareas then the risk of fire is likely to beincreased.At outdoor events and venues great carewill often be taken to present an efficientand attractive image in the public areas,while storage areas are neglected andallowed to become dumping areas forunused material.Combustible materials are not just thosegenerally regarded as highly combustible,such as polystyrene, but all materialsthat will readily catch fire e.g. displays orartificial flowers. Even non-combustiblematerials may present a fire hazardwhen packed in combustible materials.However, by carefully considering the typeof material, the quantities kept and thestorage arrangements, the risks can besignificantly reduced.Stacks of combustible materials (e.g. foodstuffs, packaging), can increase the firehazard. Such readily available combustiblematerials makes the potential effect ofdeliberate fire setting more serious.As well as considering the materials usedat your site or event you should alsoconsider their form. For example, woodin solid baulks of timber is not readilyignitable, but chopped wood or kindling is.Cardboard stored flat would not present ahigh fire risk, but rollsof cardboard storedvertically present a vertical surface forfire to spread rapidly upwards; corrugatedcardboard presents an even greater risk.The fire risk assessment should alsoconsider any additional risk generatedby seasonal products such as Christmasdecorations and by products such asfireworks.Consider the following to reduce theserisks:• Ensure you have sufficient suitablestorage areas for your needs;• ensure storage areas are adequatelycontrolled and monitored;• use fire-resisting display materialswherever possible (suppliers should beable to provide evidence of this); and• ensure electrical lighting used as part ofthe display does not become apotential source of ignition.outdoor storageThe main risks associated with outdoorstorage are outdoor fires spreading to thebuildings, structures or enclosures. Firesare most likely to start in waste material or50

dry undergrowth. Tarpaulin, jute and plasticsacks can readily burn too.Sparks, cigarettes and deliberate firesetting are the likely ignition sources. Toreduce these risks, ensure that:• goods, materials, pallets and vehiclesare sited in designated storage areasaway from a temporary building, stagearea or arena fire exits, boundaryfences; and• outdoor areas are kept tidy, by clearingwaste and vegetation.1.3 dangerous substances;storage, display and useSpecific precautions are required whenhandling and storing dangerous substancesto minimise the possibility of an incident.Your supplier should be able to providedetailed advice on safe storage andhandling, however, the following principleswill help you reduce the risk from fire:• substitute highly flammable substancesand materials with less flammableones;• reduce the quantity of dangeroussubstances to the smallest reasonableamount necessary for running thebusiness or organisation;• correctly store dangerous substances,e.g. in a fire-resisting enclosure. Allflammable liquids, and gaseoussubstances should ideally be lockedaway, especially when the events orvenues are unoccupied, to reducethe chance of them being used in adeliberate fire setting. This may includestorage of materials such as fireworks orpyrotechnics; and• ensure that you and your employees areaware of the fire risk the dangeroussubstances present and the precautionsnecessary to avoid danger.Additional general fire precautions may beneeded to take account of the additionalrisks that may be posed by the storage anduse of these substances.Certain substances and materials are bytheir nature, highly flammable, oxidising orpotentially explosive. These substances arecontrolled by other legislation in addition tofire safety law, in particular the DangerousSubstances and Explosive AtmospheresRegulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 15 (alsosee HSE’s Approved Code of Practice andguidance 16 ).Flammable liquidsHighly flammable liquids present aparticularly high fire risk. For example,a leak from a container of flammablefuel, such as petrol, may produce largequantities of heavier-than air flammablevapours. These can travel large distances,increasing the likelihood of them reachinga source of ignition well away from theoriginal leak, such as a catering facility orequipment on automatic timers.Flammable liquids stored in plasticcontainers can be a particular problem ifinvolved in fire because they readily meltspilling their contents and fuelling rapid firegrowth.The risk is reduced by ensuring the storageand use of highly flammable liquidsis carefully managed, that materials51

contaminated with solvent are properlydisposed of and when not in use, they aresafely stored. Up to 50 litres may be storedin a fire-resisting cabinet or bin that willcontain any leaks. (See Figure 11.)Quantities greater that 50 litres shouldbe stored in a dedicated highly flammableliquids store. Further guidance on thestorage of highly flammable liquids incontainers is available from the HSENI.Half-hourfire-resistant exterior exteriorMaximum 50 litres totalMaximum 50 litres totalNon-combustible,point hingeshigh melting pointhingesBonded/fireBonded/fire stopped junctionstopped junctionFigure 11: A 50 litre storage bin for flammablesThere should be no potential ignitionsources in areas where flammableliquids are used or stored and flammableconcentrations of vapours may be present.Any electrical equipment used in theseareas, including emergency escape lightingsystems, needs to be suitable for use inflammable atmospheres. In such situations,you should seek advice from a competentperson.Propane and Butane. Propane cylindersmust be stored outside the buildingson firm level ground and in a wellventilated location. The only exceptionfor using propane inside a building isfor maintenance purposes on a limitedtemporary basis. For information on theuse and storage of butane cylinders refer tothe Liquefied Petroleum Gas Association’sCode of Practice 17 or contact the HSENI.Locate the LPG cylinders and cartridgesin a safe, secure and well ventilated placewhere they cannot be interfered with, canbe kept upright (with valve protection fitted)and are away from sources of ignition and/or oxidant materials (See figure 12).LPG must not be kept/stored below groundlevel within a building i.e. in a basement.Before using or storing LPG in yourpremises a Risk Assessment should becarried out. If you are in any doubt aboutthe safety of your premises you shouldconsult a competent person.Further guidance on the safe storage ofLPG is available from your supplier, theLiquefied Petroleum Gas Association’sCode of Practice 17 or the HSENI.lPg storageWhere LPG in cylinders or cartridges ispresent you need to take particular care tominimise the possibility of its involvementin a fire. The total amount of LPG shouldbe kept to the minimum necessary to meetyour needs.The two primary forms of LPG used forheating and/or cooking purposes are Figure 12: Example of poor storage –LPG cylinders with other combustibles52

PipingPiping conveying gas or flammable liquidshould be as far as practicable made ofrigid material.Any necessary piping should consist ofmaterial suitable for the gas or liquid beingconveyed, adequately reinforced to resistcrushing and withstand the maximuminternal pressure to which it may besubjected. Any connections to the flexiblepiping should be of an approved pattern(i.e. screwed or otherwise secured toprevent accidental disconnection).If in doubt you should seek advice from acompetent person.Storage and use of cylindersOnly those compressed gas cylinders or gasvessels containing flammable liquids or gasunder pressure required for immediate useshould be kept within the premises. Anyspare cylinders should be stored in a safeand secure location outside the building.Hazardous materialsWhere it is necessary to use hazardousmaterials, such as fuels (whether incontainers or within fuel tanks andmachinery), fertilisers, weed killers, paintsor gas cylinders used for medical purposes,they should be stored in a secure and safelocation, for example a properly ventilatedfire-resistant storeroom. Care should alsobe taken to ensure that incompatiblematerials are not stored together. If in anydoubt you should seek the advice of yoursupplier.Fireworks and explosivesPyrotechnics are used in many productionsfrom a small show to major rock concertsand the dangers inherent in the types usedfor the entertainment industry should beunderstood.Fireworks, pyrotechnics and explosives cancause fires and explosions. They have thepotential for a violent release of pressureand heat that can cause severe harm topeople and damage to structures. Thesematerials can be ignited or detonatedby contact with ignition sources or bycontamination, where other chemicalsor water cause the material to becomeunstable.Preventative measures include:• excluding ignition sources;• appropriate storage containers;• training in the handling of fireworks andexplosives; and• establishing separation distancesbetween buildings containing explosives.One of the most common problems withthe use of pyrotechnics is lack of preplanning.Pyrotechnics are often requiredbut decisions are made very late with theresult of trying to incorporate them intoa show after everything else. With earlyplanning many of the problems can beovercome and unnecessary risks reduced.53

Particular care should be taken with certaintypes of pyrotechnics that produce:• sparks / fall-out which can remain hotfor some time even after returning toground level (e.g. star effects, gerbs,stage mines, saxons, airbursts);• fall-out over a wide area (e.g. waterfalleffect, saxons, airbursts);• considerable heat (e.g. coloured fire);• considerable amount of smoke (e.g.smoke puffs, coloured smoke, waterfalleffect);• naked flame (e.g. flame effects).You should adopt and enforce a clear policyprohibiting people from bringing flares orfireworks into the event or venue.The primary controls on the supply andacquisition of fireworks in Northern Irelandare the Explosives (Fireworks) Regulations(Northern Ireland) 2002 18 and thePyrotechnic Articles (Safety) Regulations2010 19 . Category 1 (indoor) fireworks mustnot be sold to children under 16 years ofage; Category 2 (garden) and Category3 (display) fireworks must not be sold topersons under 18 years of age.The Explosives Act 1875 20 , the ExplosivesAct (Northern Ireland) 1970 21 , theManufacture and Storage of ExplosivesRegulations (Northern Ireland) 2006 22 , asamended by the Manufacture and Storageof Explosives (Amendment) Regulations(Northern Ireland) 2009 23 and the Carriageof Explosives Regulations (Northern Ireland)2010 24 deal with the selling, use, carriageand storage of explosives in NorthernIreland.For further information contact theDepartment of Justice or HSENI.Smoke and vapour effectsSmoke/vapour outlets should not be sitedwhere their output can be dischargedor drift into exits, exit routes, stairways,means of escape routes. Actual operationof the machine should take account ofpublic safety and should be limited tothe minimum amount of time required toachieve the necessary level of density.Fans should be used, where necessary, todirect the smoke/vapour into the desiredarea, in order to prevent clouding at thepoint of discharge and possible overspillinto other parts of the event or venue.Before the use of a smoke or vapour effectis approved consideration should be givento any automatic fire detection or firesensor system installed in the premises.Such equipment should be operated safelyand in accordance with manufacturer’sinstructions. However, such devices cancreate an illusion of the presence of fire(and/or smoke) and consequently someadditional measures may need to be takento avoid unnecessary alarm and also toensure that the use of such devices doesnot disguise the presence of a real fire.Detailed recommendations on the useand storage of explosives and flammablesubstances are given in the HSEEntertainment Sheet No. 3 25 , Associationof British Theatre Technicians Code ofPractice 26 and HSG 195 – The Event SafetyGuide 11 . For Firework displays refer toHSG 123 ‘Working together on fireworksdisplays’ 27 or HSG 124 ‘Giving your ownfirework displays’ 28 .54

1.4 equipment and machineryCommon causes of fire in equipment are:• allowing ventilation points to becomeclogged or blocked, causing overheating;• inadequate cleaning of equipment, suchas fryers;• allowing extraction equipment incatering environments to build upexcessive grease deposits;• misuse or lack of maintenance ofcooking equipment and appliances;• overheating cooking equipment such asdeep fat fryers;• disabling or interfering with automatic ormanual safety features and cut-outs;• leaking valves, glands or joints allowingoils and other flammable liquids tocontaminate adjacent goods;• loose drive belts or lack of lubricationleading to increased friction;• refuelling without interrupting operation(particularly petrol generators); or• overheating electrical extension reelsbecause they have not been unwound.All machinery, equipment and plant shouldbe properly maintained by a competentperson. Appropriate signs and instructionson safe use may be necessary.HeatingIndividual heating appliances requireparticular care if they are to be usedsafely. The greatest risks arise from lackof maintenance and unfamiliarity. Heatersshould be secured in position on hardstanding ground when in use and fitted witha fireguard if appropriate.The following rules should be observed:• all heaters should be kept well clearof combustible materials and placedwhere they do not cause an obstruction,particularly to escape routes;• portable fuel burning heaters (includingLPG) should only be used in publicareas in exceptional circumstances andif shown to be acceptable in your riskassessment; and• unless specifically designed for use inthe open air such heaters should besited away from draughts.All gas heating appliances should be usedonly in accordance with manufacturer’sinstructions and should be servicedannually by a competent person. Youshould check that all such equipment tobe used on your site is provided with amaintenance record.Cooking processesCatering facilities at open air events arebased on equipment that is designed to behighly mobile. They may be fixed within avehicle or placed within a tent, marquee orother similar temporary structure. Typicalinstallations used in cooking processesinclude: deep fat fryers, surface fryers,ovens, grills and surface cookers withflues, filters, hoods, extract and, insome cases, ventilation ducts. Thesecooking processes can operate at hightemperatures and involve large quantities55

of oil and combustible foodstuffs. Heatsources used for cooking processes aremainly LP gas but also include electricity.The main causes of fire are ignition ofcooking oil, combustion of crumbs andsediment deposits, and, where fitted, ductwork fires from a build up of fat and grease.The siting of cooking processes close tocombustible materials can lead to rapidfire growth and spread to other parts ofthe site. This practice should therefore beavoided where possible.The following should be considered, asappropriate to the size and location of theinstallation, to reduce the fire risk fromcooking processes:• regular cleaning to prevent build-up ofcrumbs and other combustible material;• fire resisting containers for wasteproduct;• a fire suppression system capable ofcontrolling an outbreak of fire (thesecould be fitted within a mobile cateringvehicle);• monitored heat/oil levels, even afterthe cooking process is complete, andinstallation of temperature control/cutoff/shut-offdevices as appropriate;• duct, joints and supports able towithstand high cooking temperatures;• insulation of ducts to prevent heating/igniting nearby combustible materialsand wall/ceiling panels;• a regular programme for inspection andcleaning;• a programme of electrical andmechanical maintenance; and• annual service of all gas heatingappliances by a competent person.Figure 13: Mobile deep fat fryers too closeto combustibles1.5 electrical safetyElectrical equipment is a significant causeof accidental fires. The main causes are:• overheating cables and equipment, e.g.due to overloading circuits, bunched orcoiled cables or impaired cooling fans;• incorrect installation or use ofequipment;• lack of maintenance or testing;• damaged or inadequate insulation oncables or wiring;• combustible materials being placed tooclose to electrical equipment, whichmay give off heat even when operatingnormally, or may become hot due to afault;56

• arcing or sparking by electricalequipment;• embrittlement and cracking of cablesheathing in cold environments;• bunched cables passing throughinsulation which can generate excessiveheat; and• impaired cooling fans.All electrical equipment should be installedand maintained in a safe manner by acompetent person. If portable electricalequipment is used, then your fire riskassessment should ensure that it isvisually inspected and undergoes portableappliance testing (‘PAT’) at suitableintervals (refer to HSE guidance 29 ). If youhave any doubt about the safety of yourelectrical installation then you shouldconsult a competent electrician.Issues to consider include:• insulation earthing and electricalisolation requirements;• cable routing and fixing;• correct fuse ratings;• PAT testing and testing of the fixedinstallation;• protection against overloading ofinstallation;• use of residual current devices (RCDs);• protection against short circuit;• temperature rating and mechanicalstrength of flexible cables;• portable electrical equipment, includinglanterns;• physical environment in which theequipment is used (e.g. wet or dustyatmospheres);• use and maintenance of suitablepersonal protective equipment; and• voltage of the electrical equipment, (e.g.110v or lower).All lamps, lanterns, lighting appliancesand any other apparatus liable to becomeheated whether under normal or abnormalconditions and liable to come into contactwith combustible materials may need tobe fitted with suitable guards. Such guardsshould be of wire mesh or of such othertype as will afford ventilation, shouldbe rigidly fixed and, where practicable,should be at a distance of at least 300mmvertically above and 75mm horizontallyfrom the casing of the lamp or holder.All electrical installations should beregularly maintained by a competentperson, appointed by you, or on your behalf,in accordance with the Electricity at WorkRegulations (Northern Ireland) 1991 30 , asamended 1998 31 and 1999 32 . The use oflow voltage equipment should conformto the requirements of the ElectricalEquipment (Safety) Regulations 1994 33 ,including the requirement to be CE marked.For further guidance refer to the EventSafety Guide HSG 195 11 .• frequency of electrical inspection;57

1.6 SmokingThe Smoking (Northern Ireland) Order2006 34 makes it against the law to smokein enclosed or substantially enclosedworkplaces, public places and certainvehicles. Premises covered includerestaurants, bars, cafes, hotels, theatres,bingo halls, leisure centres, shoppingcentres, schools, hospitals, clubs, tentsand movable installations. If however youchoose to provide designated smokingareas within your premises then you shouldconsider the following guidance.Carelessly discarded cigarettes and othersmoking materials are a major cause of fire.A cigarette can smoulder for several hours,especially when surrounded by combustiblematerial. Many fires are started severalhours after the smoking materials havebeen emptied into waste bags and left forfuture disposal.Operate a safe smoking policy indesignated smoking areas and prohibitsmoking elsewhere. Display suitable signsthroughout the premises informing peopleof the smoking policy and the locationswhere smoking is permitted.In those areas where smoking is permitted,provide non-combustible deep andsubstantial ashtrays to help preventunsuitable containers being used. Emptyall ashtrays daily into a metal waste bin andtake it outside. It is dangerous to emptyashtrays into plastic waste sacks which arethen left inside for waste disposal.You may consider prohibiting smoking at anopen air site but this may be impractical orimpossible to enforce. If you consider that apart of your event is susceptible to the risksfrom unauthorised smoking you should putappropriate measures in place to preventfires.Also consider the ground upon whichsmokers are standing and ensure thatdiscarded smoking materials will not startgrass or other similar fires in vegetation.1.7 Managing building work andalterationsMany outdoor events and venues(particularly permanent sites) will includebuildings and other structures (temporary/permanent). You should ensure that,before any work starts on the creation ofyour event or the alteration of an existingattraction, that you have evaluated the firerisks or reviewed the fire risk assessment,as appropriate, and considered whatdangers are likely to be introduced. Youwill need to evaluate the risks to people,particularly in those areas that continue tobe occupied while alterations take place.Lack of pre-planning can lead to haphazardco-ordination of fire safety measures.You should liaise and exchange informationwith contractors who will also have aduty under the Construction (Design andManagement) Regulations (NorthernIreland) 2007 35, 36 to carry out a riskassessment and inform you of theirsignificant findings and the preventativemeasures they may employ. This may besupported by the contractors’ agreed workmethod statement. The designer shouldalso have considered fire safety as part ofthese regulations.You should continuously monitor the impactof any changes on the general fire safetyprecautions, such as the increased risk58

from quantities of combustible materialsand accumulated waste. You should onlyallow the minimum materials necessary forthe work in hand within or adjacent to yourevent or venue.Activities such as welding, flame cutting,use of blow lamps or portable grindingequipment can pose a serious fire hazardand need to be strictly controlled whencarried out in areas near flammablematerials. This can be done by havinga written permit to work for the peopleinvolved (whether they are your employeesor those of the contractor).A permit to work is appropriate in situationsof high hazard/risk and, for example, wherethere is a need to:• ensure that there is a formal checkconfirming that a safe system of work isbeing followed;• co-ordinate with other people oractivities;• provide time-limits on when it is safe tocarry out the work; and• provide specialised personalprotective equipment or methods ofcommunication.Additional risks during construction workinclude:• hot work including paint stripping;• temporary electrical equipment;• blocking of escape routes;• loss of normal storage facilities;• fire safety equipment, such as automaticfire detection systems being affected;and• additional personnel who may beunfamiliar with the event or venue.You must notify the Fire and Rescue Serviceabout alterations in your premises if analterations notice is in force.Further guidance on fire safety duringconstruction work is the Fire ProtectionAssociation 37 .1.8 Restricting the spread of fireand smokeTo reduce the risk to people if there is afire, you need to consider how to control orrestrict the spread of fire and smoke.Catering facilitiesWherever possible any extensive cateringfacilities, particularly those with deep fatfryers, should be located in areas dedicatedto catering. If located within or adjacent toother activities or structures they shouldbe separated from those activities orstructures by either a suitable distance orby fire resisting construction and providedwith adequate ventilation. Where fluespass through any part of the structure, (e.g.temporary building) the structure should beprotected by fire-resisting construction andthe flue should terminate at a point whereemissions can disperse in the open air.In permanent buildings where fire shuttersare used to separate the risk from otherareas these should be capable of operatingboth manually and by fusible link. Wherea fire detection and warning system isinstalled, the fire shutter should also be59

