I have a strong canto 1200 in my theatre and I'm pretty fond of it. The price is right especially when compared to the midget. The lycian spots in my experience (and I've worked on them all) are pretty beefy for touring or applications where they are getting moved in and out like by production...
A little education without sounding condescending can go a long way. The job of Fire Marshall is very discretionary and they often err on the side of safety. That's the side I like to err on as well. If you can provide research and examples on what is being done in other venues and is...
I assume the floor has already been a consideration since you don't want to go thru. If you have to use a gas one you can keep your bay door open and use some big fans to pull fumes out. I had to do that in a similar situation and it worked ok for short periods of time. Nobody else could be...