SalvatoreDelorean
Member
Hi everyone!
I work in a student-run college theater that's historically done things rather sketchily, and I'm trying to implement some new standards to make sure things are done safely. There's not a ton of oversight from the department, and there aren't a ton of knowledgable people to consult, so I've been scraping information together from internet sources and various people in the field.
What I'm trying to figure out at the moment is fire safety. This was prompted by a show that requires a few fully-painted 30'x18' drops. Common sense made me think that a piece of cloth with three gallons of paint in it should be fire-retarded before being hung from a grid with lighting instruments on it, but it got me wondering about exactly what does and doesn't need to be fire-retarded in a theater. We're working in a black box, so no there's no fire curtain or anything, just a sketchy grid. I've hung unpainted, fabric drops with no retardant and no incidents before; should those have been fire-retarded? Are there general guidelines for how big a piece of hung fabric needs to be before it's treated with fire retardant? Are there material guidelines? I know Rosco makes flame retardant for wood as well, should flats and platforms be fire-treated?
Everyone I've talked to has essentially said "follow your local fire codes." I've been reading Seattle's fire code, and it's a massive document full of dense legalese, and I'm having trouble picking out anything that could be applied to a theater space. I'd love if someone could shine some light on this, and recommend some basic, useful, do's-and-don'ts of working with fire safety in mind. The Seattle fire code is based on the IBC code, so I'm guessing that if there are generally accepted industry-wide guidelines, they'd be applicable in my jurisdiction. I'm not particularly worried about being shut down by a fire inspection, I'm just more interested in doing things in a generally safe manner.
Thanks! I appreciate any insight you might have.
I work in a student-run college theater that's historically done things rather sketchily, and I'm trying to implement some new standards to make sure things are done safely. There's not a ton of oversight from the department, and there aren't a ton of knowledgable people to consult, so I've been scraping information together from internet sources and various people in the field.
What I'm trying to figure out at the moment is fire safety. This was prompted by a show that requires a few fully-painted 30'x18' drops. Common sense made me think that a piece of cloth with three gallons of paint in it should be fire-retarded before being hung from a grid with lighting instruments on it, but it got me wondering about exactly what does and doesn't need to be fire-retarded in a theater. We're working in a black box, so no there's no fire curtain or anything, just a sketchy grid. I've hung unpainted, fabric drops with no retardant and no incidents before; should those have been fire-retarded? Are there general guidelines for how big a piece of hung fabric needs to be before it's treated with fire retardant? Are there material guidelines? I know Rosco makes flame retardant for wood as well, should flats and platforms be fire-treated?
Everyone I've talked to has essentially said "follow your local fire codes." I've been reading Seattle's fire code, and it's a massive document full of dense legalese, and I'm having trouble picking out anything that could be applied to a theater space. I'd love if someone could shine some light on this, and recommend some basic, useful, do's-and-don'ts of working with fire safety in mind. The Seattle fire code is based on the IBC code, so I'm guessing that if there are generally accepted industry-wide guidelines, they'd be applicable in my jurisdiction. I'm not particularly worried about being shut down by a fire inspection, I'm just more interested in doing things in a generally safe manner.
Thanks! I appreciate any insight you might have.