designed to close on the activation of thesystem.decorations and display materialsYou should evaluate what material couldignite first and what would cause the fireto develop and spread, and assess howmaterials used in displays would interactwith surface linings or the fabric of anyenclosure and position them accordingly. Inparticular, displays such as paper, textilesor other flimsy materials should not belocated in escape routes or adjacent toexits. However, such materials may beacceptable in other locations if treated withan appropriate fire-retardant product.Fire-resisting structuresThere may be limited instances at your siteevent or venue where temporary buildingsare divided into different areas by fire doorsand walls. These may be designed to keepa fire within one area, giving people moretime to escape. You will need to identifywhich doors and walls are fire resisting.Normally if there are fire doors in a wall,then the wall itself will also need to befire resisting (see Appendix B1 for moretechnical information about fire – resistingwalls and doors). If a wall is required to befire-resisting then you should not make anyholes in it, e.g. for extra doors or pipe ducts,without consulting a competent person.To ensure effective protection against fireany openings such as doors, ventilationducts, or pipe passages providing fireseparation must form a complete fireresistingbarrier.The passing of services such as heatingpipes or electrical cables through fireresistingwalls or partitions may leave gapsthrough which fire and smoke may spread.These should be rectified by suitable firestopping and there are many proprietaryproducts available for this purpose to suitparticular types of construction.tents and marqueesMarquees and large tents are prominent inopen-air events. The following informationis provided to assist you to manage the firerisk.Modern fabric materials are generally fireretardant. However, special criteria mayapply to tents or marquees, particularlywhere high occupancy levels are expected.All fabric should meet an appropriate fireperformance. Further guidance can befound in BS 7837 38 .Materials which are durably or non-durablyflame-retarded may be adversely affectedby weathering, so fabric which has achievedthe required level of flame retardancyby chemical treatment will need to beperiodically retreated. If the tent or marqueeis in constant use throughout the summerseason (e.g. from April to October), suchretreating should be carried out when thefabric is showing signs of obvious wear orageing or not later than 5 years after thedate the panel was made up. Thereafter,testing should be at two-yearly intervals.Such test results should be suitablycertificated.Some marquees and large framed tentscomprise a complete single unit and areused only occasionally (three or four timesa year). Such marquees should havesupporting documentation including testcertificates which confirm their compositionand standard flame retardancy, together60

with diagrams and/or photographs of thestructure. When they are used, a recordshould be kept of each event and retestingwill only need to be carried out when thefabric shows signs of wear or ageing. All newstructures should have an accompanyinglog book from the date of manufacture.Linings for marquees and large tents maybe suspended using ropes constructedfrom manmade or natural fibres and maybe laced together using the same materials.Linings should only be used if constructedfrom an appropriately and preferablyinherently flame-retardant material. Ifmaterials requiring flame-retardancy pretreatmentare used, e.g. cotton or wool, thisprocess should be carried out according tomanufacturers instructions and a recordkept accordingly.Some floor coverings may react in fire toproduce large amounts of heat and smoke,although the rate of surface spread of flamemay be relatively slow. The environmentmay also have a significant effect on theburning behaviour of materials, as wind cancause a fire to spread more rapidly. It canalso blow smoke into escape routes andso adversely affect the means of escape.A similar situation may occur where a lackof adequate ventilation causes smoke tobe concentrated in a particular area. Floorcoverings may be re-usable or disposableand should have low flame spreadcharacteristics.For further information about tents andmarquees contact the PerformanceTextiles Association (PTA) and/or consultthe Institution of Structural Engineersdocument, Temporary demountablestructures 39 and/or the Event SafetyGuide 11 .Air supported structuresAn Air supported structure is a structurethat has a space-enclosing single skinmembrane anchored to the ground andkept in tension by internal air pressure sothat it can support applied loading. Themembrane may or may not be restrained bytrans-surface ropes or cables.Pneumatic structuresA risk peculiar to pneumatic structuresis that their stability is dependent upona supply of air under pressure, which isprovided and maintained by mechanicalfans. Additionally such structures compriseextensive areas of flexible membranematerial, which, like those used for tents,requires particular care in selection.For these reasons, safety measurespeculiar to pneumatic structuresinclude reliability of air supply systemssupplemented by secondary supportsystems to maintain clear exit routes incase of collapse together with the selectionof suitable (flame-retarded) membranematerials.The membrane of an air supportedstructure should not readily supportcombustion. Experience has shown thatPVC coated polyesters and polyamides andunreinforced polythene generally performsatisfactorily under fire conditions. A smallnumber of fire tests on air supportedstructures of various sizes have shown thatif the flames in a fire reach and damage themembranes at a high level (above 2.5m),the internal pressure will be reduced and,depending on the size of the hole, the fancapacity and the number of doors opened,the structure may collapse.61

Combustible contentsMost enclosures (marquees, temporarybuildings etc.) at your event or venue willcontain a range of combustible contents. Allmaterials used in finishing and furnishingshould, as far as reasonably practicable, bedifficult to ignite and provide a low surfacespread of flame and low rates of heatrelease and smoke emission. Combustiblecontents are likely to include:• furnishings, upholstered seating,furniture and cushions;• curtains, drapes and other textilehangings;• artificial and dried foliage;• decorative textile fabrics (e.g. withinstands);• sports and play area furnishings, suchas cellular foam gym mats; and• scenery or properties used for stagepresentations.The use of furnishings and other materialswhich are easily ignited or have rapidspread of flame characteristics should beavoided.All fabrics, curtains, drapes and similarfeatures should either be non-combustibleor be of durably or inherently flameretardant fabric.Upholstered seating, carpets and othertextile floor coverings should be resistant toignition.Foam for props and similar equipmentshould ideally contain only combustionmodified high resilience foam.Scenery used for stage presentations oftencomprise combustible materials, so youneed to take particular care with their use.In particular, when they are on an openstage area within an enclosure, you shouldseek to use only materials which you knoware not combustible.Ad-hoc flame testsAd-hoc flame tests can be used on a smallsample to screen out some materials.Simple match tests, or using a cigarettelighter on a small sample, can be used toassess ease of ignition, provided that thetest is carried out in the open air, awayfrom combustible materials and with a fireextinguisher to hand.1.9 deliberate fire settingDeliberate fire setting at open air events isnot a recorded statistic. However, all typesof premises can be subject to deliberate firesetting particularly if they offer easy access.Of the hundreds of fires that occur innon-domestic premises across NorthernIreland each year, a large percentageare determined to have been starteddeliberately.Fires started deliberately can be particularlydangerous because they generally developmuch faster and may be started in escaperoutes or other sensitive locations. Of all therisk-reduction measures, the most benefitmay come from efforts to reduce the threatfrom deliberate fire setting.62

Be aware of small, deliberately set firesin the locality, which may indicate anincreased risk to your site, event or venue.Be suspicious of any small ‘accidental’ firesand investigate them fully.Measures to reduce deliberate fire settingmay include the following:• ensure that the site is well lit and, ifpractical, secure the perimeter of theevent or venue but make sure that anypeople working late or alone still haveadequate escape routes;• do not place rubbish skips adjacent tooccupied areas and secure waste bins ina compound separated from occupiedareas;• make sure you regularly remove allcombustible rubbish;• do not place vehicles, caravans or otherportable structures adjacent to occupiedareas;• encourage staff to challenge peopleacting suspiciously;• secure flammable liquids so thatintruders cannot use them;• remove automatic entry rights from staffwho have been dismissed; and• ensure that your security, alarm/firedetectionsystem is monitored and actedon.Further guidance on reducing the risk ofdeliberate fire setting has been publishedby the Arson Prevention Bureau.*1.10 vehiclesDuring dry conditions additionalprecautions may be necessary, to preventthe spread of fire to permanent ortemporary structures through the ignitionof vegetation by vehicles, e.g. ensurevegetation is ‘maintained’ in order toreduce the probability of contact with anyvehicles and care taken not to use stubblefields.Whenever possible vehicle parking shouldbe separate from the event. Vehiclemovements must be controlled before,during and after the event. Cateringoperations located within vehicles andtrailers present additional risks and shouldbe assessed in detail. Further guidance onthe measures to be taken can be found inthe Event Safety Guide 11 .1.11 Help for people with specialneedsOf all the people who may be especially atrisk you will need to pay particular attentionto people who have special needs includingthose with a disability.Disability Action estimates that 1 in 5adults in Northern Ireland have a disability,which may mean that they find it moredifficult to leave an event or venue if thereis a fire. Under the Disability DiscriminationAct 40 , as amended 2006 41 , if disabledpeople could realistically expect to use theservice (or premises) you provide, then youmust anticipate any provisions that wouldmake it easier for that right to be exercised.The Disability Discrimination Act 40 , asamended 2006 41 , includes the concept• Visit www.arsonpreventionbureau.org.uk for more information63

of ‘reasonable’ provisions and this can becarried over into fire safety law. It can meandifferent things in different circumstances.For a small event it may be consideredreasonable to provide ramps to assistwheelchair users. However, it might beunreasonable to expect that same event toinstall an expensive public address system.Appropriate ‘reasonable’ provisions for alarge event or venue or organisation may bemuch more significant.If disabled people are going to be at yourevent or venue then you must also providea safe means for them to leave if there isa fire. You and your staff should be awarethat disabled people may not react, or canreact differently, to a fire warning or a fire.You should give similar consideration toothers with special needs such as parentswith young children or the elderly.At sites with a simple layout, a commonsense approach, such as offering to helplead a blind person or helping an elderlyperson across rough terrain may beenough. At more complex events, moreelaborate plans and procedures will beneeded, with trained staff assigned tospecified duties. At a complex event, youmay also wish to contact a professionalconsultant or take advice from disabilityorganisations.Where people with special needs useor work at an event or venue, theirneeds should, so far as is practicable bediscussed with them. These will often bemodest and may require only changesor modifications to proposed or existingprocedures.As part of your consultation exercise youwill need to consider the matter of personaldignity. If members of the public useyour event or venue then you may needto develop a range of standard PersonalEmergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPs) whichcan be provided on request to a disabledperson or others with special needs. Youshould also consider the particular needsof children and the elderly who may beusing your premises. Additional attendantsor staff may be needed. Similarly, specialconsideration may be needed if membersof the public are likely to be intoxicated.Guidance on removing barriers to theeveryday needs of disabled people is inBS 8300 42 . Much of this advice will alsohelp disabled people during an evacuation.Further advice can be obtained fromthe Northern Ireland Human RightsCommission and the Equality Commissionfor Northern Ireland.Consider the needs of people with mentaldisabilities or spatial recognition problems.The range of disabilities encountered canbe considerable, extending from mildepilepsy to complete disorientation in anemergency situation. Many of these canbe addressed by properly trained staff,discreet and empathetic use of the ‘buddysystem’ or by careful planning of colour andtexture to identify escape routes.64

Section 2 Further guidance on firedetection and warning systemsThe primary purpose of a fire detection andwarning system is to alert people to enablethem to move away from a fire to a place oftotal safety while the escape routes are stillclear of smoke.Fire detection and warning at open-airevents and similar venues needs to beconsidered for both open air and insidelocations and should include:• how fire will be detected;• the means for warning people and theactions you require people to take.Open air fires will generally be detectedby the people present so the primaryconsideration is the means of fire warning.Where shouted warnings are insufficientto direct people, then alternativeprovisions such as a P.A. system should beconsidered.For inside areas where a simple shoutedwarning or manual device such as a gong,whistle or horn, is insufficient to warneveryone when operated from a singlepoint, it is likely that an electrical firewarning system may be required. This willtypically include the following:• manual call points (break-glass callpoints) next to exits with at least one callpoint on each floor;• electronic sirens, bells or a publicaddress facility; and• a control and indicator panel.If your event or venue has areas where afire could develop undetected or wherepeople work alone and might not see afire, then it may be necessary to upgradeyour fire-warning system to incorporateautomatic fire detection.If, for any reason, your system fails youmust still ensure that people at your eventor venue can be warned and escape safely.A temporary arrangement, such as whistlesor air horns, combined with suitably trainedstaff located in key positions (to ensure thewhole site is covered), may be acceptablefor a short period, pending system repairs.The fire warning sound levels should beloud enough to alert everyone, taking intoaccount background noise. Any soundsystems should be muted (automatically ormanually) when the fire alarm sounds. Inareas with uncontrollable high backgroundnoise, or where people may be wearinghearing protectors (such as plant rooms,music concert), the audible warning shouldbe supplemented e.g. with visual alarms.People with hearing difficultiesWhere people have hearing difficulties,particularly those who are profoundly deaf,then simply hearing the fire warning is likelyto be the major difficulty. If these personsare never alone while on the site then thismay not be a serious problem, as it wouldbe reasonable for other people to let themknow that they should evacuate. If a personwith hearing difficulties is likely to be alone,then consider other means of raising thealarm, e.g. visual beacons and vibratingpagers linked to the existing fire alarm.65

2.1 Manual call pointsManual call points, often known as ‘breakglass’callpoints, enable a person whodiscovers a fire to immediately raise thealarm and warn other people of the danger.People leaving a temporary buildingbecause of fire will normally leave by theway they entered. Consequently, manualcall points are positioned at exits thatpeople may reasonably be expected to usein case of fire, not just those designatedas fire exits. However, it is not necessary inevery case to provide call points at everyexit.Manual call points should normally bepositioned so that, after all fixtures andfittings, machinery and stock are in place,no one should have to travel more than45m to the nearest alarm point. Theyshould be conspicuous (red) and fitted ata height of about 1.4m and not in an arealikely to be obstructed.Areas that are well stewarded or regularlychecked and patrolled may have less needfor a manual call point.In some cases such as a large beer tent,manual call points may need to be avoidedin public areas because of the high risk ofmalicious activations.Detailed guidance on manual call points isgiven in BS EN 54-11 43 .2.2 Automatic fire detectionAutomatic fire detection may be needed fora number of reasons. These can include:• if you have areas where people areisolated or remote and could becometrapped by a fire because they areunaware of its development, such aslone workers;• if you have areas where a fire candevelop unobserved (e.g. storeroomsand plant room); and• as a compensating feature, e.g. forinadequate structural fire protection,combustible materials forming theenclosure of the space, in dead-endsor where there are extended traveldistances.New automatic fire detection systemsshould be designed and installed by acompetent person in accordance with theadvice given in BS 5839-1 44 .2.3 Reducing false alarmsFalse alarms from automatic fire detectionsystems are a major problem and resultin many unwanted calls to the Fire andRescue Service every year. Guidance onreducing false alarms is available on theNorthern Ireland Fire and Rescue Servicewebsite www.nifrs.org.If there are excessive false alarms in yourpremises, people may become complacentand not respond correctly to a warning ofa real fire. In such circumstances, you maybe failing to comply with fire safety law.All false alarms should be investigatedto identify the cause of the problem andremedial action taken.To help reduce the number of false alarms,the system design and location of detectionand activation devices should be reviewedagainst the way the premises are currently66

used. For example, if a store room hasbeen converted to staff area with cookingfacilities (e.g. a microwave and toaster)then the likelihood of the detector beingset off is increased. Consequently, subjectto the outcome of the fire risk assessmenta heat detector may be more appropriate.Similarly, if a manual call point is placedin a storage area where there is continualmovement of stock, the call point is likelyto be accidentally damaged. In this casea simple, fabricated hinged mental guardaround the call point is likely to solve theproblem.Occasionally people set off a manual callpoint in in the genuine, but incorrect beliefthat there is a fire. Nothing should be doneto discourage such actions and the numberof false alarms generated this way is notsignificant.Further detailed guidance on reducing falsealarms is available in BS 5839-1 44 .2.4 Staff alarms, voice evacuationand public address systemsResearch has shown that some peopleand, in particular, members of the public donot always react quickly to a conventionalfire alarm at large events or when they arein the open air. Public Address (PA) andVoice Evacuation Systems are thereforevery important at open-air events asthey can give staff and the public explicitinformation about the emergency or anyother actions that they are required toundertake. A message or messages canbe relayed to many people at the sametime but you must consider carefully themessage content. You should considerwhat information to provide, and how tocommunicate it succinctly.The PA announcer should have a good viewover as much of the venue as possibleand effective communication links withall control points. The PA system may alsobe vehicle mounted which increases itsflexibility.It is important to establish the requiredlevels of audibility and speech clarity for thesystem. It is therefore essential to ensurethat public address voice-alarm systemsare designed and installed by a person withspecialist knowledge of these installations.Staff alarms allow staff to be aware ofan incident in advance of the publicand be prepared for an evacuation. Youmay wish to use code words to warn ofan evacuation, or of some other actionsrequired. It is important, however, that suchcommunications should not result in asignificant reduction in the time availablefor the public to escape. You should seekadvice from a competent person beforeusing a staff alarm system in a marqueeor other tented structure because the timeallowed for escape is generally less than forpermanent structures.You may wish to provide information toother users of the site, regarding warningsignals, escape routes, muster points orother pertinent information, e.g. duringinduction of new concessions stalls or staff.Guidance on voice alarm systems can befound in BS 5839-8 45 . Guidance on soundsystems used for emergency purposes canbe found in BS EN 60849 46 .2.5 Staged fire alarmsDepending on the size of your event,activating the fire warning system to trigger67

the immediate and total evacuation of theentire site may be appropriate. However,at large or complex events this may notbe appropriate or possible and alternativearrangements may need to be in place.These alternative arrangements broadlyfall into two groups. Firstly, those peoplepotentially most at risk from a fire, usuallythose closest to where the alarm wasactivated, will be immediately evacuated,while others are provided with informationrelevant to their risk from the fire and willonly evacuate if it becomes necessary. Thisis generally called a staged evacuation andthe initial movement, depending on thelayout and configuration of the site, will beprogressively away from the fire.The second alternative is for the initialalert signal to be given to certain staff, whothen carry out pre-arranged actions to helpothers to evacuate more easily. It requiresable, fully trained staff to be available at alltimes and should not be seen as a simplemeans of reducing disruption to the eventor venue.of the system, should supervise your firewarningand/or detection system.All types of fire-warning systems should betested at a frequency appropriate to yourevent duration but at least on a weeklybasis and before the event or venue opensto the public.Testing and servicing of the system shouldbe carried out by a competent person on asix monthly basis.Further guidance on testing andmaintenance of fire warning systems canbe found in BS 5839-1 44 .It is good practice to record all tests, falsealarms and any maintenance carried out.These arrangements require a fire-warningsystem activated by a site fire safetymanagement team and should only beconsidered after consultation with therelevant enforcing authority. Such systemsalso require a high degree of managementinput to ensure that staff and othersare familiar with the system and actionrequired.2.6 testing and maintenanceA named appropriate person, given enoughauthority and training to manage allaspects of the routine testing and scrutinyFigure 14: Using a test key68

2.7 guaranteed power supplyThe Health and Safety (Safety Signs andSignals) (Northern Ireland) Regulations1996 12 requires that electrical fire warningsystems have a back up power supply.Whatever back up system is used, it shouldnormally be capable of operating thefire-warning and detection system for aminimum period of 24 hours and soundingthe alarm signal for 30 minutes.2.8 new and altered systemsGuidance on the design and installationof new systems and those undergoingsubstantial alterations is given inBS 5839–1 44 . If you are unsure that yourexisting system is adequate you will needto consult a competent person.69

