Help Understanding Fire Codes/Safety

[SalvatoreDelorean]

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.

 

[Morte615]

Call up your local fire department and ask to speak to the Fire Inspector. Set up a meeting and ask him what they would prefer, nothing better than getting it from the horses mouth per say.

But ususally inside a theater anything that hangs should be flame treated. Most flats and such end up being treated by paint, just make sure you get paint that is rated or the additive for the paints.

 

[techieman33]

Agreed, talk to your local fire marshal. Most of them are more than happy to come out and talk to you and tell you what they like to see. Sometimes things get sketchy over jurisdiction if it's a state university though. You might try calling the university maintenance dept and find out who has jurisdiction over the university.

 

[venuetech]

understand I am no fire code expert, chapter 8 Section 807 is the closest to what you are asking. only your local fire marshal is going to be able to answer your questions.
IMHO drops and drapery, need to be flameproofed

 

[Lextech]

Start with your safety department. They should have a working relationship with the AHJ from the city/county and between the two of them answer any questions you have. I'll stress again start with YOUR safety department, the last thing you want to do is go over their heads.

 

[RickR]

It might be helpful to know that a lot of industry standards on safety and other points are now free from PLSA. http://tsp.plasa.org/tsp/documents/published_docs.php

http://eventsafetyalliance.org/ is also a good source of information. These should help you back up your arguments with some real authority from our industry. Many times others don't want to get involved as they don't know what we do, and those are the good ones. The outside folks that think they know what we should do are a very different story.

Its been years if not decades, but I recall that some paints act as fire retardants.

 

[kicknargel]

Yes, as others have said, there is no one standard that all theatres are held to. Local codes vary, as do their interpretations by Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJs - usually fire marshals). The size of your venue, existence of a fly loft, fire curtain, sprinkler system, etc all factor in. Take the advice from above, and go through proper channels to get answers from your AHJ.

That said, there are some UNOFFICIAL industry standards. And I'm sure opinions on these will vary as well. Here's what I've experienced. I welcome others' input. There are some different levels, again based on circumstance.

At the most basic level, which I think everyone should adhere to:

• all drapes / softgoods made with inherently retardant material or regularly and professionally treated.
• all painted drops using flame retardant (FR ) additive in the base coat and back-sprayed with FR (you don't want to paint on pre-flame-treated muslin as the FR will leach out)
• no raw wood on stage. All surfaces painted (latex and acrylic paint have some FR properties)
• any paper or highly combustable materials treated
• test combustibility of plastics. You'd be surprised.

A step up:

• FR additive added to all paint

The best:

• all wood, etc substrates treated with FR before painting, or painted with Class-A rated intumescent paints
• all materials subject to flame-testing. I've seen variations, but it involves holding a flame (lighter or sometimes torch) to a corner for x seconds. The material must self-extinguish in y seconds.

 

[BillConnerFASTC]

From 2012 NFPA 101 - The Life Safety Code:

12.7.4 Furnishings, Decorations, and Scenery.
12.7.4.1 Fabrics and films used for decorative purposes, all draperies and curtains, and similar furnishings shall be in accordance with the provisions of 10.3.1.
12.7.4.2 The authority having jurisdiction shall impose controls on the quantity and arrangement of combustible contents in assembly occupancies to provide an adequate level of safety to life from fire.
12.7.4.3* Exposed foamed plastic materials and unprotected materials containing foamed plastic used for decorative purposes or stage scenery shall have a heat release rate not exceeding 100 kW where tested in accordance with one of the following:
(1) ANSI/UL 1975, Standard for Fire Tests for Foamed Plastics Used for Decorative Purposes
(2) NFPA 289, Standard Method of Fire Test for Individual Fuel Packages, using the 20 kW ignition source
12.7.4.4 The requirement of 12.7.4.3 shall not apply to individual foamed plastic items and items containing foamed plastic where the foamed plastic does not exceed 1 lb (0.45 kg) in weight.

The explanatory note to 12.7.3.3 reaqds:
A.12.7.4.3 The phrase “unprotected materials containing foamed plastic” is meant to include foamed plastic items covered by “thermally thin” combustible fabrics or paint. (See A.10.2.3.4.)

Generally, I'd say impossible for most of you to meet this requirement. The only items tested are things like a styrofoam "head" for displaying hats and wigs, and other such items. A sheet of foam from a big box store is not tested and how you install or use it would greatly affect the results of any test anyways. Some shops cover the foam objects - I can remember a buddha from long ago - with FR muslin and drywall mud perhaps with white glue added - and have gotten approval for eth fire marshall. As others poiint out with codes and local authorities, YMMV.

And the reference to 10.3.1:
10.3.1* Where required by the applicable provisions of this Code, draperies, curtains, and other similar loosely hanging furnishings and decorations shall meet the flame propagation performance criteria contained in NFPA701, Standard Methods of Fire Tests for Flame Propagation of Textiles and Films.

There is not a field test any longer in 701, so it's almost impossible to know on anything other than curtains and drops you buy with that documentation.

You could rate this "not very helpful" and I won't disagree, but at least it might explain why it's a hard issue to grasp and discuss.

 

[SalvatoreDelorean]

At the most basic level, which I think everyone should adhere to:

• all drapes / softgoods made with inherently retardant material or regularly and professionally treated.
• all painted drops using flame retardant (FR ) additive in the base coat and back-sprayed with FR (you don't want to paint on pre-flame-treated muslin as the FR will leach out)
• no raw wood on stage. All surfaces painted (latex and acrylic paint have some FR properties)
• any paper or highly combustable materials treated
• test combustibility of plastics. You'd be surprised.

Thank you! This is exactly what I was looking for. I'll definitely get in touch with my local fire department as well, to make sure we're not doing anything blatantly wrong, but it's great to get some practical advice to get started with