"Won't that be safe enough?"

[photoatdv]

Sounds like our dimmer room--depending on how everything is set up that room can get REALLY hot. So if we are running something close to max capacity, they trip. When we have problems with that we prop the door open, but we have to put cahirs or something in the way so that (non tech)people can't get in there. Not ideal, but if need be we could get the whatever out of the way in like 5 seconds.

The one thing that really bothers me about the way out dimmers/ electrical system is set up is that the (only) main breaker is in the dimmer room which there are only about 3teachers with keys for. So if something were to go wrong it would take us several minutes to get in there IF there happened to be someone on campus with a key. Personally I think there should be an emergency disconnect somewhere accessable (in a glass box like the fire extinguishers if need be)

 

[lieperjp]

Ours are in our booth, we have 10 NSI 6-channel packs on a rack. The fuse box for these is literally three feet away. Since this box is just for the dimmers (and the lights/some of the outlets in the booth) we could just pull the main switch on the panel or individually shut off all 10 dimmers (and the are only on when in use - we flip the breakers off when not in use to save electricity.)

 

[SteveB]

I am not 100% sure on this issue, but I think that emergency lighting backstage is supposed to be the stage/work lights in their "emergency" cue (which was controlled by a button at the SM console at the PAC).

Mike

My thoughts;

1) Regardless of whether there are audience members on stage or not, some form of exit lighting is (or should be) required. To this issue, the college recently installed LED exit lights backstage in the adjacent road house, but not any kind of emergency lighting. They did not follow thru in the 500 seat house, possibly as the building is undergoing a major renovation in a years time, with the entire structure DS of prosc. being torn down. In theory, the new facility will then be brought up to code. But that's all a year away, with at least 1 or 2 productions remaining.

2) I would think that emergency lighting would be required, so as to allow backstage employees to find the exits, for the same reason there is emergency lighting in the audience chamber. So once there's an audience on stage, it becomes the audience chamber and all applicable codes apply. Or so I believe.

3) What you are describing to allow normal backstage work lights to become "emergency" lighting, is only code compliant if the lights are dual fed from an automatic switch/relay of some kind that provides generator or battery backup power to same lights. You can do this (and it's quite common) for "house" lights, instead of going to stand alone flood lights. Floodlights are easier and cheaper to retro-fit to an existing space and are immensely ugly.

Steve B.