Section 3 Further guidance onfirefighting equipment and facilitiesAll open air events and venues shouldbe provided with appropriate firefightingequipment. For the majority of premises,first aid firefighting equipment (portableextinguishers) should be sufficient.However, at larger and more complexevents or venues, particularly permanentvenues, you need to consider providingsome form of fixed fire fighting equipment,such as hose reels or water supplies forfirefighting, in the form of water mains andhydrants.You have responsibility for the provisionof appropriate fire fighting equipment. It isalso your responsibility to check that all firefighting equipment is in the correct positionand in satisfactory order before the event orvenue is used.Appropriate staff should be trained in theuse of all equipment.Table 2: Class of fire3.1 Portable fire fightingequipmentFire extinguishers provided should beappropriate to the specific risks found atyour event or venue in accordance withTable 2. This table also shows the differentclasses of fire, according to what is burning.number and type of extinguishers inenclosures (temporary buildings, tentsand marquees etc.)Typically for the Class A fire risk, theprovision of one water-based extinguisherfor approximately every 200m 2 offloor space, (with a minimum of twoextinguishers), will normally be adequate.Depending on the outcome of your fire riskassessment, it may be possible to reducethis to one extinguisher in areas with a floorspace of less than 90m 2 . Extinguishersprovided for general cover should bepositioned near exits.Where it is determined that there areadditionally other classes of fire risk, theappropriate type, number and size ofextinguisher should be provided. Furtherinformation is available in BS 5306-8 47 .Class of fireClass AClass BClass CClass DClass FdescriptionFires involving solid materials such as wood, paper or textiles.Fires involving flammable liquids such as petrol, diesel or oils.Fires involving gases.Fires involving metals.Fires involving cooking oils such as in deep-fat fryers.note: If there is a possibility of a fire in your premises involving material in the shadedboxes then you should seek advice from a competent person.70

They should be placed on a dedicated standor hung at a convenient height so thatpeople can easily lift them off (at about 1mfor larger extinguishers, 1.5m for smallerones, to the level of the handle). Ideally noone should have to travel more than 30mto reach a fire extinguisher. If there is arisk of malicious use you may need to usealternative, and more secure locations.Consider the implications of the ManualHandling Operations Regulations (NorthernIreland) 1992 48 when selecting and sitingfire-fighting equipment.Extinguishers manufactured to currentstandards (BS EN 3-7 49 ) are predominatelyred but may have a colour-coded area, sitedabove or within the instructions, denotingthe type of extinguisher.Most older extinguishers, manufactured toprevious standards, have bodies paintedentirely in a single colour which denotesthe type of extinguisher. These olderextinguishers remain acceptable until theyare no longer serviceable. However, it isgood practice to ensure that old and newstyle extinguishers are not mixed.The following paragraphs describe differenttypes of extinguisher. The colour referredto is the colour of the extinguisher or thecolour coded area.Water extinguishers (red)This type of extinguisher can only be usedon Class A fires. They allow the user todirect water onto a fire from a considerabledistance. A 9-litre water extinguisher can bequite heavy and some water extinguisherswith additives can achieve the samerating, although they are smaller andtherefore considerably lighter. This type ofextinguisher is not suitable for use on liveelectrical equipment.Water extinguishers with additives (red)This type of extinguisher is suitable forClass A fires. They can also be suitable foruse on Class B fires and where appropriate,this will be indicated on the extinguisher.They are generally more efficient thanconventional water extinguishers.Foam extinguishers (cream)This type of extinguisher can be used onClass A or B fires and is particularly suitedto extinguishing liquid fires such as petroland diesel. They should not be used onfree flowing liquid fires unless the operatorhas been specially trained, as these havethe potential to rapidly spread the fire toadjacent material. This type of extinguisheris not suitable for deep-fat fryers, chip pansor electrical equipment.Powder extinguishers (blue)This type of extinguisher can be used onmost classes of fire and achieve a good‘knock down’ of the fire. They can be usedon fires involving electrical equipment butwill almost certainly render that equipmentuseless. Because they do not cool thefire appreciably it can re-ignite. Powderextinguishers can create a loss of visibilityand may affect people who have breathingproblems and are not generally suitable forconfined spaces.Carbon dioxide extinguishers (black)This type of extinguisher is particularlysuitable for fires involving electrical71

equipment as they will extinguish a firewithout causing any further damage (exceptin the case of some electronic equipmente.g. computers). As with all fires involvingelectrical equipment, the power should bedisconnected if possible.Class ‘F’ extinguishersThis type of extinguisher is particularlysuitable for commercial cateringestablishments with deep-fat fryers.Selection, installation and maintenanceof portable fire extinguishersAll portable fire extinguishers will requireperiodic inspection, maintenance andtesting. Depending on local conditionssuch as the likelihood of vandalism orthe environment where extinguishers arelocated, carry out brief checks to ensurethat they remain serviceable. In normalconditions a monthly check should beenough. Maintenance by a competentperson should be carried out annually.New fire extinguishers should comply withBS EN 3-7 49 . Guidance on the selection andinstallation of fire extinguishers is given inBS 5306-8 47 , for maintenance inBS 5306-3 50 and for colour coding inBS 7863 51 .Fire blanketsFire blankets should be located in the vicinityof the fire hazard they are to be used on, butin a position that can be safely accessedin the event of a fire. They are classified aseither light-duty or heavy-duty. Light-duty fireblankets are suitable for dealing with smallfires in containers of cooking oils or fatsand fires involving clothing. Heavy-duty fireblankets are for industrial use where there isa need for the blankets to resist penetrationby molten materials.3.2 Fixed firefighting installationsand fire pointsHose reelsPermanent hose reels installed inaccordance with the relevant BritishStandard (BS EN 671-3 52 ) provide aneffective firefighting facility. They may offeran alternative, or be in addition to, portablefirefighting equipment. A concern is thatuntrained people will stay and fight a firewhen escape is the safest option. Wherehose reels are installed, and your fire riskassessment expects relevant staff to usethem in the initial stages of a fire, theyshould receive appropriate training.Maintenance of hose reels includes visualchecks for leaks and obvious damage,which should be carried out regularly,and more formal maintenance checksshould be carried out at least annually by acompetent person.Fire pointsA fire point is a highly visible location easilyrecognisable by the people present, thatcontains equipment to fight fires.The type of fire fighting equipment will varyaccording to the local conditions, what isbrought on to the site and the risks to becovered. For example, there may need to befirefighting equipment for tackling fires invegetation, parking areas, catering facilitiesand temporary structures. An effectivearrangement is to provide well indicated firepoints, such as:72

• where water standpipes are providedon site and there is a water supply ofsufficient pressure and flow to projecta jet of water approximately 5m fromthe nozzle, fire points consisting ofa standpipe together with a reel ofsmall diameter hose of no less than30m in length should be provided. Thehose should be provided with meansof connection to the water standpipe(preferably a screw thread). The hoseshould end in a small hand-controlnozzle. Keep hoses in a box painted redand marked ‘FIRE HOSE REEL’;• where standpipes are not providedor the water pressure or flow is notsufficient, provide each fire point witheither a water tank at least 250L incapacity fitted with a hinged cover, twobuckets and one hand pump or bucketpump;• alternatively a suitable number of watertypefire extinguishers; and• in addition, suitable fire extinguishersshould be sited adjacent to special risks,e.g. electrical generators powered bydiesel.The number of fire points provided willdepend on the equipment provided. Wherestandpipes and hose reels are provided,they should be located so that they areno greater than 35m from the areas to becovered. Where water tanks and pumpsare relied upon they should be located nogreater than 25m from the areas to becovered.3.3 other facilities (includingthose for firefighters)At permanent sites Building Regulations 3and other legislation, including locallegislation, may have required fire fightingequipment and other facilities to beprovided for the safety of people in anypermanent buildings and to help firefighters. These may include:• access roads;• information and communicationarrangements, e.g. fire telephones andwireless systems and information tobrief the Fire and Rescue Service whenthey arrive; and• firefighters switches.Fire safety law places a duty on you tomaintain such facilities in good workingorder and at all times.The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare)Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1993 53 alsorequire that systems provided for safetywithin a workplace are maintained.Access for fire engines and firefightersAccess routes to and within the site,sometimes known as fire lanes, should beprovided where necessary, and checked tomake sure that they can take the maximumweight and wheelbase of Fire and RescueService vehicles. Routes will not beadequate for emergency access if:• they are not of adequate width to allowvehicles to circulate on your site;73

• they are fitted with gates that are lockedand /or are too narrow;• bridges or other features over-hangingthe access routes which make themimpassable by Fire and Rescue Servicevehicles;• road surfaces that deteriorate due tobad weather conditions; and• manhole covers are not designed forheavy vehicles.Routes for fire engines should have a:• road width of not less than 3.7m;• clear width at gates not less than 3.1m;• clear height of not less than 3.7m;• surface that can carry a vehicle weighing12.5 tonnes; and• suitable area to allow vehicle to turnaround. If a turning circle is provided,have a diameter not less than 16.8m.Routes likely to be used by emergencyvehicles should be kept free of parkedvehicles. This should be discussed with thepolice at the planning stage. Your routesshould be located so that no parts of theevent where firefighting may be requiredis greater than 50m from a fire lane oradjacent existing suitable thoroughfare.Aluminium track way can be useful on softground, providing it can take the maximumweight and width of fire service vehicles,especially at changes in direction.On-site emergency vehicle routes needto be clearly marked and kept free fromobstruction. Parking should not be allowedon these internal routes. They should beconnected to the primary access points tothe site from the public highways.Ideally, Fire and Rescue Service accessroutes should not be inter-connected withthe public car parks. It may be advisableto define emergency vehicle rendezvouspoints around the perimeter to where theyinitially arrive at the site.Any below ground hydrants and other watersupplies should be clearly visible and easilyaccessible.You should always liaise with the Fire andRescue Service to ensure that your accessroutes are suitable for the appliances usedby that service.Information and communicationarrangementsThe effectiveness of the Fire and RescueService will be greatly assisted if they areprovided with information about your siteand its communication systems and controlpoint. The provision of plans indicatingthe layout of the site, fire service accessroutes, on site fire fighting equipment andfire hydrants should be considered. Whereprovided these should be made available tothe fire service when they arrive.Where your site is provided with acommunication system which enablesmessages to be relayed to the peoplepresent or staff/stewards, e.g. via publicaddress or radios, you should ensure thatthe fire service are aware of the presenceof these facilities so that they can be usedwhen they arrive on site.74

• static water supplies, private hydrants,meter bypass valves and undergroundtanks; and• standby fire pumps and electricalgenerators.Figure 15: Campsite fire lanesFirefighters’ switchesSafety switches are often needed to isolatehigh-voltage luminous signs or to cut offelectrical power. In the case of existinginstallations they should be of a suitablestandard eg BS 7671 54 . If in doubt you mayneed to consult the enforcing authorityregarding the suitability of its location andmarking. Testing should be carried outin accordance with the manufacturer’sinstructions. If you have no suchinstructions then an initial test should becarried out by a competent electrician.other firefighting facilitiesAs well as those already mentioned, otherfacilities to assist firefighters may havebeen installed in your premises and shouldbe properly maintained by a competentperson. Your maintenance audit (seeAppendix A.1 for an example checklist)should include these. Such facilities mayinclude:• information signs for firefighters;75

Section 4 Further guidance onescape routesIntroductionThis section provides further guidance onthe general principles that apply to escaperoutes and provides examples of escaperoute solutions. You are not obliged toadopt any particular solution for escaperoutes in this section but you must ensurethat your solution is safe and meets therelevant requirements.Refer to the glossary (Appendix d) for thedefinitions of any terms you may not befamiliar with.Open-air venues provide facilities wherebypeople can enjoy activities ranging fromsmall village fêtes or car boot sales withrelatively low numbers of people to largeinternational motor racing events ormusic concerts accommodating very largenumbers of people. At any venue theremay be many different activities takingplace, either entirely in the open air (with orwithout enclosed or fenced-off areas) or incombination with facilities that are inside,such as temporary enclosures, marquees,temporary structures or permanentbuildings. Each of these activities mayhave a different level of risk, requiring adifferent approach to the design for meansof escape.In order to apply the guidance in thissection, you need to understand that in anyfire situation the time that people have toescape before they could become affectedby the fire is limited. Providing them withsufficient time therefore means that as wellas having appropriate means of detectionand warning, any designated escaperoute needs to have sufficient capacity todischarge the maximum number of peoplepresent within a safe time. Additionally, thedistance that people have to travel to maketheir escape might need to be restricted,particularly where the escape route isinside.The criteria used in this guide to assessthe adequacy of escape routes is based onthree principles. These are:• escape time;• escape route capacity; and• travel distance.escape time is the time within whichpeople must be able to reach a place ofreasonable or total safety before they arein danger from a fire. This principle appliesin all cases, indoors or outdoors, and themaximum escape time that is appropriatewill vary depending on the level of risk(see levels of risk below). Where escapetime is used to assess the adequacy ofescape routes in the open air, the timeallowed includes the time it takes to movepeople away from the fire, if necessaryalong any defined escape routes, andincludes passing through any restrictionssuch as gates and barriers. This doesnot necessarily include the time taken tonegotiate the entire exit route beyond thesite, because a place somewhere on thesite well away from the source of fire mayoften be adequate.escape route capacity is the ability of theescape route to discharge the number ofpeople present to a place of safety withinthe escape time. Assessment of the escaperoute capacity is necessary where there areany restrictions on the escape route, such76

as doors, fences and gates, corridors andpassageways, regardless of whether theroute is indoors or outdoors.travel distance (see Glossary) is thedistance that people have to travel to reachan exit in ‘indoor’ situations. Because of thehigher risk of being cut off by a fire indoors,the escape time is more limited and has toinclude the time it takes to travel to an exit.Restricting the travel distance according tothe level of risk is therefore used to ensurethat sufficient time is available for escapein indoor situations.Where a venue or event has a combinationof outdoor and indoor activities, anassessment of the escape routes willneed to be based on all three of the abovecriteria as appropriate. More detailedguidance on these matters is provided laterin this section.levels of riskTo check that your escape routes areadequate (after you have taken other riskreduction measures), you will first need toform a judgement about the level of riskfrom fire that people may be at in any partof your event or venue.outdoorsThe risk to people from fire outdoors maygenerally be viewed as lower than that inan indoor situation, simply because peopleare less likely to be affected by smoke andheat and their escape routes are much lesslikely to be cut off.The chance of a fire starting is increasedwhere significant sources of ignitionare likely to be present, e.g. hot foodconcessions, petrol generators or extensiveelectrical equipment, therefore thelikelihood of people being at risk fromfire is greater, particularly where a highdensity of structures and other installationscould promote the spread of fire, or highlyflammable or explosive materials arepresent. Even where the chance of a firestarting is initially low, any fire starting incertain areas might cause a significant riskto people, e.g. from hazards such as gascylinders that can explode and fragmentinto projectiles when heated. Wheresignificant additional facilities such asmarquees/tents, temporary structures andstatic or mobile concessions are likely tobe found on-site, you need to consider therisk to people from radiated heat from a firein one of these. You also need to considerthe time required to move people awayfrom the vicinity of these facilities to enablethe occupants to escape from a fire inside,as crowded or poorly designed circulationspaces around such facilities can cause asignificant delay to those escaping. In allthese examples, fast dispersal of peopleto a safe distance from the fire will benecessary; the risk level in these areasmight therefore be regarded as ‘higher’.Typical examples might include certainareas of larger venues and events such asmusic concerts and sporting events withlarge numbers of people and extensivefacilities, where the site is enclosed andmovement is restricted for security reasons.In areas where there is little chance of afire, or, if a fire does start, it will be detectedquickly so that people can escape safelyand it is unlikely to spread quickly, e.g.because the density of structures andinstallations is low and no additionalhazards are likely to become involved, therisk might be regarded as ‘lower’. Typicalexamples might include small village fêtesand other similar events accommodating77

limited numbers of people predominantlyin the open air, with very few sources ofignition and combustible materials and withunrestricted egress from the site.In practice, your venue or event is likelyto comprise a number of different areasof risk, ranging from lower to higher, inwhich case you will need to assess theseseparately and plan your fire precautionsaccordingly. For example, where people canmove away from a hazard with ease, therisk level might be regarded as lower thanif movement away from the same hazardis restricted by fences, site layout or otherobstructions.In the majority of outdoor areas of typicalvenues or events, other than those meetingthe type of criteria described above, it islikely that the risk level can be regarded as‘normal’.IndoorsInside a tent, marquee or other temporarystructure where there is a likelihoodof a fire starting and spreading quickly(or a fire could start and grow withoutbeing quickly detected and a warninggiven) and affecting the escape routesbefore people are able to use them, thenthe risk should normally be regardedas ‘higher’. Such areas could includethose where significant quantities offlammable materials are used or stored;ready sources of ignition are present(e.g. catering equipment); significantnumbers of people are present (e.g. abeer tent) or are likely to move slowly or beunable to move without assistance; andthe construction provides hidden voidsthrough which a fire could spread quickly(e.g. stage seating in a circus big top). Insuch circumstances you should considerreducing the travel distances as suggestedin Table 5 on page 86.Where there is a low occupancy level andall the occupants are able-bodied andcapable of using the means of escapewithout assistance; very little chance ofa fire; few, if any, highly combustible orflammable materials or other fuels for afire; fire cannot spread quickly and will bedetected quickly so people will quickly knowthat a fire has occurred and can maketheir escape, then the risk can usually beregarded as ‘lower’.In most cases, however, the risk will usuallybe ‘normal’.The travel distances suggested are nothard and fast rules and should be appliedwith a degree of flexibility according to thecircumstances. For example, where the riskmight otherwise be considered ‘normal’but where there are a significant numberof people who move slowly or may needassistance to evacuate, it would usuallybe appropriate to consider this a ‘higher’risk. However, where other measuresare in place to mitigate this, such as theavailability of extra assistance, and this hasbeen planned for in your emergency plan, itmay be that the risk level can be regardedas ‘normal to higher’.Equally, where the risk category wouldotherwise be ‘lower’ but for the factthat a small number of occupants maymove slowly or need assistance, it maybe appropriate to categorise the risk as‘normal’ in these circumstances.If you are not sure about the level of risk inany area of your event or venue, you shouldseek advice from a competent person.78

4.1 general principlesescape routesEscape routes, whether internal or external,need to be designed so that people canescape quickly enough to ensure thatthey are not placed in any danger fromfire. The time available will depend on anumber of factors, including the numberof escape routes available, the nature ofthe occupants, the number of exits and therate of fire spread. Smooth, unimpeded flowthrough an escape route is best achievedby ensuring that the route does not narrowalong the length.Suitability of escape routesYou should ensure that your exits andescape routes, whether outdoors orindoors, are:• suitable;• easily, safely and immediately usable atall relevant times;• adequate for the number of peoplelikely to use them and that you haveconsidered ‘discounting’ those routes orexits that may be affected by fire;• free from any obstructions, slip or triphazards (consider adverse weatherconditions);• sited away from marquees to avoid triphazards from guy ropes and stakes.Where necessary, barriers should beprovided;• clearly indicated and, if they consist ofwall flaps, are of a quick release design,clearly defined at the edges and soarranged as to be easily and immediatelyopened from the inside; and• available for access by the emergencyservices.Gates and doors that are final exits, and allgates or doors leading to such exits, shouldbe checked before an event starts toensure that they:• are unlocked and, in thosecircumstances where security devicesare provided, can be opened easily andimmediately using a suitable meansfrom within without the use of a key;• are free from obstructions; and• open outwards in the direction ofescape.Where ramps are used they should have a:• constant slope not broken by steps;• gradient appropriate to the number andtype of persons using them;• guard rail and a handrail; and• non-slip surface.When considering assembly areas youshould ensure that:• you have defined assembly areasoutside the event boundary, where thisis appropriate;• the location does not obstruct orinterfere with emergency servicesaccess routes; and79

