No more halogens

[Sayen]

A recent memo on fire safety, distributed to our entire district, stated among other things that we are not allowed to have any electrical cords, multi-plug adapters, or halogen lamps on campus. I laughed, figured it was common sense that the rules did not apply to theater, and threw out the memo...until I was hauled into a very serious meeting today to inform me that there were multiple citations against my space for several lights (the name of which, oddly, wasn't familiar, and I have no idea which fixtures they meant) that must be removed immediately because they use halogen lamps.

At some point someone is going to notice the rest of my inventory - cables and two-fers included. The box of halogen lamps by my office door should make for an interesting conversation.

It couldn't have been much of an inspection, since they missed the other safety violations in the area, oddly enough.

Are there any codes or standards I can show to the AHJ/Fire Martial to demonstrate that this is safe, standard, and somewhat necessary for what we do? I hate to sound lazy, but if I don't demonstrate this soon I'm worried that this will snowball among those who are in charge, but don't know better.

[Sony]

Sit down with them IN the theatre physically and ask them what exactly is wrong. Have them point it out and then write it down. I would suggest being completely honest and rational with them...explaining to them that it is a theatre and that all of the theatrical fixtures are Halogen's and that there is no NON-Halogen types of fixtures being produced for theatres due to the wattage, light output and need for dimming. Explain to the Fire Marshall that all theatres in the world use these fixtures, connectors and cables and are all UL Listed and Approved for use in a space like yours. Honestly...any rational person should be able to understand this and if not then I would start making a ruckus with the town and local newspapers since obviously if the Fire Marshall doesn't understand this...then he doesn't truly know how to do his job properly.

There are Building Codes in place that do specify the standards for theatrical buildings. They are in the NFPA 70E I forget what section, but it's all in there.

[Esoteric]

Yeah, I would go to the NFPA 70E. That is the craziest thing I have ever heard. Like Sony said, go through the theater with them and have a rational conversation. If there are other theaters in the area ask them if they are getting the same hassel. Seek to educate rather than confront at first. If, after a lengthy conversation they persist, then go up the ladder, because this person obviously has no idea how to do their job.

Mike

[Grog12]

Somebody probably burned down a building because the idiot plugged too many halogen lamps into one socket. Which means the lawyers got all nervous.

As has been said before educate them because if you just go behind their backs they'll go even crazier on you when they find out what's going on.

[Malabaristo]

The applicabble part of the NEC is Article 520 (Theatres, performance areas, etc). Reading through it and becoming familiar with the specific rules goes a long way towards convincing people that you know what you're talking about. Offer to work with them to establish a policy that is more appropriate to the theatre. That should help show that you're not just looking to shirk the rules, and are really interested in establishing safe practices.

It's also worth pointing out the significant differences between a cheap, open halogen fixture, and a piece of UL listed equipment that was carefully designed to meet the very special requirements of theatrical use. Yeah, they get hot, but in a very controllable and safe way.

[gafftaper]

You are in a big city. Call the TD at the biggest theater in town and ask them what they have been told on the topic. I like the idea of sitting down with the Fire Marshall, but as my own experience has shown, you need to be careful. The Marshall has a lot of power to interpret things his own way. We ran into all kinds of problems with our new building where the Marshall was interpreting things dramatically different from the way the code is typically interpreted. Get as much information as you can before you have that meeting or you risk having all your fixtures taken away.

[Footer]

Also, go through and check all your cable and fixtures. Make sure nothing is frayed and everything has proper strain relief. If you have any home made two-fers, junk them and buy molded ones. You might also want to check to see last time your soft good were fireproofed. Don't let anything stupid pull your under. Firemarshals can make your day very bad very quickly.

[Pie4Weebl]

If I am reading this correctly it is a school district wide thing and not a fire martial thing... I bet they don't even know most of the theatrical lights are halogen and they are probably talking about a work light left out or something stupid like that.

[Footer]

Wait... they also want everyone to get rid of their power strips and extension cords?

Well, if you want to take a gamble you could tell them everything you have is halogen, but they could replace all those fixtures with 100 movers that take HMI lamps. If it doesn't guess you have to light your shows with your ghost light.

[BillESC]

I think I'd remove every halogen fixture and put them in storage. The next time something is scheduled for the auditorium let them do it in the dark.

Or, you could design a new lighting system of LEDs and discharge movers and show them the quote. Maybe they'll see the light!