This topic was revisited today when it came to a tee. The
scenic designer and I were present for a fire dept walkthrough of the set. The deputy fire chief examined the set. He noted an elevated 8'
platform and concerns for it. Then he elaborated that his understanding from the building inspector was that platforms elevated above a certain height were required to meet code, then requested we contact the building inspector for a review of our structures, with a follow-up meeting the night before opening night with both himself and the building inspector both present.
A phone
call to the building inspector quickly went down an unexpected path when the inspector asked, "Are you applying for a permit for this?" We said no, as it's a temporary theatrical set. He told us he disagreed about our assessment of whether or not a permit is required. Since then, I have noted the passage earlier in this thread from
IBC about theatrical scenery being specifically exempted from permit regulations.
This quickly shifted up the food chain when the
scenic designer I spoke with the director and the arts center manager, who immediately called the building and grounds supervisor. B&G supervisor told us he agreed with us that permitting was not appropriate, and that permitting was not part of his agreement with the fire dept. The terms of that agreement were that the school district would give the fire dept a heads up when a set is on
stage and schedule an inspection, and if they had concerns about structural elements, they could contact the building inspector for an unofficial, informal peer review.
We have a meeting with the building inspector tomorrow, but currently the understanding we share with the B&G supervisor is that the building inspector has no jurisdiction or mechanism of enforcement. His comments are purely advisory for the purposes of limiting potential
safety hazards in an academic setting, and we can choose to ignore them or act upon them as we deem necessary. Ultimately, we need to feel comfortable that the set is safe, and the school district believes this to be the best way to do that. I will likely advise them after this that they'd be better off giving a couple hundred bucks to a technical director nearby and bring them in to provide a peer review from someone with a history in theatrical scenic construction. Bringing someone in whose experience is in building construction will lead to a large number of grievances that are irrelevant because they are comparing against non-applicable building codes.