• they are of sufficient size and are clearlyidentifiable by appropriate signage.When open, no door should obstructany gangway, passage or stairway. Moredetailed recommendations are given in theNorthern Ireland Guide to Safety at SportsGrounds 10 . If in doubt consult a competentperson.Fire-resisting constructionWhere your event or venue involvesaccommodating people in enclosedtemporary structures (e.g. Portakabinsthat have been joined together to provideaccommodation), you need to ensure thatthe occupants are safe, where necessary,by protecting the internal escape routesfrom the effects of a fire. Where anescape route needs to be separated fromthe rest of the premises by fire-resistingconstruction, e.g. a dead-end corridor ina Portakabin, then you should ensure thefollowing:• Doors (including access hatches tocupboards and ducts), walls and ceilingsprotecting escape routes should becapable of resisting the passage ofsmoke and fire for long enough so thatpeople can escape from the building.• Where suspended or false ceilings areprovided, the fire resistance shouldextend up to the floor/roof slab levelabove. For means of escape purposes a30-minute fire-resisting rating is usuallyenough.• Cavity barriers, fire stopping anddampers in ducts are appropriatelyinstalled.If there is any doubt about the nature ofthe construction of your premises, ask foradvice from a competent person.number of people attending the eventAs your escape routes need to be adequatefor the number of people likely to use them,you will first need to consider how manypeople, including staff, public and otherssuch as contractors, may be present at anyone time.For some events the maximum numbers ofpeople likely to be present will be known,e.g. where the event is ticketed or limited byseating.If occupant numbers are not known (e.g.at non-ticketed or non-seating events), asimple calculation can be performed inorder to determine the maximum operatingcapacity using the formula below (see Table3 for appropriate occupant density).Number of people =Occupied area (m 2 )/Occupant densityIn practice, you will need to perform thiscalculation for each separate area.When calculating capacity, ensure thatallowance is made for areas taken up byfacilities such as food or merchandisingstalls and temporary structures, as peoplecannot use these areas. Whatever theresults of the calculation, the permittedcapacity should never exceed the capacityof the available escape routes (see widthand capacity of escape routes).If in doubt about calculating the capacity ofyour event or venue, you should consult acompetent person.80

Table 3: Occupant densitiesoccupied area typeStanding spectator/audience area or bar(unseated)typical occupant density m 2 /person0.3Assembly area, dance floor or hall 0.5Dining area, seated bar or restaurant 1.0Skating rink or sports area 2.0Display gallery or workshop 5.0Camping area 6.0Sales area 2.0Car parktwo persons per parking spaceMobility impairmentThe appropriate person for outdoorevents needs to consider how people withdisabilities can best be accommodated.Provisions should include easy accessand adequate means of escape for usein an emergency. The number who canbe admitted will need to be agreed by theenforcing authority and will be dependentupon a number of factors, such asstructural and internal layout of the site orvenue. The provision of wheelchair spacesin different parts of seating areas, such aspop concerts and the like, helps wheelchairusers to have a choice of location. At suchan event, you will need to make provisionfor when a disabled person transfers froma wheelchair to a seat; provision also needsto be made for the wheelchair to be readilyaccessible without it causing an obstructionin a gangway or exit route. However, shoulda person wish to remain in their wheelchair,ensure that the position will not obstructothers in the event of an emergency.In addition, the following points should beconsidered:• Where refuges are provided, they shouldbe enclosed in a fire-resisting structurewhich creates a protected escaperoute which leads directly to a place oftotal safety and should only be used inconjunction with effective managementrescue arrangements. Your fire safetystrategy should not rely on the Fire andRescue Service rescuing people waitingin these refuges. Sufficient escaperoutes should always be available foruse by disabled people. Staff should beaware of routes suitable for disabledpeople so that they can direct and helppeople accordingly.• Emergency plans should allow forthe assistance of or careful carryingof disabled people without theirwheelchairs, should the wheelchair betoo large or heavy, particularly wherethe terrain may be uneven, rough, orsoft due to rain. You will need to takeinto account health and safety manualhandling procedures in addition to thedignity and confidence of the disabledperson.81

• Where ramps are necessary for theemergency evacuation of people inwheelchairs, they should be as gentle aspossible.Further guidance is available in BS 9999 14and Technical Booket R 55 .Childcare facilities/crèchesThe location of childcare facilities/crèchesis important since parents or guardians willoften seek to return to the facility when thealarm sounds. It is therefore important thatthe facility is located so as to avoid parentstravelling against the normal direction ofescape.Places of safetyYour choice of a place of safety shouldbe based on people’s exposure to thefire hazard. If a fire involves an outsidebarbeque and a small number of people,the place of safety may be a few metresaway. If a fire involves gas cylinders oraerosols and there are a large number ofpeople, the place of safety may need to bea few hundred metres away.Where people have escaped from an insidespace, such as a marquee, to a place ofreasonable safety in the open air, you needto consider the impacts of the activitiesaround the marquee to ensure thatthey do not impede people’s movementaway from the hazard. For example, if amarquee’s exits discharge to an area withfood concessions which is congested, thiscould prevent the free flow of people out ofthe marquee even when its exits are sizedaccording to the number of people inside.In this case you should consider how tomanage the crowd in the open air so thatthey move away from the unseen hazard orensure that your place of relative safety isfree from any obstructions.Width and capacity of escape routesIt is important to provide enough exits ofsufficient width that are capable of safelyaccommodating the passage of peoplewithin an acceptable period of time, toavoid congestion and psychological stress.Exit systems may comprise gangways,stairways, passageways, gates, openings,ramps and other means of passage.Once you have established the maximumnumber of people likely to be in any partof the event or venue, the next step is toestablish that the capacity of the escaperoutes is adequate for people to escapesafely and in sufficient time to ensure theirsafety in case of fire.The capacity of a route is determined by anumber of factors including the width ofthe route, the time available for escape, therate of passage of people through the routeper minute and the ability of the peopleusing them.To establish the capacity of the route, itis first necessary to measure the widthof the route at the narrowest point. Theeffective usable width of an escape routethrough which people can pass is thenarrowest clear unobstructed width at anypoint, normally a door, gate, route betweenconcessions, aisle or other restriction, suchas marquee guy ropes.When calculating the overall availableescape route capacity for an event orvenue that has more than one way out,you should normally assume that thewidest is not available because it has been82

compromised by fire. If doors or other exitsleading to escape routes are too close toone another you should consider whetherthe fire could affect both at the same time.If that is the case, it may be necessary todiscount them both from your calculation.escape routes – outdoorsAt open-air sites or venues it is normallynecessary to assess the adequacyof escape routes by considering theappropriate escape time and the capacityof the escape routes. However, for somelow risk areas where there is unrestrictedaccess for people to move to a place ofreasonable safety, it may not be necessaryto apply all the guidelines in this section.escape timesEscape times may be only a proportion ofthe total evacuation time for your event aspeople move progressively away from thefire. The escape time will most likely be thetime taken to move to a place of relativesafety within the event boundaries, whilethe evacuation time is most likely the timetaken to empty the event. Care shouldtherefore be taken in the use of the termsto describe escape or evacuation times andto what part of your event or venue theyapply.The information in this section is providedto demonstrate the range of escape timesavailable to you in the assessment of yourevent and is derived from the guidanceprovided in the Northern Ireland Guide toSafety at Sports Grounds 10 .The maximum escape time for open-airevents can vary between 5 and 10 minutes.The times suggested (see Table 4) dependlargely on the level of fire risk present (seelevels of risk on p 63). Where the openairevent has a higher risk, escape routesshould be based on an escape time of notmore than 5 minutes. Where the open-airevent has a lower fire risk, escape routesmay be based on an escape time of up to10 minutes.Table 4: Open-air escape timesRiskHigherNormalLowerescape route capacitiestime< 5 minutes> 5 < 10 minutes< 10 minutesThe capacity of an escape route isdetermined by the rate at which peoplepass along the route during each minuteof the defined escape time. The followingare suggested rates of passage for open-airparts of venues:• on all routes within seatedaccommodation (including gangwaysand ramps) and stairways – 73 people/metre/minute; and• on all routes in other parts of the eventor venue (including within standingaccommodation) – 109 people/metre/minute.The width and capacity of the escaperoutes required for the number of peoplepresent can be calculated by using theformula:number of peopleTotal exit width =flow rate x escape time83

An example calculation is shown below:example calculationThere are 4,000 ticketed people at a horticultural show and 200 exhibitors. Marqueesare provided, which contain very low fire risks in the form of flower and vegetabledisplays. The outdoor area is arranged as a series of display gardens through whichpeople can walk freely along pre-arranged access routes. There is one main entrancepoint and four other emergency exits are available. One exit is located too near thetemporary storage area; the others are a considerable distance from any fire risk.For the open-air displays, you consider that the risk is low and a 10-minute escape timeis appropriate.What is the exit width requirement for the event?Step 1 determine risk levelIn this case the risk is considered lowStep 2 determine escape timeLow risk = 10 minutes (This is the escape time for outside. The escape routesfrom within marquees and other temporary structures should be assessed byusing travel distances, see Escape routes – indoors.)Step 3 determine exit flow rateOn the flat area = 109 persons/metre width/minuteStep 4 determine occupancyTicketed event, therefore 4,000 people plus 200 exhibitors = 4,200 maximumStep 5 determine total exit width requiredTotal exit width required = 4,200/109/10 = 3.85mStep 6 determine minimum number and size of exits requiredMinimum width of an exit is normally required to be at least 1.05m, thereforethe minimum number of exits required (1.05m wide) is 3.85m/1.05m = 4 exitsHowever, assuming one exit is compromised by fire, the minimum number of exits (ofminimum width 1.05m) = 4+1 = 5 exitsnote: The minimum number of exits can be reduced by increasing the individual exitwidths, provided that the number of exits available (after discounting the largest) is atleast two, and their aggregate width is at least 3.85m.84

You should complete the exercise fordifferent possible locations of a fire aroundyour venue/event to make sure that thenumber of available escape routes and thewidth of exits are sufficient for all potentialfire scenarios.The assessment should also take intoaccount the availability and location ofplaces of safety, and the proximity tostructures and installations.Further guidance on assessing the escaperoutes at open-air events and venues isavailable in the Event Safety Guide 11 or theNorthern Ireland Guide to Safety at SportsGrounds 10 .escape routes – indoorsThe time available for escape in an indoorsituation depends on several factors,including the distance that has to betravelled to reach a place of safety and therisk rating of the premises. Establishedreasonable escape times are 2 minutesfor higher risk premises, 2.5 minutesfor normal risk premises and 3 minutesfor lower risk premises. For calculationpurposes these times are allowed for in thetravel distances suggested in Table 5.The following guide can be used todetermine the general capacities of escaperoutes:• From any marquee or temporarystructure, the minimum width of any exitshould be not less than 1.05m.• A single exit is suitable for a maximumof 60 people.• Where more than 60 people areaccommodated, there should be notless than two exits, separated by adistance which limits the possibilitythat both will be affected by a fire at thesame time.• The aggregate width of all the availableescape routes (assuming the largest oneis unavailable due to fire (except in thecase of a single exit)) must be capableof accommodating the maximumnumber of people likely to use them.An exit width of at least 1.05m canaccommodate up to:• 160 people in higher risk premises;• 200 people in normal risk premises; or• 240 people in lower risk premises.An additional 75mm should be allowed foreach additional 15 persons (or part of 15).travel distanceHaving established the number andlocation of people and the exit capacityrequired to evacuate them safely, you nowneed to confirm the number and location ofexits required. This is normally determinedby the distance people have to travel toreach them.Table 5 gives guidance on travel distances.However, it should be understood thatthese distances are flexible and may beincreased or decreased depending on thelevel of risk after you have put in place theappropriate fire-prevention measures (Part1, Step 3.3).85

When assessing travel distances you needto consider the distance to be travelled bypeople when escaping, allowing for walkingaround tables, chairs, stalls, equipment,etc. The distance should be measured fromall parts of the premises to the nearestplace of reasonable safety.The suggested travel distances may beincreased by the addition of further fireprotection measures, e.g. structural fireprotection or automatic fire detection. Inthese circumstances you should consult acompetent fire safety expert.However, your total travel distance shouldnot exceed that for ‘more than one escaperoute’.Further guidance on travel distances isgiven in the Event Safety Guide 11 .note: For assessing the escape routesin more complex temporary structures,including those on more than one levelwith stairways, etc. and in any permanentstructures, you should refer to theappropriate guide in this series (see backcover).Where your route leads to more than onefinal exit, but only allows initial travel in asingle direction (e.g. from a room or deadend, see Figures 19 and 20), then thisinitial travel distance should be limited tothat for a ‘single escape route’ in Table 5.Table 5: Suggested travel distancestype of structure escape route Suggested travel distanceMarquee or tentPneumatic structureOther temporaryenclosureWhere more than oneescape route is providedWhere only a single escaperoute is providedWhere more than oneescape route is providedWhere only a single escaperoute is providedWhere more than oneescape route is providedWhere only a single escaperoute is provided18m6.5m12mnot applicable25m in higher fire risk areas45m in normal fire risk areas60m in low fire fire risk areas12m in higher fire risk areas18m in normal fire risk areas25m in low fire fire risk areas86

Measuring travel distanceThe figures that follow are schematic only.The route taken through a room or spacewill be determined by the layout of thecontents (Figure 16). It is good practiceto ensure that routes to the exits are keptas direct and short as possible. In a smallroom there may be only one exit, but ina larger room or area there may be manyexits. In some cases, where the contentsare moved around or the space is liable tofrequent change, you should ensure thatthe exits and the routes to them do notbecome blocked and that the length of theroute is not significantly extended.StoreroomExitFigure 16: Measuring travel distance87

Alternative exitsWhere alternative exits from a space orroom are necessary, they should, whereverpossible, be located at least 45° apart (seeFigure 18). If in doubt consult a competentperson.45º+Final ExitFinal Exit45º+Figure 18: Alternative exits89

Measuring travel distances for initialdead-end travelWhere the initial direction of travel in anopen area (see Figure 19) is in one directiononly or within an inner room (see Figure 20),the travel distance (A–B) should be limitedto that for a ‘single escape route’ in Table5. This may be the case where you have anumber of temporary structures or buildings.Any alternative exits should be positionedto ensure that a fire will not compromiseboth exits. The maximum total traveldistance recommended in Table 5 shouldapply to the nearest exit (Figures 19 and20, distance A–C). However, since there aretwo exits, the total travel distance shouldnot exceed that for ‘more than one escaperoute’ in Table 5.C ExitC Exit45º+BAC Exit45º+BC ExitAA–BA–CTravel in single direction onlyTotal travel distance (to nearest exit)Figure 19: Measuring travel distance from initial dead end (open plan)90

C ExitC Exit45º+BAC Exit45º+C ExitBAA–B Travel in single direction onlyA–C Total travel distance (to nearest exit)Note: Additional measures are necessary to give warning of fire for inner rooms (see Figure 17).Figure 20: Measuring travel distance from initial dead end (inner room)Revolving doors, wicket doors, slidingdoors and roller shuttersRevolving doors should not normally beconsidered as escape doors unless theleaves fold outward to form a clear openingupon pressure from within, or standarddoors of the required exit width areprovided next to the revolving door.Ideally, wicket doors or gates (a smalldoor set within a larger door) should havea minimum opening height of 1.5m. Thebottom of the door should not be morethan 250mm above the floor and the widthshould be preferably more than 500mmbut not less than 450mm. Normally, wicketdoors will only be suitable for up to 15members of staff; however, in areas of a91

higher fire risk, this should be reduced to amaximum of three.Shutters (roller, folding or sliding), upand-overdoors and similar openings arenot normally suitable for use as a finalexit. However, they may be suitable forescape from areas of normal risk by smallnumbers of staff as long as they are notlikely to be obstructed and can be easilyand immediately opened manually, even ifnormally power-operated, and the staff arefamiliar with the escape routes.Sliding doors are not normally suitable onescape routes unless they are for the soleuse of members of staff. Where provided,a notice with the words ‘slide to open’,with an arrow pointing in the direction ofopening, should be permanently displayedat about eye level on the face of doors.Final exit doors and escape away fromtemporary structuresGood escape routes to a final exit will be oflittle benefit if the occupants are not ableto get out of the temporary structure (e.g.tent/marquee) and quickly disperse fromthe area to a place of total safety. It is alsoimportant to consider where people will goonce they have evacuated the structure.The matters that you should considerinclude the following:• Final exit doors should open in thedirection of escape and be quickly andeasily opened without a key or codein the event of a fire. Where possible,there should be only one fastening. SeeAppendix B for more information onsecurity fastenings.• Final exit doors should not lead peopleinto an enclosed area from which thereis no further escape.• Where a final exit discharges into anenclosed area, further access to a placeof total safety should be available bymeans of further doors or gates that canbe easily opened in a manner similar tothe final exit.You should ensure that exit routes areplanned and managed safely, to providepeople with a smooth, unimpeded passagethrough an exit system until they reach aplace of safety.Smooth, unimpeded flow through an exitroute is best achieved by ensuring thatthe exit system does not narrow along itslength. If, at any point along the route,there are elements narrower than thosepreceding, constriction can occur, causingpeople to converge in the narrower points.In addition, controlling the flow of peopleat the beginning of the exit routes, e.g.in spectator areas, is vital to ensurethat people enter the exit system at anacceptable rate.You are responsible for ensuring thatemergency evacuation routes are capableof being safely and effectively used at alltimes when the event or venue is occupied.This requires such routes to be maintainedas sterile areas, free from any blockages,temporary fittings or stored equipment.Exit routes from marquees, tents andtemporary structures may be over unevenground or temporary flooring, duckboardsor ramps. These factors should be takeninto account to ensure that there are safe92

egress routes. They may also slow downthe speed at which people move and youshould consider this effect when assessingtravel distances or exit width requirements,e.g. you may wish to reduce the traveldistances or increase the exit width. Ifin doubt, seek advice from a competentperson.Provision of gates or openings in an arenaperimeter barrierWhere a perimeter barrier is in place andthe arena is used as part of the escaperoute, it should be fitted with gates oropenings allowing egress in an emergencyfrom the area of activity.If a viewing area is divided by structuralmeans, each division should have sufficientgates or openings to evacuate all thespectators in that division. When open, nodoor or gate should obstruct any gangway,passage or stairway.Further guidance on gates and openings isavailable in the Northern Ireland Guide toSafety at Sports Grounds 10 .Seating and gangwaysThe type of seating arrangements adoptedwill vary with the use to which the event orvenue is put. Venues should only be usedfor closely-seated audiences if your riskassessment shows that it is safe to do so.Where your event or venue is licensed,there may be additional conditions in thelicence concerning how seating may be setout.Audiences seated in rows will first haveto make their way to the end of the rowbefore being able to use the escape routesprovided. Seating and gangways in anassembly space should therefore be soarranged as to allow free and ready accessdirect to the exits.In fixed seats, there should be a clearspace of at least 300mm between the backof one seat and the front of the seat behindit (or the nearest point of the seat behindit, for automatic tip-up seats, see Figure21). Gangways should be adequate for thenumber of seats served and at least 1.05mwide. There should be no projections thatdiminish these widths.In general, no seat should be more thanseven seats away from a gangway. Iftemporary seating is provided, it should besecured in lengths of not fewer than fourseats (and not more than 12). Each lengthshould be fixed to the floor.Standing and sitting in gangways, or in frontof any exit, should not be permitted.If booster seats are provided for smallchildren that will prevent seats returning toan upright position, you need to considerthe implications on means of escape.For sports grounds, you should consult theNorthern Ireland Guide to Safety at SportsGrounds 10 . Detailed information of seatinglayout is given in BS 9999 14 .93

Clear seatwayClear seatwayFixed seatsTip-up seatsFigure 21: Clear space between seatingtemporary standsTemporary stands should be constructedto include a minimum of two readilyaccessible alternative exit routes, whichshould be adequately indicated by exit anddirectional exit signs. If an entertainmentextends beyond daylight hours, temporarystands should be provided with normal andemergency escape lighting.The structure of temporary standsshould have adequate resistance to therapid spread of fire, heat and smoke, asshould any fixtures and fittings. Litter andcombustible refuse should not be storedor allowed to accumulate beneath atemporary stand.Concessions and sanitary conveniencesshould not normally be situated on orattached to temporary stands. If this isunavoidable, any concessions, etc. shouldbe separated from the viewing area andexit routes by fire-resisting construction,and located so as not to obstruct theescape routes.use of the central area of activity foremergency evacuationIn certain cases, forward evacuation intothe central area of activity may form part ofthe emergency evacuation route, providedthat it leads directly to an exit which itselfleads to a place of total safety. Similarconsiderations should be applied regardingthe means of escape from the central areaof activity when it is used to accommodatemembers of the public (e.g. spectators).Any perimeter barrier in front of publicaccommodation should be fitted with asufficient number of suitably designedgates or openings.Where the surface is made of syntheticmaterials, advice from the supplier shouldfirst be sought to establish whether it canbe safely considered as an emergency exitroute in the event of a fire. This is becausesome forms of surface (e.g. artificial turf)might constitute a hazard in the event of afire.note: You must seek specialist advicebefore assembling a temporary stand.94

Section 5 Further guidance onemergency escape lightingThe primary purpose of emergency escapelighting is to illuminate escape routes, but italso illuminates safety equipment.The size and type of your event, venueor site and the risk to the occupants willdetermine the complexity of emergencyescape lighting required.In all cases, where the event or venueis used in hours of darkness, it will benecessary to provide sufficient primaryillumination for general safe movement andin particular to illuminate all escape routesand exits. In some exceptional cases,ambient light from adjacent areas, e.g.street lighting, might be sufficient but inmost cases a separate source of electricallypowered lighting will be necessary. Wheremains power is not available, powerwill need to be provided from anothersource, e.g. central generator or individualgenerator powered lighting units.Whatever the primary source of power,a back-up power supply will also benecessary in case of primary power failure.Any back-up power supply should becapable of automatic operation in the eventof a failure to the primary supply.Single ‘stand-alone’ emergency escapelighting units (luminaires) may be sufficientin a marquee or other temporary structureand these can sometimes be combinedwith exit or directional signs (see Figure22). The level of general illumination shouldnot be significantly reduced by the sign.In larger, more complex events or venuesa more comprehensive system of fixedautomatic emergency escape lighting islikely to be needed. This will be particularlytrue for sites where there are significantnumbers of staff and members of thepublic.In some open areas an efficient andeffective method of illuminating escaperoutes in an emergency is by usingspotlights. These are normally selfcontained units consisting of a battery,switching mechanism and spotlights (seeFigure 23) fitted to operate automatically ona circuit or mains failure. However, this typeof unit will need a primary power supply.These self-contained units can besuspended from roofs, structural steelworksuch as columns or beams and are capableof illuminating escape routes easily. Theyshould be located at high level and pointdownward.Figure 23: Self-contained flood lightsFigure 22: Luminaires95

Alternatively, mains or generator poweredfloodlights, with a suitable back-up powersupply, may be acceptable.You will have identified the escape routeswhen carrying out your fire risk assessmentand need to ensure that they are alladequately lit. If there are escape routesthat are not permanently illuminated,then a switch, clearly marked ‘Emergencyescape lighting’, or some other means ofswitching on the lighting should be providedat the entry to that area.An emergency escape lighting system in amarquee, tent or other temporary structureshould normally cover the following:• each exit door;• escape routes;• assembly areas;• intersections of escape routes;• emergency escape signs;• stairways and steps so that each flightreceives adequate light;• changes in level;• windowless rooms and toiletaccommodation exceeding 8m 2 ;• fire fighting equipment;• fire alarm call points;• equipment that would need to be shutdown in an emergency; and• areas greater than 60m 2 .It is not necessary to provide individuallights (luminaires) for each item above, butthere should be a sufficient overall level oflight to allow them to be visible and usable.Emergency escape lighting can be both‘maintained’, i.e. on all the time, or ‘nonmaintained’which only operates when thenormal lighting fails. Systems of individualluminaires are designed to operate fordurations of between one and threehours. In practice, the three-hour designis the most popular and can help withmaintaining limited continued use of yourevent during a power failure (other than inan emergency situation).Emergency escape lighting (luminaires)can be stand-alone dedicated units orincorporated into normal light fittings. Thereare highly decorative versions of these forthose areas that demand aestheticallypleasing fixtures. Back-up power suppliescan be rechargeable batteries integral toeach unit, a central battery bank or anautomatic start generator.emergency escape lighting by gas orother means not using electricityIn premises where escape lighting by gas orother means not using electricity is alreadyinstalled, the escape lighting should beequivalent to that powered by electricity.Appropriate safety measures should beprovided, for example with regards to fixing,location of combustible materials, protectionfrom draughts and emergency shut-off.lighting for special effectsLasers, strobes or other form of highintensity lighting are not suitable foremergency use.96

lighting conditions for stair treadsWhere lighting conditions render itdesirable the nosings of all stair treadsshould be made conspicuous by paintingor other effective means. Guidance isavailable in BS 8300 42 .Maintenance and testing of emergencyescape lightingAll permanently installed emergencyescape lighting systems should beregularly tested and properly maintainedto an appropriate standard. Most existingsystems will need to be manually tested.However, some modern systems have selftestingfacilities that reduce routine checksto a minimum.Depending on your type of installation youshould be able to carry out most of theroutine tests yourself. The test methodwill vary. If you are not sure how to carryout these tests you should contact yoursupplier or other competent person.Test facilities often take the form of a‘fishtail’ key inserted in a special switcheither near the main fuse board or adjacentto relevant light switches (see Figure 24).Particular care needs to be taken followinga full discharge test. Batteries typicallytake 24 hours to re-charge and the eventor venue should not be re-occupieduntil the emergency lighting systemis fully functioning unless alternativearrangements have been made. It is goodpractice to keep a record of tests.Further guidance on maintenance andemergency escape lighting is given inBS 5266-8 56 and BS 5266-1 57 .Figure 24: A test keyTypically, testing would include:• a daily visual check of any centralcontrols;• a monthly function test by operatingthe test facility for a period sufficientto ensure that each emergency lampilluminates; and• an annual full discharge test.97

Section 6 Further guidance on signsand noticesescape signsOn simple sites, a few signs indicatingthe alternative exits might be all thatis required. At more complex events orvenues, a series of signs directing peoplealong the escape routes towards the finalexit may be needed.Many people with poor vision retain somesight and are able to recognise changingor contrasting colour to provide them withvisual clues when moving around a buildingor structure.* It may be sufficient to paint orcover any columns in a contrasting colour(see BS 8300) 42 and to highlight changes inlevel by, for example, making the nosing tostep and stair treads a contrasting colour.For people with no sight, a well managed‘buddy system’, continuous handrails, asound localisation system (which helpspeople to move towards an alert sound) orthe installation of more tactile aids may beappropriate.People will usually attempt to leave theevent or venue by the same way that theyentered. For this reason all available exitsshould be clearly indicated so that thepublic are aware that there are ways toleave the site, event or venue other thanby the routes which they used to gainadmission. In addition, the provision ofwell sign-posted exits in full view of anaudience can give a feeling of security in anemergency situation.Exit signs should be clearly visiblewhenever the public, staff and contractorsare present.Positioning of escape route signsThe presence of other signs at the eventor venue (such as advertising) can distractattention from, or obscure the visibility ofescape signs. This could affect people’sability to see and understand escape signs,particularly if there is a fire evacuation.Always ensure that escape signs are notoverwhelmed.Escape signs should meet the followingcriteria:• they should provide clear, unambiguousinformation to enable people to safelyleave a building or structure in anemergency;• every escape route sign should,where necessary, incorporate, or beaccompanied by, a directional arrow.Arrows should not be used on their own;• if the escape route to the nearest exit isnot obvious then it should be indicatedby a sign(s); and• signs should be positioned so that aperson escaping will always have thenext escape route sign in sight.escape sign designFor a sign to comply with signs and signalsregulations it must be pictographic (seefigures 25 & 26). The pictogram can besupplemented by text if this is considerednecessary to make the sign easilyunderstood (BS type sign see figure 25),but you must not have a fire safety signthat uses only text. Either type of sign can* The Royal National Institute of the Blind estimates that only about 4% of visually impaired people are totally blind.98

e used but different types should not bemixed. Appropriate signs should take intoaccount the needs of those who may needto use them.The legibility of escape signs is determinedby the size of the sign, its level ofillumination and the distance over which itis viewed. The use of signs within the sameevent or venue should follow a consistentdesign pattern or scheme. You should notrely on a few outsized signs which mayencourage people to travel to a particularescape route when other more appropriateroutes should be used.other safety signs and noticesA number of other mandatory signs such as‘Fire action’ notices may also be necessary.Fire doors that have been fitted with selfclosingdevices should be labelled ‘Firedoor – keep shut’ on both sides. Fireresisting doors to cupboards, stores andservice ducts that are not self-closingbecause they are plainly kept locked shouldbe labelled ‘Fire door – keep locked’ on theoutside.At multi-occupied events, co-operationbetween the respective ‘appropriatepersons’ including, if necessary, themanaging agent or landlord should besought to ensure that, as far as possible,all signs on the site conform to a singlepattern or scheme.note: Either type will be acceptable butdifferent types should not be mixed.Figure 27: Fire door 'keep shut' noticeSigns should indicate non-automatic firesafety equipment if there is any doubtabout its location, e.g. fire extinguishersthat are kept in cabinets or in recesses.Figure 25: BS-type signA notice with the words ‘Push bar toopen’ should be permanently displayedimmediately above the push-bar on alldoors fitted with a panic bolt or panic latch.Figure 26: Euro sign99

A notice with the words ‘Fire escape – Keepclear’ should be permanently displayedat about eye level on the external face ofall doors which are provided solely as ameans of escape in case of fire and which,because they are not normally used, maybecome obstructed.Staff noticesOn simple sites where there is a limitednumber of escape routes, it may bereasonable to provide staff with remindersof what they need to do if there is a fire.You could consider providing this in a shortwritten statement that can be deliveredwith staff pay slips every six months.Where there is a high turnover of staff, amore considered approach for staff noticesand instructions will be necessary. As wellas positioning the fire instructions notice onescape routes adjacent to fire break-glasscall points, (see Figure 28) put them wherestaff frequently assemble, e.g. the canteenand locker rooms.In some events or venues, such as a musicfestival, consider whether it is suitable forfire instruction notices to be available inpublic areas or whether they should only bein areas to which staff have access.If your events or venues are routinelyexpected to accommodate large numbersof people whose first language is notEnglish you may need to consider providinginstruction in more than one language. Theinterpretation should always convey anidentical message.IlluminationAll signs and notices will need illuminationto ensure they are conspicuous and legible.There are a number of options available toachieve this, such as:• external illumination;• internal illumination; and• self-luminescence.The supplier or other competent personcan give you further advice.All exit and directional signs indicating theexits from any part of the event or venueto which the public are admitted should(unless they are self-luminous fire safetysigns) be illuminated by means of thenormal lighting and the emergency escapelighting at all times when the public are atthe event or venue.Figure 28: A typical staff action noticeSigns or notices of the photo-luminescenttype, e.g. where the active material makingup the luminous parts of such signs ornotices needs a period of exposure to lightbefore they become visible in darkness (but100

get fainter with time) are not a substitutefor appropriate emergency lighting andshould only be used where other forms ofillumination are present.Further guidanceFurther guidance on fire safety signs canbe found in BS 5499-5 58 and BS 5499-4 59 .Published guidance 12, 13 on compliancewith health and safety legislation on signsis also available. Guidance about the useof photo-luminescent fire safety signs andnotices can be found in BS 5266-6 60 .101

Section 7 Further guidance onrecording, planning, informing,instructing and training7.1 Fire safety recordsKeeping up-to-date records of your firerisk assessment can help you effectivelymanage the fire strategy for your site anddemonstrate how you are complying withfire safety law.Even if you do not have to record the firerisk assessment, it can be helpful to keepa record of any co-operation and exchangeof information made between employersand other appropriate people for futurereference.At complex sites, it is best to keep adedicated record of all maintenance of fireprotection equipment and training. Thereis no single ‘correct’ format specified forthis. Suitable record books are availablefrom trade associations and may alsobe available from your local enforcingauthority.In all cases the quality of records mayalso be regarded as a good indicatorof the overall quality of the fire safetymanagement structure.Fire safety records could include:• a record of the sites use, means ofescape, fire fighting equipment, firealarms, and high risk areas;• details of any significant findings fromthe fire risk assessment and any actiontaken;• testing and checking of escape routes,including final exit locking mechanisms,such as panic bars, push pads and anyelectromagnetic devices;• testing of fire-warning systems, includingweekly alarm tests and periodicmaintenance by a competent person;• recording of false alarms;• testing and maintenance of emergencyescape lighting systems;• testing and maintenance of fireextinguishers, hose reels and fireblankets etc.;• if appropriate, testing and maintenanceof other fire safety equipment such asfire suppression systems;• training of relevant people and fireevacuation drills;• planning, organising, policy andimplementation, monitoring, audit andreview;• maintenance and audit of any systemsthat are provided to help the Fire andRescue Service; and• the arrangements in multi-occupiedsites for a co-ordinated emergency planor overall control of the actions you oryour staff should take if there is a fire.Other issues that you may wish to recordinclude:• the competence, qualifications andstatus of the persons responsible forcarrying out inspections and tests;• the results of periodic safety audits,reviews, inspections and tests, and anyremedial action taken;102

• all incidents and circumstances whichhad the potential to cause accidentsand monitor subsequent remedialactions; and• a record of the building or structure use,the fire prevention and protectionmeasures in place and high-risk areas.The range and type of records necessarywill become more detailed as the site andits use becomes more complex and so thelevel of competence of the person carryingout the assessment will need to be higher.Your documentation should be availablefor inspection by representatives of theenforcing authority.Figure 29 shows an example recordof the significant findings of a fire riskassessment. A blank version of this form isprovided in Appendix A2.103

Risk Assessment - Record of significant findingsRisk assessment forAssessment undertaken byCompany Rick’s music festival Date 17/06/2006Address Dark ForestCompleted byR BrownOld VillageEF34 6WXSignatureR BrownSheet number Floor/area UseOneA. Main camping areaB. Catering areaA. Sleeping areaB. Food concessionsStep 1 - Identify fire hazardsSources of ignition Sources of fuel Sources of oxygenA. Direct and radiating heatfrom camp firesB. Hot exhaust of petrolgeneratorsFuel from camp fire, tents, caravans and vehicles,camping equipment (inc LPG), waste material,personal clothing and vegetation.Fuel in or stored near to generator, tents, caravansand vehicles, camping equipment (inc LPG), wastematerial; clothing and vegetation.Step 2 - People at riskA&B. 20 employees; 100 casual workers; 1000+ visitorsPeople specially at riskA. People in the vicinity who are disabled with mobility, hearing, and visual problems; tourists (no English); mothers withyoung children and those asleep in tents, caravans and vehicles.B. People in mobile catering outlets and the immediate vicinity, particularly those with disabilities, eg. mobility, visual andhearing impaired visually impaired and mothers with young children.Step 3 - Evaluate, remove, reduce and protect from risk(3.1) Evaluate the risk of thefire occuring(3.2) Evaluate the risk topeople from a firestarting in the premises(3.3) Remove and reduce thehazards that may causea fire(3.4) Remove and reduce therisks to people from afireA. Medium/high: cannot control all unauthorised camp fires.B. High: If generator sited too close to fuel and catering tent.A. Potential for fire spread to neighbouring tents, caravans and vehicles where peopleare sleeping.B. Potential fire spread to remainder of catering tent and contents including cookingoils, LPG cylinders and nearby vegetation (weather conditions may increase the risk).A. Provide safe areas for camp fires, restrict the size of fires; ensure separationdistances between camp fires, tents, vehicles and caravansB. Encourage the use of alternative power; resite generators to safe distance from tentand vegetation; store spare fuel in safe area and prohibit smoking nearby.A. Ensure clear ‘fire routes’ through tented area; introduce regular patrols to ensure allcamp fires are in designated areas or kept small and separation distances are beingadhered to.B. Increase fire extinguishers in catering area; provide written guidance to concessionoperators; regularly patrol to ensure guidelines are being followed.A&B. Provide site wide fire warning system and communication between all stewards,with extra training to ensure early warning of fire is given. Introduce regular fire patrols tomonitor hazardous activities.Assessment reviewAssessment review date Completed by SignatureReview outcome (where substantial changes have occurred a new record sheet should be used)AirAirNotes:(1) The risk assessment record of significant findings should refer to other plans, records or other documents as necessary.(2) The information in this record should assist you to develop an emergency plan; to co-ordinate measures with other ‘appropriate persons’ atthe same site or venue; and to inform and train staff and inform other relevant persons.104Figure 29: Example record of significant findings

Fire safety auditA fire safety audit can be used alongsideyour fire risk assessment to identify whatfire safety provisions exist in your site, whereyou have a permanent open air event. Whencarrying out a review of your fire safety riskassessment, a pre-planned audit can quicklyidentify if there have been any significantchanges which may affect the fire safetysystems and highlight whether a full fire riskassessment is necessary.Plans and specificationsPlans and specifications can be usedto assist understanding of a fire riskassessment or emergency plan. Evenwhere not needed for this purpose they canhelp you and your staff keep your fire riskassessment and emergency plan underreview and help the Fire and Rescue Servicein the event of fire. Any symbols used shouldbe shown on a key. Plans and specificationscould include the following:• essential structural features such as thelayout of function rooms, escape doors,wall partitions, corridors, etc. (includingany fire-resisting structure and selfclosingfire doors provided to protect theescape routes);• location of refuges that have beendesignated suitable for use by disabledpeople and others who may needassistance to escape in case of a fire;• methods for fighting fire (details of thenumber, type and location of the firefighting equipment);• location of manually-operated fire alarmcall points and control equipment for firealarms;• location of control rooms and steward’sposts;• location of any emergency escapelighting equipment and the exit routesigns;• location of any high-risk areas,equipment or process that must beimmediately shut down by staff onhearing the fire alarm;• location of the main electrical supplyswitch, the main water shut-off valveand, where appropriate, the main gas oroil shut-off valves; and• plans and specifications relating to allrecent constructions.7.2 emergency plansYour emergency should be appropriate toyour event or venue. It should be kept onsite and available for inspection and couldinclude:• how people will be warned if there is afire;• where people should assemble afterthey have left the premises andprocedures for checking whether thepremises have been evacuated;• identification of key escape routes, howpeople can gain access to them andescape from them to a place of totalsafety;• how the evacuation to a place of safetyshould be carried out;• assessing the adequacy of the numberof staff to supervise the evacuation;105

• what training staff require and thearrangements for ensuring that thistraining is given;• how the Fire and Rescue Service, andany other necessary services, will becalled and who will be responsible fordoing this;• arrangements for fighting the fire;• information on post incident plans;• the action to be taken by staff in theevent of fire, including those whohave specific fire safety functions (e.g.nominated deputies, fire marshals, etc.);• the arrangements for any people atparticular risk, for example, contractors,maintenance workers, members of thepublic, people with a disability;• any specific arrangements for parts withhigh fire risk;• evacuation procedures for everyoneon the site, including details of escaperoutes;• arrangements for calling the Fire andRescue Service and informing them ofany special hazards.You should include a sketch showing, whererelevant:• essential features such as the layout ofthe site, escape routes (including thosefrom any structures such as a park rideor exhibit);• the number, type and location offire-fighting equipment available, forexample extinguishers, hose reels, fireblankets;• the location of:– manually-operated fire alarm callpoints and control equipment for thefire alarm;– any automatic fire-fighting systemand control valve;– the main electrical supply point, themain water shut-off valve and (whereappropriate) the main gas or oil shutoffvalves; and– any special hazards or highlyflammable substances.For larger venues and events it is likely thatthe local council and emergency serviceswill prepare their own plan for response toa major incident at the event or venue. Inthese cases you will need to co-ordinateyour plan with the local council responseplan so they are compatible – for examplemaking sure that your arrangements forevacuation will not prevent the emergencyservices from gaining entry to the site byblocking the access route.After the emergency plan has beenprepared, prominent notices should bedisplayed on site giving clear instructionsabout what to do in case of fire. They shoulddescribe how to raise the alarm and givethe location of the assembly points to whichpeople escaping from the site should report.On small sites, the plan can take the formof a simple fire action notice which shouldbe posted where staff can read it andbecome familiar with it.106

In multi-occupancy, larger and more complexevents or venues, the emergency plan willneed to be more detailed. It should becompiled only after consultation with otheroccupiers and other appropriate people,e.g. owners who have control over differentevents within the site. In most cases this willrequire that an emergency plan covering thewhole site/event/venue will be necessary. Itwill help if you can agree on one person toco-ordinate this task.When planning an event you should consultthe Fire and Rescue Service and considerthe following issues:• safe access in and out of the site for Fireand Rescue Service vehicles;• means of calling the emergencyservices;• the availability of main services(particularly water for fire fighting);• the slope or unevenness of the ground;• impact of adverse weather conditions(such as heavy rain); and• the availability of car parking (so thatit can be properly arranged to avoidobstructing emergency access).Your emergency plan should not be a standalone schedule of actions to be undertakenin the event of an emergency. It shouldform part of your contingency planningarrangements for the variety of occurrencesthat may require the appropriate person’sattention and action during your event,which may include post fire actions.Examples of such occurrences include:• lost children;• animals on the loose;• responding to crowd behaviour due toalcohol consumption;• people with a disability;• inclement weather;• first aid;• failure of sanitary arrangements;• power failure;• people with personal belongings(especially valuables) still in the site;• people in a state of undress (e.g. stageperformers);• people wishing to rejoin friends; and• getting people away from the event orvenue (e.g. to transport);ChildrenThe particular needs of children shouldbe considered. Parts of site used solelyby children (e.g. play grounds) or wherechildren are present require specialprecautions. Children should be supervisedat all times. If a child care facility isprovided, consideration needs to be takenof the behaviour of the parents in a firesituation, e.g. the parents first action willbe locate and ensure the safety of theirchildren. Therefore, evacuation planningshould consider the parents needs toensure the safety of the child.107

AnimalsPeople with pets, and those who have theresponsibility for animal care, at venuessuch as a zoo, circus, and equestrianevents, will have additional burdens.Special needs and legal responsibilitiesthey may have should be accommodatedprior to the open air event, so that in theevent of a fire, they are clear as to thecourse of action they should take to ensurenot only their safety, but, so far as possible,that of the animals within their care.You should develop an action plan thatconsiders the welfare of the animals. Thenecessary means for safe evacuation andthe provision of holding areas, appropriateto the size and number of animals tobe handled must be clearly identified.Consideration should also be given to thephysical impacts and dangers of animalson the escape of the occupants. Beddingmaterials are a considerable fire risk. Anypotential ignition sources such as heatingor lighting should be controlled and thelocation/storage of such materials must beassessed to ensure that adequate animaland people safety is achieved. You shouldorganise this in advance.Crowd behaviourResearch has highlighted several importantfactors, which influence the way crowdsbehave. Although some of these factorsare not directly related to fire safety,crowd behaviour may affect the types ofprecautions you put in place to ensure firesafety and need to be considered duringyour event planning.People who are unfamiliar with the eventor venue generally require more assistanceand direction. Their tendencies are to followthe crowds, use main routes and gather atthe same accommodation areas, which canlead to an uneven distribution of people.Control the entry numbers or number ofpeople within specific areas and try toprevent migration or overcrowding whichmay create a greater risk to their safetythan a fire.They may be unaware of the location ofemergency exits causing them to usethose routes or exits with which they arefamiliar or which are the most obvious,rather than those, which are closest orgive the quickest evacuation time. You canimprove site familiarity by the use of highvisibility signage and printing site detailson the back of tickets. In addition, considerthe use of screens in the arena (whereprovided) for safety announcements andindicating the positions of exit routes.You should also consider how tocommunicate this information with multiplenationalities and people with a disability(e.g. visually impaired persons).Prior expectations are likely to have asignificant impact upon people’s reactionsunder certain circumstances:• Visitors might regard some routes andentry points as the ‘formal’ or mainaccess to the event. Perhaps such aroute is the most direct between theparking area and the part of the venuethat they want to visit. It might be widerand resemble the main route withadjacent facilities such as toilets andstalls.• Where smoke or similar effects are partof an event (e.g. a fireworks display, dry108

ice effects at a pop concert), peopleare likely to respond more slowly to thepresence of smoke generated by a firehazard.The behaviour of individuals in a crowdcan be influenced by the things they seeothers doing. The unauthorised actions ofa few people can result in larger numbersfollowing their example. Individuals withina crowd may carry out actions, whichthey would not perform if they were ontheir own. For example, the frustrationof excessive crowding, queuing or delaysmay result in incidents such as climbing ofbarriers, which could lead to overcrowdingin another area.In general, people look for clear,unambiguous information and indicatorson expected rules of behaviour to helpthem decide how to act, e.g. to find out if aparticular route is an entrance, an exit, orboth, or whether they can drink or smoke.If such information and instructions arenot provided, people will form their ownrules based on past experience joining aqueue, parking on access routes or takingshort cuts. Good use of signs and publicaddress systems is therefore extremelyimportant. People are more likely to be in arelaxed and contented frame of mind if theyare effectively managed and the event iscomfortable and pleasant.Guidance on developing health and safetymanagement policy has been published bythe HSE 61 .7.3 Information, instruction,co-operation and co-ordinationSupplying informationYou must provide easily understandableinformation for employees and othersworking at the venue or event about themeasures in place to ensure a safe escapefrom the site and how they will operate, forexample:• any significant risks to staff and othersthat have been identified in your fire riskassessment or any similar assessmentcarried out by another user andappropriate person on the site;• the fire prevention and protectionmeasures and procedures on your siteand where they impact on staff andothers on the site;• the procedures for fighting a fire on thesite; and• the identity of people who have beennominated with specific responsibilitieson your site.Even if you do not have to record the firerisk assessment, it would be helpful to keepa record of any co-operation and exchangeof information made between employersand other appropriate people for futurereference.You need to ensure that all staff and, wherenecessary, others who work at the event orvenue, receive written information given ina way that can be easily understood. Thismight include any special instructions toparticular people who have been allocateda specific task, such as shutting down109

equipment or guiding people to the nearestsafe exit.duties of employees to give informationEmployees also have a duty to takereasonable care for their own safety andthat of other people who may be affectedby their activities. This includes the needfor them to inform their employer of anyactivity that they consider would present aserious and immediate danger to their ownsafety and that of others.dangerous substancesHSE publishes guidance 16 about specificsubstances where appropriate informationmay need to be provided. If any of these,or any other substance that is not includedbut nevertheless presents more than aslight risk, is present on site then youmust provide such information to staff andothers, specifically you must:• provide the name of the substance andthe risks associated with it, e.g. how tosafely use or store the product to avoidcreating highly flammable vapours orexplosive atmospheres;• identify any legislative provisions thatmay be associated with the substance;• allow employees access to thehazardous substances safety datasheet; and• inform the Fire and Rescue Servicewhere dangerous substances arepresent on the site.Information to the emergency servicesIn the case where the assessmentidentifies a risk and it is not possibleto reduce it enough, then you shouldcommunicate the findings to the emergencyservices to enable them to prepare theirown response procedures.It will also be helpful to provide informationto the emergency services, for instance, onthe temporary loss of a fire-fighting facility.Procedures should also include meetingand briefing the Fire and Rescue Servicewhen they arrive.InstructionThe appropriate person for each individualunique, occasional or separate event orfunction will need to be clearly establishedand documented. It is crucial that theappropriate person understands theirduties for the duration of the event orfunction. The appropriate person will needto take account of the layout of the eventand the fire safety provisions within the site.As the appropriate person for the event/function, you have legal duties with regardsto the safety of those persons assistingor attending the event. You will need tocarefully consider the type of instructionsto staff and other people working at yourevent or venue. Written instructions mustbe concise, comprehensible and relevantand therefore must be reviewed andupdated as new working practices andhazardous substances are introduced.Inclusive access and employment policiesmean that people with learning difficultiesmay now be present in a range of events at110

your venue and your fire risk assessmentshould consider whether further instructionor guidance is necessary to ensure thatyour evacuation strategy is appropriate andunderstood by everyone.Instructions will need to be given to peopledelegated to carry out particular tasks, forexample:• removing additional security, bolts,bars or chains on final exit before thestart of the event/opening for businessto ensure that escape routes areaccessible;• daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly andyearly checks on the range of fire safetymeasures (at some events or venuesthe work may be contracted out to aspecialist company);• safety considerations when closingdown the event or venue at the end ofthe day, e.g. removing rubbish, ensuringenough exits are available for peoplethat remain;• leaving hazardous substances in a safecondition when evacuating the event orvenue;• safe storage of hazardous substances atall times.Specific instructions may be needed about:• how a fire will be detected and peoplewarned;• your arrangements for fighting fire;• your arrangements for the safeevacuation of people, including thoseidentified as being especially at risk,such as those with disabilities, children,those caring for animals;• sweeping’ of the event or venue by staffto guide people to the nearest safe exitwhen the fire alarm sounds;• designating particular areas of yourevent or venue to check that no oneremains inside;• who will be responsible for calling theFire and Rescue Service and any othernecessary services;• taking charge at the assembly area;• meeting and directing Fire and RescueService vehicles and appliances;• cover arrangements when nominatedpeople are not present, on leave or sick;• who will stop any technical equipment/power supplies that need to be stoppedor isolated if there is a fire;• how you will proceed if the life safetysystems you have are out of order, e.g.fire detection, emergency lighting andalarm systems;• who will meet the Fire and RescueService and other emergency serviceson their arrival and notifying them of anyspecial risks, e.g. the location of highlyflammable materials;• where people should assemble afterthey have left an event and proceduresfor checking whether the event or venuehas been evacuated; and• your plans to deal with people once theyhave left the site, especially children.111

Co-operation and co-ordinationWhere you share an event or venue withothers (this includes people who areself-employed or in partnership), eachappropriate person, e.g. each employer,owner or other person who has control overany part of the event or venue, will needto co-operate and co-ordinate the findingsof their separate fire risk assessments toensure the fire precautions and protectionmeasures are effective throughout theevent or venue.This could include:• co-ordinating an emergency plan (seePart 1 Step 4.2 and Part 2 Section 7.2for the features of an emergency plan);• identifying the nature of any risks andhow they may affect others in or aboutthe event or venue;• identifying any fire prevention andprotection measures;• identifying any measures to mitigate theeffects of a fire;• arranging any necessary contacts withexternal emergency services; and• arrangement for calling the emergencyservices if an emergency occurs.Responsibilities for short term leasingPremises or other facilities may be leasedor hired from their owner (e.g. temporarystructures and marquees). The fire safetyresponsibilities of those leasing parts of theevent or venue (and, hence, in charge ofthe activities conducted within the buildingor structure), and those of the owner/lessee, need to be established as part ofthe contract of hire.At some events or venues (e.g. musicconcerts), part of the event may be hiredout to another organisation for a separatefunction (e.g. product launch). The firesafety responsibilities of those organisingthe separate function, and those of theremainder of the building, need to beestablished as part of the contract of hire.7.4 Fire safety trainingStaff trainingThe actions of staff in the event of a fire arelikely to be crucial to their safety and that ofother people at the event or venue. All staffshould receive basic fire safety inductiontraining and attend refresher sessions atpre-determined intervals.You should ensure that all staff andcontractors are told about the emergencyplan and are shown the escape routes.The training should take account of thefindings of the fire risk assessment and beeasily understood by all those attending. Itshould include the role that those membersof staff will be expected to carry out if a fireoccurs.In addition to the guidance given in Part1, Step 4.4, as a minimum all staff shouldreceive instruction on:• the items listed in your emergencyplan, including the correct action to betaken when a fire is discovered and theevacuations and escape arrangements– especially assisting disabled personsand others with special needs;112

• the importance of basic fire-preventionmeasures;• where relevant, the appropriate use offire-fighting equipment;• the importance of reporting to theassembly area;• exit routes and the operation of exitdevices, including physically walkingthese routes; and• general matters such as permittedsmoking areas or restrictions on cookingother than in designated areas.Training is necessary:• when staff start employment or aretransferred to the event or venue;• when changes have been made to theemergency plan and the preventativeand protective measures;• where working practices and processesor people’s responsibilities change;• to take account of any changed risksto the safety of staff or other relevantpersons;• to ensure that staff know what theyhave to do to safeguard themselves andothers at the event or venue;• if the member of staff may take on therole of “duty manager”.Training should be repeated as often asnecessary and should take place duringworking hours.Whatever training you decide is necessaryto support your fire safety strategy andemergency plan, it should be verifiable andsupported by management.Enforcing authorities may want to examinerecords as evidence that adequate traininghas been given.Where safety personnel from an outsideagency are on duty, it is your responsibilityto ensure that such personnel havebeen trained to carry out the duties andresponsibilities assigned to them.Individuals who do not form a recognisedpart of the safety management structure(such as some security guards, hospitalitystaff, ground staff and commissionaires)should not be counted among the safetystaff. You should ensure that such staffare given a general safety briefing on themeans of escape, evacuations proceduresand safety equipment.Fire marshalsStaff expected to undertake the role of firemarshals (often called fire wardens), willrequire more comprehensive training. Theirrole may include:• helping members of the public or visitorsleave the event or venue;• checking designated areas to ensureeveryone has left;• using fire-fighting equipment if safe to doso;• liaising with the Fire and Rescue Serviceon arrival;113

• shutting down vital or dangerousequipment; and• performing a supervisory/managing rolein any fire situation.Training for this role may include:• detailed knowledge of the fire safetystrategy of the event or venue;• a basic understanding of humanbehaviour in fires;• how to encourage others to use themost appropriate escape route;• how to search safely and recogniseareas that are unsafe to enter;• the difficulties that some people,particularly people with a disability,may have in escaping and any specialevacuation arrangements that havebeen pre-planned;• additional training in the use of firefightingequipment;• reporting of faults, incidents and nearmisses.For licensed events or venues, entrysupervisors may have a fire safety functionand appropriate training should beprovided.volunteersIt is not uncommon for a considerablenumber of people, including theappropriate person undertaking themajority of tasks at an open air event, to bevolunteers. Even though they are to carryout duties or services for which they arereceiving no remuneration, for the purposesof the Order 1 and Regulations 2 they areemployees and hence people at risk.If you are the appropriate person for safetyyou should ensure that all volunteersreceive the appropriate training, instructionand direction on actions to be taken in theevent of an emergency.If your event is conducted over a numberof consecutive days and you have ahigh turnover of volunteers, you mustensure that you give new volunteers theappropriate training and instruction.Any people who work at the venue shouldbe aware of any evacuation procedures,fire-fighting equipment, and associatedmanagement procedures to adopt in theevent of a fire. This should be outlinedto them by their direct employer and/orsupervisor.Fire drillsOnce the emergency plan has beendeveloped and training given, you will needto evaluate its effectiveness. The bestway to do this at permanent venues is toperform a practice fire evacuation. Thisshould be carried out at least annually oras determined by your fire risk assessment.If your venue contains large numbers ofpeople, you should carefully consider therisk of practice evacuations, due to slips,trips and falls or crushing. If you havea high staff turnover, you may need tocarry them out more often. At temporaryevents the fire emergency plan may needto be audited, so that where a practiceevacuation is impractical, the effectivenessof the plan is ascertained.114

A well-planned and executed fire evacuationwill confirm understanding of the trainingand provide helpful information for futuretraining. The appropriate person shoulddetermine the possible objectives of thepractice evacuation such as to:• identify any weaknesses in theevacuation strategy;• test the procedure following any recentalteration or changes to workingpractices;• familiarise new members of staff/volunteers with procedures;• test the arrangements for disabledpeople; and• ‘spot check’ staff knowledge withappropriate questions on procedures.Who should take part?Within each venue the evacuation shouldinclude all occupants except those whomay need to ensure the security of thevenue, or people who, on a risk-assessedbasis, are required to remain with particularequipment or processes that cannot beclosed down. However, it is not expectedthat you will carry out a practice evacuationof the public during a short term, or one off,event such as a fete or music festival.Carrying out the practice evacuationFor venues that have more than oneescape route, the escape plan shouldbe designed to evacuate all people onthe assumption that one escape route isunavailable because of the fire. Applyingthis scenario to different escape routes ateach practice evacuation will encourageindividuals to use alternative escape routeswhich they may not normally use.When carrying out the practice evacuationyou might find it helpful to:• circulate details concerning theevacuation and inform all staff oftheir duty to participate. It may not bebeneficial to have ‘surprise evacuations’as the health and safety risks introducedmay outweigh the benefits;• ensure that equipment can be safelyleft;• nominate observers;• inform the alarm receiving centre if thefire-warning system is monitored. (If theFire and Rescue Service is normallycalled directly from your venue, ensurethat this does not happen);• inform members of the public if they arepresent;• ask a member of staff at random to setoff the alarm by operating the nearestalarm call point using the test key. Thiswill indicate the level of knowledgeregarding the location of the nearest callpoint; and• block an exit, preferably the main siteentry, to ensure that you test staffresponses and procedures effectively.More detailed information on practiceevacuations and test evacuations are givenin BS 9999 14 , the Event Safety Guide 11 andthe Northern Ireland Guide to Safety atSports Grounds 10 .115

Monitoring and debriefThroughout the drill the appropriate personand nominated observers should payparticular attention to:• any communication difficulties whenestablishing that the event or venue hasbeen evacuated and that everyone isaccounted for;• the use of the nearest availableescape routes as opposed to commoncirculation routes;• difficulties experienced by people witha disability or others with special needs(including difficulties in evacuating orthe time taken to evacuate);• the roles of specified people, e.g. firewardens; and• inappropriate actions, e.g. stopping tocollect personal items.On-the-spot debriefs are useful to discussthe practice evacuation, encouragingfeedback from everybody. Later, reportsfrom fire wardens and observations frompeople should be collated and reviewed.Any conclusions and remedial actionsshould be recorded and implemented.116

Section 8 Quality assurance of fireprotection equipment and installationFire protection products and relatedservices should be fit for their purposeand properly installed and maintainedin accordance with the manufacturer’sinstructions or a relevant standard.Third-party certification schemes for fireprotection products and related servicesare an effective means of providing thefullest possible assurances, offering a levelof quality, reliability and safety that noncertificatedproducts may lack. This doesnot mean goods and services that are notthird-party approved are less reliable, butthere is no obvious way in which this can bedemonstrated.Third-party quality assurance can offercomfort, both as a means of satisfyingyou that the goods and services you havepurchased are fit for purpose, and as ameans of demonstrating that you havecomplied with the law.However, to ensure the level of assuranceoffered by third party schemes, you shouldalways check whether the company youemploy sub-contracts work to others. Ifthey do, you will want to check that thesub-contractors are subject to the level ofchecks of quality and competence as thecompany you are employing.Your Fire and Rescue Service, fire tradeassociations or your own trade associationmay be able to provide further details aboutthird party quality assurance schemes andthe various organisations that administerthem.117

Appendix AA1 example fire safety maintenancechecklistAs a starting point in formulating yourfire safety policy, this sample fire safetychecklist can be used for any event orvenue that does not have complex firesafety measures. It should not be used asa substitute for carrying out a full fire riskassessment.You can modify the example wherenecessary to fit your venue/event and mayneed to incorporate the recommendationsof manufacturers and installers of the firesafety equipment/systems that you mayhave installed at your event or venue.Any ticks in the dark green boxesshould result in further investigationand appropriate action as necessary. Atcomplex events and venues you may needto seek the assistance of a competentperson to carry out some of the checks.You must tailor the checklist to suit yourindividual event and expand or reduce theconditions and provisions as appropriate.Yes No N/A CommentsPre Event Checks – SummaryEscape routesEscape routes and emergency lightingSigns and noticesFire detection installationMeans of warningBack up power suppliesFirefighting equipmentEmergency vehicles access routesAssembly pointsCommunication systemNote: This pre event checks should only be a summary record of the checks detailed in the following pages,undertaken as relevant to the type and duration of the event (e.g. for short events, monthly and three monthlychecks may all be relevant)GeneralIs there an identified testing/maintenancesystem?Is there a recording system?Yes No N/A Comments118

Yes No N/A CommentsDaily checks (not normally recorded)Escape routesCan all fire exits to be opened immediately andeasily?Are escape routes clear?Fire warning systemsDo you have systems for warning persons in theevent of fire?Are whistles, gongs or air horns in place?Is the indicator panel showing ‘normal’?Have you taken action to minimise false alarms?Escape lightingAre luminaires and exit signs in good conditionand undamaged?Firefighting equipmentAre all fire extinguishers in place?Are fire extinguishers clearly visible?Weekly checksEscape routesDo all emergency fastening devices to fire exits(push bars and pads, etc.) work correctly?Are external routes clear and safe?Fire warning systemsDid the alarm system work correctly when tested?Did staff and other people hear the fire alarm?Did any linked fire protection systems operatecorrectly? (e.g. gas supply shutdown)Do all visual alarms and/or vibrating alarms andpagers (as applicable) work?Do voice alarm systems work correctly?Was the message understood?119

Yes No N/A CommentsWeekly checks (continued)Escape lightingAre charging indicators (if fitted) visible?Does generator start correctly?Firefighting equipmentIs all equipment in good condition?Additional items from manufacturer’srecommendations.Monthly checksGeneralHave all your emergency generators been tested?(Normally run for one hour)Escape routesDo all electronic release mechanisms on escapedoors work correctly? Do they ‘fail safe’ in theopen position?Emergency escape lightingDo all luminaires and exit signs function correctlywhen tested?Firefighting equipmentIs the pressure in ‘stored pressure’ fireextinguishers correct?Additional items from manufacturer’srecommendations.Three monthly checksGeneralAre any emergency water tanks/ponds at theirnormal capacity?Are vehicles blocking fire hydrants or access tothem?Additional items from manufacturer’srecommendations.120

Yes No N/A CommentsSix monthly checksGeneralHas staff training been carried out?Has a fire evacuation drill been carried outpreferably every six months, but at least annually?Has any sprinkler system been tested by acompetent person?Have the release and closing mechanisms of anyfire-resisting compartment doors and shuttersbeen tested?Fire warning systemHas the system been checked by a competentperson?Escape lightingDo all luminaires operate on test for one third oftheir rated value?Additional items from manufacturer’srecommendations.Annual checksGeneralHas staff training been carried out?Escape routesHave escape routes been suitably maintained?Emergency escape lightingDo all luminaires operate on test for their full ratedduration?Has the system been thoroughly checked by acompetent person?Firefighting equipmentHas all firefighting equipment been checked by acompetent person?121

Yes No N/A CommentsMiscellaneousHas external access for the Fire and RescueService been checked?Have any firefighters’ switches been tested?Are fire engine direction signs in place?122

A2 example form for recordingsignificant findingsRisk Assessment - Record of significant findingsRisk assessment forVenue/eventLocationAssessment undertaken byDateCompleted bySignatureSheet number Floor/area UseStep 1 - Identify fire hazardsSources of ignition Sources of fuel Sources of oxygenStep 2 - People at riskStep 3 - Evaluate, remove, reduce and protect from risk(3.1) Evaluate the risk of the fireoccuring(3.2) Evaluate the risk to peoplefrom a fire starting in thepremises(3.3) Remove and reduce thehazards that may cause a fire(3.4) Remove and reduce the risksto people from a fireAssessment reviewAssessment review date Completed by SignatureReview outcome (where substantial changes have occurred a new record sheet should be used)Notes:(1) The risk assessment record of significant findings should refer to other plans, records or other documents as necessary.(2) The information in this record should assist you to develop an emergency plan; co-ordinate measures with other ‘appropriate persons’ atthe event or venue; and to inform and train staff and inform other relevant persons.Figure 30: Example record of significant findings123

Appendix Btechnical information on fire-resistingseparation, fire doors and doorfasteningsB1 Fire-resisting separationgeneralThe majority of temporary buildings areconstructed from materials that are thin,light weight, flexible in use, easy to erectand have little or no fire resistance. In thesecases it would be unusual to provide fireresisting separation inside such structures.However, there are instances where morerigid building forms, such as portakabins,will be used. In these instances, there maybe a requirement to provide some formalfire separation in the building. The followingguidance on fire separation is intendedfor this building type as they are likely tocontain a higher hazard than a marqueebut it could be used elsewhere if required.The materials from which this type ofstructure is constructed may determinethe speed with which a fire may spread,affecting the escape routes that people willuse. A fire starting in a building constructedmainly from readily combustible materialwill spread faster than one where modernfire-resisting construction materials havebeen used. Where non-combustiblematerials are used and the internalpartitions are made from fire-resistingmaterials, the fire will be contained for alonger period, allowing more time for theoccupants to escape.You will need to consider whetherthe standard of fire resistance andsurface finishing in the escape routes issatisfactory, has been affected by wearand tear or alterations and whether anyimprovements are necessary.The following paragraphs give basicinformation on how fire-resistingconstruction can provide up to 30minutes protection to escape routes. Thisis the standard recommended for mostsituations. If you are still unsure of the levelof fire resistance which is necessary afterreading this information, you should consulta fire safety expert.Fire-resisting constructionThe fire resistance of a wall or floor isdependent on the quality of constructionand materials used. Common examplesof types of construction that provide 30minute fire resistance to escape routes ifconstructed to the above standards are:• internal framed construction wall, nonloadbearing, consisting of 72mm x37mm timber studs at 600mm centresand faced with 12.5mm of plasterboardwith all joints taped and filled (seeFigure 31); and• internal framed construction, non-loadbearing, consisting of channel sectionsteel studs at 600mm centres facedwith 12.5mm of plasterboard with alljoints taped and filled.There are other methods and productsavailable which will achieve the requiredstandard of fire resistance and maybe more appropriate for the existingconstruction in premises. If there isany doubt about how your building isconstructed, then ask for further advicefrom a competent person.124

1st floorFire-resisting floor construction to protect route aboveCavity fire barrierEfficient smoke sealFalse ceilingFire-resisting partition constructedup to underside of floor overheadProtected routeFire-resisting floor constructionFigure 31: Fire-resisting constructionFire-resisting floorsThe fire resistance of floors will depend onthe existing floor construction as well as thetype of ceiling finish beneath.A typical example of a 30-minute fireresistingtimber floor is tongue and groovesoftwood of not less than 15mm finishedthickness on 37mm timber joists, with aceiling below of one layer of plasterboardto a thickness of 12.5mm with joints tapedand filled and backed by supporting timber.There are other, equally valid, methods andproducts available for upgrading floors. Ifyou are in any doubt you should ask theadvice of a competent person and ensurethat the product is installed in accordancewith instructions from the manufacturer orsupplier.Fire-resisting glazingThe most common type of fire-resistingglazing is 6mm Georgian wired glazing,which is easily identifiable. Clear fireresistingglazing is available and canquickly be identified by a mark etchedinto the glass, usually in the corner of theglazed panel, to confirm its fire-resistingstandard. Although this is not compulsory,the marking of glass is supported by theGlass and Glazing Federation; you shouldcheck whether the glazing will be markedaccordingly before purchase. The glazingshould have been installed in accordancewith the manufacturer’s instructions and tothe appropriate standard, to ensure that itsfire-resisting properties are maintained.The performance of glazed systems interms of fire resistance and external fireexposure should, wherever possible, beconfirmed by test evidence. Alternatively,where there is a lack of test information,125

ask for an assessment of the proposedconstruction from suitably qualified people.Fire separation of voidsA common problem encountered with fireseparation is fire-resisting partitions whichdo not extend above false ceilings to trueceiling height. This may result in unseenfire spread and a loss of vital protection tothe escape routes. It is important thereforeto carefully check all such partitions havebeen installed correctly.Breaching fire separationTo ensure effective protection against fire,walls and floors providing fire separationmust form a complete barrier, with anequivalent level of fire resistance providedto any openings such as doors, ventilationducts, or pipe passages.The passing of services such as heatingpipes or electrical cables through fireresistingpartitions leaves gaps throughwhich fire and smoke may spread. Thisshould be rectified by suitable fire stoppingand there are many proprietary productsavailable to suit particular types ofconstruction. Such products shouldbe installed by competent contractors.décor and surface finishes of walls,ceilings and escape routesThe materials used to line walls andceilings can contribute significantly to thespread of flame across their surface. Mostmaterials that are used as surface liningswill fall into one of three classes of surfacespread of flame.The following are common examples ofacceptable materials for various situations:Class 0: Materials suitable for circulationspaces and escape routesSuch materials include ceramic tiles,plaster finishes (including rendering), woodwoolcement slabs and mineral fibre tiles orsheets with cement or resin binding.note: Additional finishes to these surfacesmay be detrimental to the fire performanceof the surface and if there is any doubtabout this then consult the manufacturer ofthe finish.Class 1: Materials suitable for use in allrooms but not on escape routesSuch materials include all the Class 0materials referred to above. Additionally,timber, hardboard, blockboard, particleboard, heavy flock wallpapers andthermosetting plastics will be suitable ifflame-retardant treated to achieve a Class 1standard.Class 3: Materials suitable for use inrooms of less than 30m 2Such materials include all those referredto in Class 1, including those that have notbeen flame-retardant treated and certaindense timber or plywood and standardglass-reinforced polyesters.The equivalent European classificationstandard will also be acceptable.Further details about internal linings andclassifications are available in TechnicalBooket E 62 . Appropriate testing proceduresare detailed in BS 476-7 63 and whereappropriate BS EN 13501-1 64 .Further guidance on types of fire-resistingconstruction has been published by theBuilding Research Establishment 65 .126

B2 Fire-resisting doorsRequirements of a fire-resisting doorEffective fire-resisting doors are vital toensure that the occupants can evacuateto a place of safety. Correctly specifiedand well-fitted doors will hold back fire andsmoke, preventing escape routes becomingunusable, as well as preventing the firespreading from one area to another.Fire-resisting doors are necessary in anydoorway located in a fire-resisting structure.Most internal doors are constructedof timber. These will give some limitedprotection against fire spread, but only apurpose-built fire-resisting door that hasbeen tested to an approved standard willprovide the necessary protection.All fire-resisting doors are rated by theirperformance when tested to an appropriatestandard. The level of protection providedby the door is measured, primarily bydetermining the time taken for a fireto breach the integrity (E), of the doorassembly, together with its resistance tothe passage of hot gases and flame.Timber fire-resisting doors require a gapof 2-4mm between the door leaf andthe frame. However larger gaps may benecessary to ensure that the door closesflush into its frame when smoke seals arefitted. Further information is available inBS 4787-1 66 . For fire-resisting purposesthe gap is normally protected by installingan intumescent seal, in either the door or,preferably, the frame.The intumescent seal expands in theearly stages of a fire and enhances theprotection given by the door.Additional smoke seals either incorporatedin the instumescent seal or fittedseparately will restrict the spread of smokeat ambient temperatures. Doors fitted withsmoke seals, either incorporated in theintumescent seal or fitted separately, havetheir classification code suffixed with a ‘S’.The principal fire-resisting door categoriesare:• E20 fire-resisting door providing 20minutes fire resistance (or equivalentFD 20S). (Note: Many suppliers nolonger provide an E20 type fire-resistingdoor).• E30 fire-resisting door providing 30minutes fire resistance (or equivalentFD 30S).• E60 fire-resisting door providing 60minutes fire resistance (or equivalentFD 60S).Timber fire-resisting doors are availablethat will provide up to 120 minutes fireresistance but their use is limited to morespecialised conditions that are beyond thescope of this guidance.glazing in fire-resisting doorsAlthough glazing provides additionalsafety in everyday use and can enhancethe appearance of fire-resisting doors, itshould never reduce the fire resistanceof the door. The opening provided inthe door for the fire-resisting glazingunit(s) and the fitting of the beading arecritical, and should only be entrusted toa competent person. In nearly all casesthe door and glazing should be purchasedfrom a reputable supplier who can provide127

documentary evidence that the doorcontinues to achieve the required rating.Fire-resisting door furnitureHingesTo ensure compliance with their rated fireperformance, fire-resisting doors must behung with the correct number, size andquality of hinges. Normally a minimumof three hinges are needed, however themanufacturer’s instructions should beclosely followed. BS EN 1935 67 includingAnnex B, is the appropriate standard.Alternative door mountingsAlthough the most common method ofhanging a door is to use single axis hinges,alternative methods are employed wherethe door is required to be double swing ormounted on pivots for other reasons.Floor mounted controlled door closingdevices are the most common methodregularly found with timber, glass and steeldoors while transom mounted devices arecommonly used with aluminium sections. Ineach case reference should be made to thefire test report for details as to compliancewith the composition of the door assemblyincluding the door mounting conditions.Self-closing devicesthe door from any angle and against anylatch fitted to the door; spring hinges areunlikely to be suitable. Further informationis available in BS EN 1154 68 .Rising butt hinges are not suitable for useas a self-closing device due to their inabilityto close and latch the door from any angle.Installation and workmanshipThe reliability and performance of correctlyspecified fire-resisting doors can beundermined by inadequate installation. It isimportant that installers with the necessarylevel of skill and knowledge are used.Accreditation schemes for installers of fireresistingdoors are available.Fire-resisting doors and shutters will requireroutine maintenance, particularly to closingmechanisms.Further information on fire-resisting doorsis available in BS 8214 69 . If you are unsureabout the quality, the effectiveness or thefitting of your fire-resisting doors consulta fire safety expert. For further guidanceon the selection and maintenance ofdoor furniture suitable for use on timberfire resisting and escape doors refer toDoor and Hardware Federation/Guildof Architectural Ironmongers Code ofPractice 70 .All fire-resisting doors, other than those tolocked cupboards and service ducts, shouldbe fitted with an appropriately controlledself closing device that will effectivelyclose the door from any angle. In certaincircumstances, concealed, jamb-mountedclosing devices may be specified and inthese cases should be capable of closing128

Ideally the frame should be to thesame standard as the door,purchased together as a door set.Door closer – see BS EN 1154 68for further information.Securing device –lock, emergencyexit device orpanic exitdevice seeBS EN 12209, 71BS EN 179 72or BS EN 1125 73respectively forfurtherinformation.Hinges – see BS EN 1935 67 Annex B. Hingesshould be tested as part of the door set– see BS EN 1634-1 74 .Vision panel should be fire-resisting glazing.Door handles and locks – seeBS EN 1906 75 Annex C and BS EN 12209 71Annex A respectively for further information.Door handles and locks should be testedas part of door set see BS EN 1634-1 74for further information.Intumescent strip and cold smoke seal toresist the passage of smoke and fire.Figure 32: A fire door with smoke seals and intumescent stripsB3 door-fastening devicesThe relationship between the securingof doors against unwanted entry and theability to escape through them easily in anemergency has often proved problematical.Careful planning and the use of qualitymaterials remain the most effective meansof satisfying both of these objectives.Any device that impedes people makinggood their escape, either by beingunnecessarily complicated to manipulateor not being readily opened, will not beacceptable.Guidance on fire exits starts from theposition that doors on escape routes shouldnot be fitted with any locking devices.However, it is accepted that in many casesthe need for security will require some formof device that prevents unlimited access,but still enables the occupants of a buildingor area to open the door easily if there isa fire. These devices can take many formsbut, in the majority of cases, premiseswhere there are members of the publicpresent or others who are not familiarwith the building should use panic exit bardevices, (i.e. push bars or touch bars). SeeBS EN 1125 73 for further information.129

Premises that have limited numbers ofstaff or others who are familiar with thebuilding and where panic is not likely mayuse alternative devices, (i.e. push pads orlever handles). See BS EN 179 72 for furtherinformation.When only staff are on the premisesand there is a security issue, it may beacceptable to restrict the number ofemergency exits immediately available,e.g. when only security staff are presentat night or prior to opening to the publicin the morning. Staff should be made fullyaware of any restrictions and the number ofexits not immediately available should belimited.130

Appendix CglossaryThese definitions are provided to assist theappropriate person in understanding someof the technical terms used in this guide.They are not exhaustive and more precisedefinitions may be available in otherguidance.termAlterations noticeAlternative escape routeAppropriate personAs low as reasonablypracticableAutomatic fire-detectionsystemAutomatic fire-suppressionsystemdefinitionIf your site, event or venues are considered by theenforcing authority to be high risk, they may issue analterations notice that requires you to inform them beforemaking any material alterations to your site, event orvenue.Escape routes sufficiently separated by either directionand space, or by fire-resisting construction to ensure thatone is still available irrespective of the location of a fire.The person with duties as defined in Articles 25 & 26 ofthe Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order2006 1 .Is a concept where risks should continue to be reduceduntil you reach a point where the cost and effort to reducethe risk further would be grossly disproportionate to thebenefit achieved.A means of automatically detecting the products of a fireand sending a signal to a fire warning system. The designand installation should conform to BS 5839-3 76 . See ‘Firewarning’.A means of automatically suppressing or extinguishing afire.Child A person who has not attained the age of 16.Competent personDangerous substanceA person with enough training and experience orknowledge and other qualities to enable them properlyto assist in undertaking the preventive and protectivemeasures.1. A substance which because of its physico-chemical orchemical properties and the way it is used or is presentat the workplace creates a risk.2. A substance subject to the Dangerous Substance andExplosive Atmosphere Regulations (Northern Ireland)2003 15 .131

termDead endEmergency escape lightingEnforcing authorityEscape routeFalse alarmFinal exitFire Emergency PlanFire doorFire resistanceFire safety managerFire safety strategyFire stoppingFire-warning systemdefinitionArea from which escape is possible in one direction only.Lighting provided to illuminate escape routes that willfunction if the normal lighting fails.Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service or any otherauthority specified in the Fire and Rescue Services(Northern Ireland) Order 2006 1 .Route forming that part of the means of escape from anypoint in a site, event or venue to a final exit.A fire signal, usually from a fire warning system, resultingfrom a cause other than fire.An exit from a site, event or venue where people cancontinue to disperse in safety and where they are nolonger at danger from fire and/or smoke.A written operation methodology, forming part of theoverall Emergency Plan, to be implemented as applicablein the event of a fire.A door or shutter, together with its frame and furniture,provided for the passage of people, air or goods which,when closed is intended to restrict the passage of fireand/or smoke to a predictable level of performance.The ability of a component or construction of a buildingto satisfy, for a stated period of time, some or all ofthe appropriate criteria of BS EN 1363-1 77 , BS 476-7 63and associated standards. (Generally described as 30minutes fire-resisting or 60 minutes fire-resisting.)A nominated person with responsibility for carrying outday-to-day management of fire safety. (This may or may notbe the same as the ‘appropriate person’.)A number of planned and co-ordinated arrangementsdesigned to reduce the risk of fire and to ensure the safetyof people if there is a fire.A seal provided to close an imperfection of fit or designtolerance between elements or components, to restrict thepassage of fire and smoke.A means of alerting people to the existence of a fire. (Seeautomatic fire detection system.)132

termHazardous substanceHighly flammabledefinition1. See Dangerous substance.2. A substance subject to the Control of SubstancesHazardous to Health Regulations (Northern Ireland)2003 78 , as amended 2005 79 .Generally liquids with a flashpoint of below 21°C.The Chemicals (Hazard Information and Packaging forSupply) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009 80 give moredetailed guidance.Licensed premisesMaintained lightingMaterial changeMeans of escapePhased evacuationPlace of reasonable safetyPlace of total safetyPremisesRefugeAny site, event or venue that requires a licence under anystatute to undertake trade or conduct business activities.Emergency lighting that is kept illuminated at all relevanttimes.An alteration to a building, process or service whichsignificantly affects the level of risk in that building.Route(s) provided to ensure safe egress from a site, eventor venue or other locations to a place of total safety.A system of evacuation in which different parts of the site,event or venue are evacuated in a controlled sequence ofphases, those parts of the site, event or venue expected tobe at greatest risk being evacuated first.A place within a site, event or venue where, for a limitedperiod of time, people will have some protection from theeffects of fire and smoke. This place must allow people tocontinue their escape to a place of total safety.A place, away from the site, event or venue, in whichpeople are at no immediate danger from the effects of afire.Any place (including the open air), such as a building andthe immediate land bounded by any enclosure of it, anytent, moveable or temporary structure or any installationor workplace.An area of reasonable safety in which a disabled personmay rest before reaching a place of total safety. It shouldlead directly to a fire-resisting escape route.133

termSignificant findingdefinitionA feature of the site, event or venue, from which the firehazards and persons at risk are identified.The actions you have taken or will take to remove orreduce the chance of a fire occurring or the spread of fireand smoke.The actions people need to take in case of fire.The necessary information, instruction and trainingneeded and how it will be given.Smoke alarmStaged fire alarmTravel distanceWhere necessaryDevice containing within one housing all the components,except possibly the energy source, for detecting smokeand giving an audible alarm.A fire warning which can be given in two or more stages fordifferent purposes within a given area (e.g. notifying staff,stand by to evacuate, full evacuation).The actual distance to be travelled by a person from anypoint within the floor area to the nearest storey exit or finalexit, having regard to the layout of walls, partitions andfixings.The Order 1 and Regulations 2 require that fire precautions(such as firefighting equipment, fire detection and warning,and emergency routes and exits) should be provided (andmaintained) ‘where necessary’.What this means is that the fire precautions you mustprovide (and maintain) are those which are needed toreasonably protect relevant persons from risks to themin case of fire. This will be determined by the findings ofyour risk assessment including the preventative measuresyou have or will have taken. In practice, it is very unlikely,that a properly conducted fire risk assessment, whichtakes into account all the matters relevant for the safetyof persons in case of fire, will conclude that no fireprecautions (including maintenance) are necessary.Young person Any person who has not attained the age of 18.134

ReferencesThe following documents are referenced in this guide.1 The Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006, SI 2006 No 1254 (N.I. 9).The Stationery Office. ISBN 0110800370.2 The Fire Safety Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010, SR 2010 No 325. The StationeryOffice. ISBN 9780337982187.3 The Building Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000, SR 2000 No 389.4 Fire Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1984, No 1821 (N.I. 11). The Stationery Office.ISBN 9780110478210.5 The Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001, SR 2001 No348. The Stationery Office. ISBN 9780337940491.6 Management of Health and Safety at Work and Fire Precautions (Workplace)(Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003, SR 2003 No 454. The StationeryOffice. ISBN 9780337952609.7 The Licensing (Northern Ireland) Order 1996, SI 1996 No 3158 (N.I. 22). TheStationery Office ISBN 9780110634760.8 The Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Northern Ireland) Order 1985, No1208 (N.I. 15).9 The Safety of Sports Grounds (Northern Ireland) Order 2006, SI 2006 No 313 (N.I.2).10 The Northern Ireland Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds, Department of Culture, Artsand Leisure. The Stationery Office. ISBN 978033708871111 The Event Safety Guide: A guide to health, safety and welfare at music andsimilar events, HSG195, Health and Safety Executive. The Stationery Office. ISBN0717624536.12 Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996, SR1996 No 119. The Stationery Office, 1996. ISBN 9780337920790.13 Safety signs and signals. The Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Guidance onregulations, L64 (second edition) 2009. HSE Books. ISBN 978071766359.14 BS 9999. Code of practice for fire safety in the design management and use ofbuildings. British Standards Institution. ISBN 9780580579202.15 The Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations (Northern Ireland)2003, SR 2003 No 152. www.opsi.gov.uk16 Dangerous substances and explosive atmospheres. Dangerous Substances andExplosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002. Approved code of practice and guidance,L138. HSE Books, 2003. ISBN 0 7176 2203 7.17 Storage of full and empty LPG cylinders and cartridges. Code of Practice 7, UKLPG,2004. Available from www.uklpg.org.18 Explosives (Fireworks) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2002, SI 2002 No 147.www.opsi.gov.uk.19 The Pyrotechnic Articles (Safety) Regulations 2010, SI 2010 No 1554.www.opsi.gov.uk.20 The Explosives Act 1875 (C17). www.opsi.gov.uk.21 The Explosives Act (Northern Ireland) 1970 (C10). www.statutelaw.gov.uk.22 Manufacture and storage of Explosives Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006, SR 2006No 425. www.opsi.gov.uk.135

23 Manufacture and Storage of Explosives (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland)2009, SR 2009 No 248. www.opsi.gov.uk.24 The Carriage of Explosives Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010, SR 2010 No 59.www.opsi.gov.uk.25 Smoke and vapour effects used in entertainment, Entertainment Sheet No. 3. Healthand Safety Executive.26 Code of practice for pyrotechnics and smoke effects, Association of British TheatreTechnicians.27 HSG 123 – Working together on firework displays, HSG 123. Health and SafetyExecutive.28 Giving your own firework displays, HSH 124. Health and Safety Executive.29 Maintaining portable electrical equipment in offices and other low-risk environmentsINDG236. HSE Books, 1996. ISBN 0 7176 1272 4.30 The Electricity at Work Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1991, SR 1991 No 13.31 Offshore Noise and Electricity Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998, SR 1998 No 47.32 Health and Safety (Modifications) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999, SR 1999 No 150.33 The Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994, SI 1994/3260.34 The Smoking (Northern Ireland) Order 2006, SI 2006 No 2957 (NI 20).35 Construction (Design and Management) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007, SR 2007No 291. The Stationery Office, ISBN 9780337970474.36 Managing Health & Safety in Construction – Approved Code of Practice – TheConstruction (Design & Management) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007 ISBN9780717662234.37 Fire prevention on construction sites. The joint code of practice on the protection fromfire of construction sites and buildings undergoing renovation (seventh edition). TheFire Protection Association, 2009.38 BS 7837: Specification for the flammability performance for textiles used in theconstruction of marquees and similar textile structures. British Standards Institution.ISBN 0 580 24953 0.39 Temporary demountable structures: Guidance on procurement, design and use. 3rdedition, 2007. Institution of Structural Engineers.40 Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (c 50), The Stationery Office, 1995. ISBN9780105450955.41 Disability Discrimination (Northern Ireland) Order 2006, SI 2006 No 312 (NI 1), TheStationery Office, ISBN 9780110800202.42 BS 8300: Design of buildings and their approaches to meet the needs of disabledpeople. Code of practice. British Standards Institution. ISBN 0 580 57419 1.43 BS EN 54-11: Fire detection and fire alarm systems. Manual call points. BritishStandards Institution. ISBN 0 580 371026.44 BS 5839-1: Fire detection and fire alarm systems for buildings. Code of practice forsystem design, installation, commissioning and maintenance. British StandardsInstitution. ISBN 9780580604386.45 BS 5839-8: Fire detection and fire alarm systems for buildings. Code of practice for thedesign, installation, commissioning and maintenance of voice alarm systems. BritishStandards Institution. ISBN 978 0 580 55591 6.136

46 BS EN 60849: Sound systems for emergency purposes. British Standards Institution.ISBN 0 580 29929 5.47 BS 5306-8: Fire extinguishing installations and equipment on premises. Selectionand installation of portable fire extinguishers. Code of practice. British StandardsInstitution. ISBN 0 580 33203 9.48 Manual Handling Operations Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992, SR 1992 No 535.The Stationery Office. ISBN 9780337904356.49 BS EN 3-7: Portable fire extinguishers. Characteristics, performance requirements andtest methods. British Standards Institution.50 BS 5306-3: Fire extinguishing installations and equipment on premises.Commissioning and maintenance of portable fire extinguishers. Code of Practice.British Standards Institution. ISBN 0580572616.51 BS 7863: Recommendations for colour coding to indicate the extinguishingmedia contained in portable fire extinguishers. British Standards Institution. ISBN9780580634796.52 BS EN 671-3: Fixed firefighting systems. Hose systems. Maintenance of hose reels withsemi-rigid hose and hose systems with lay-flat hose. British Standards Institution. ISBN9780580564185.53 Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1993, SR 1993No 37. The Stationery Office. ISBN 9780337905377.54 BS 7671: Requirements for electrical installations. IEE Wiring Regulations. SeventeenthEdition. British Standards Institution.55 The Building Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000: Technical Booklet R – Access to anduse of buildings, 2006. www.dfpni.gov.uk.56 BS 5266-8: Emergency escape lighting systems. British Standards Institution.57 BS 5266-1: Emergency lighting. Code of practice for the emergency lighting ofpremises. British Standards Institution.58 BS 5499-5: Graphical symbols and signs. Safety signs, including fire safety signs. Signswith specific meanings. British Standards Institution.59 BS 5499-4: Safety signs, including fire safety signs. Code of practice for escape routesigning. British Standards Institution.60 BS 5266-6: Emergency lighting. Code of practice for non-electrical low mounted wayguidance systems for emergency use. Photoluminescent systems. British StandardsInstitution.61 Successful health and safety management, HSG65 (second edition). HSE Books, 1997.ISBN 0 7176 1276 7.62 The Building Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000: Technical Booklet E – Fire Safety2005. www.dfpni.gov.uk.63 BS 476-7: Fire tests on building materials and structures. Method of test to determinethe classification of the surface spread of flame of products. British StandardsInstitution.64 BS EN 13501-1: Fire classification of construction products and building elements.Classification using test data from reaction to fire tests. British Standards Institution.65 Guidelines for the construction of fire resisting structural elements, BR128. BuildingResearch Establishment, 1988.137

66 BS 4787-1: Internal and external wood doorsets, door leaves and frames. Specificationfor dimensional requirements. British Standards Institution.67 BS EN 1935: Building hardware. Single-axis hinges. Requirements and test methods.British Standards Institution. ISBN 0 580 39272 4.68 BS EN 1154: Building hardware. Controlled door closing devices. Requirements andtest methods. British Standards Institution. ISBN 0 580 27476 4.69 BS 8214: Code of practice for fire door assemblies. British Standards Institution.ISBN 0 580 530326.70 Code of Practice. Hardware for Fire and Escape Doors. Door and Hardware Federation/Guild of Architectural Ironmongers, 2009.71 BS EN 12209: Building hardware. Locks and latches. Mechanically operated locks,latches and locking plates. Requirements and test methods. British StandardsInstitution.72 BS EN 179: Building hardware. Emergency exit devices operated by a lever handle orpush pad for use on escape routes. Requirements and test methods. British StandardsInstitution. ISBN 9780580624513.73 BS EN 1125: Building hardware. Panic exit devices operated by a horizontal bar for useon escape routes. Requirements and test methods. British Standards Institution.74 BS EN 1634-1: Fire resistance and smoke control tests for door, shutter and openablewindow assemblies and elements of building hardware. Fire resistance tests for doors,shutters and openable windows. British Standards Institution. ISBN 9780580606113.75 BS EN 1906: Building hardware. Lever handles and knob furniture. Requirements andtest methods. British Standards Institution.76 BS 5839-3: Fire detection and alarm systems for buildings. Specification for automaticrelease mechanisms for certain fire protection equipment. British StandardsInstitution. ISBN 9780580598852.77 BS EN 1363-1: Fire resistance tests. General requirements. British StandardsInstitution. ISBN 0 580 32419 2.78 Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003,SR 2003 No 34.79 The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (Amendment) Regulations (NorthernIreland) 2005, SR 2005 No 165.80 Chemicals (Hazard Information and Packaging for Supply) Regulations (NorthernIreland) 2009, SR 2009 No 238.138

Further readingThe latest versions of all documents listedin this section should be used, includingany amendments.Any views expressed in these documentsare not necessarily those of the DHSSPS.document numberBS 4422BS PD 6512-3BS EN 81BS EN 81-70BS 5041-1BS 5041-2BS 5041-3BS 5041-4BS 5041-5BS 9990BS 7944BS EN 1869titleFire. Vocabulary. British Standards Institution.Use of elements of structural fire protection with particularreference to the recommendations given in BS 5588 Fireprecautions in the design and construction of buildings.Guide to the fire performance of glass. British StandardsInstitution.Safety rules for the construction and installation of lifts.British Standards Institution.Safety rules for the construction and installation oflifts. Particular applications for passenger and goodspassenger lifts. Accessibility to lifts for persons includingpersons with disability. British Standards Institution.Fire hydrant systems equipment. Specification for landingvalves for wet risers. British Standards Institution.Fire hydrant systems equipment. Specification for landingvalves for dry risers. British Standards Institution.Fire hydrant systems equipment. Specification forinlet breechings for dry riser inlets. British StandardsInstitution.Fire hydrant systems equipment. Specification forboxes for landing valves for dry risers. British StandardsInstitution.Fire hydrant systems equipment. Specification for boxesfor foam inlets and dry riser inlets. British StandardsInstitution.Code of practice for non-automatic firefighting systems inbuildings. British Standards Institution.Type 1 heavy duty fire blankets and type 2 heavy duty heatprotective blankets. British Standards Institution.Fire blankets. British Standards Institution.139

BS EN 15004-1BS 5266-2BS EN 60598-1BS 5499-1BS EN 1634-3BS EN 14637BS EN 45020BS EN 1995-1-2BS 9999Fixed firefighting systems. Gas extinguishing systems.Design, installation and maintenance. British StandardsInstitution.Emergency lighting. Code of practice for electrical lowmounted way guidance systems for emergency use. BritishStandards Institution.Luminaires. General requirements and tests. BritishStandards Institution.Graphical symbols and signs. Safety signs, including firesafety signs. Specification for geometric shapes, coloursand layout. British Standards Institution.Fire resistance and smoke control tests for door andshutter assemblies, openable windows and elements ofbuilding hardware. Smoke control test for door and shutterassemblies. British Standards Institution.Building hardware. Electrically controlled hold-opensystems for fire/smoke door assemblies. Requirements,test methods, application and maintenance. BritishStandards Institution.Standardisation and related activities. General vocabulary.British Standards Institution.Eurocode 5. Design of timber structures. Generalstructural fire design. British Standards Institution.Code of practice for fire safety in the design, managementand use of buildings.Chemicals (Hazard Information and Packaging for Supply) Regulations (Northern Ireland)2009, SR 2009 No 238. The Stationery Office. ISBN 9780337978081.Supporting guides: The idiot’s guide to CHIP 3: Chemicals (Hazard Information andPackaging for Supply) Regulations, 2002, INDG350. HSE Books, 2002. ISBN 0 7176 2333 5;CHIP for everyone, HSG228. HSE Books, 2002. ISBN 0 7176 2370 X.Ensuring best practice for passive fire protection in buildings. Associaton for Specialist FireProtection, 2004. ISBN 1 870409 19 1.Smoke shafts protecting fire shafts: their performance and design, BRE Project Report79204. Building Research Establishment, 2002.Fire safety of PTFE-based material used in building, BRE Report 274. Building ResearchEstablishment, 1994. ISBN 0 851256 53 8.140

Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000, SR 2000No 388 (amended 2006, SR 2006 No 255)Management of health and safety at work. Management of Health and Safety at WorkRegulations 1999. Approved code of practice and guidance, L21 (second edition). HSEBooks, 2000. ISBN 0 7176 2488 9.141

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This guide is for employers, managers, occupiers and owners of open air events and venues. It tells you what youhave to do to comply with fire safety law, helps you to carry out a fire risk assessment and identify the general fireprecautions you need to have in place.Other guides in the series:GuideMain useOffices and shopsISBN: 978 0 33709 718 8Offices and retail premises (including individual units within larger premises, e.g. shopping centres).Factories and warehousesISBN: 978 0 33709 723 2Factories and warehouse storage premises.Sleeping accommodationISBN: 978 0 33709 717 1Residential care premisesISBN: 978 0 33709 724 9Educational premisesISBN: 978 0 33709 725 6All premises where the main use is to provide sleeping accommodation, e.g. hotels, guest houses, B&Bs,hostels, residential training centres, holiday accommodation and the common areas of flats, maisonettes,HMOs and sheltered housing (other than those providing care – see Residential care premises), but excludinghospitals, residential care premises, places of custody and single private dwellings.Residential care and nursing homes, common areas of sheltered housing (where care is provided) and similarpremises, which are permanently staffed and where the primary use is the provision of care rather thanhealthcare (see Healthcare premises).Teaching establishments ranging from pre-school through to universities, except the residential parts (seeSleeping accommodation).Small and medium places of assemblyISBN: 978 0 33709 722 5Smaller public houses, clubs, restaurants and cafés, village halls, community centres, libraries, marquees,churches and other places of worship or study accommodating up to 300 people.Large places of assemblyISBN: 978 0 33709 726 3Theatres, cinemas and similar premisesISBN: 978 0 33709 720 1Larger premises where more than 300 people could gather, e.g. shopping centres (not the individual shops),large nightclubs and pubs, exhibition and conference centres, sports stadia, marquees, museums, libraries,churches, cathedrals and other places of worship or study.Theatres, cinemas, concert halls and similar premises used primarily for this purpose.Open air events and venuesISBN: 978 0 33709 721 8Open air events, e.g. theme parks, zoos, music concerts, sporting events (not stadia – see Large places ofassembly), fairgrounds and county fairs.Healthcare premisesISBN: 978 0 33709 719 5Premises where the primary use is the provision of healthcare (including private), e.g. hospitals, doctors’surgeries, dentists and other similar healthcare premises.Transport premises and facilitiesISBN: 978 0 33709 727 0Animal premises and stablesISBN: 978 0 33709 728 7Transportation terminals and interchanges, e.g. airports, railway stations, transport tunnels, ports, bus andcoach stations and similar premises but excluding the means of transport (e.g. trains, buses, planes andships).Agricutural premises, stables, livery yards and stables within zoos, large animal sanctuaries or farm parks.Supplementary GuidesFire Safety Law – The evacuation ofdisabled people from buildingsISBN: 978 0 33709 716 4Fire Safety Law – Are you aware of yourresponsibilities?This guide is a supplement to be read alongside other guides in this series. It provides additional informationon accessibility and means of escape.This guide provides an overview to the changes to fire safety law.ISBN: 978 0 33709 715 7Published by TSO (The Stationery Office) and available from:Onlinewww.tsoshop.co.uk£12Mail, Telephone, Fax & E-mailTSOPO Box 29, Norwich, NR3 1GNTelephone orders/General enquiries: 0870 600 5522Fax orders: 0870 600 5533E-mail: customer.services@tso.co.ukTextphone 0870 240 3701TSO@Blackwell and other Accredited Agents