Minimalist stage lighting for outdoor production.

[adam2]

I am not in charge of this event, but simply advising WRT lighting and electricity supply.

The organisers consider that less elaborate safety requirements are fine for a grass field rather than a building. Both vehicles are well equipped with fire extinguishers.

 

[Jivemaster]

Ultimately the council licensing officer and/or the local fire officer can turn up and demand to see the licence and check that everything meets the current standards including fire retardance, fire extinguishers, communications, emergency lights, exit signs and lots more. 

The fire officer can likely turn up in the hour before "curtain up" meaning that you have no time to correct anything. Without a licence you can get stopped and everything seized.

"The Organisers" may opine but will the Fire Officer agree? Will you and your equipment get stuck in the middle? Someone is actually responsible for the safety of all people involved from the public highway and back to the highway. If you think it's not you then you need to know who is responsible (and insured). How will you be if this goes pear shaped and you get sued for injuries or just lose equipment?

[alistermorton]

The only times I've been involved with this sort of performance in a park event, the licencing have allowed that the existing pathway lighting of the park served as emergency lighting, and our stage and "house" lighting was in addition to that.

[sunray]

7 hours ago, Jivemaster said:

Without a licence you can get stopped and everything seized.

Several years back I received an email asking for a price to supply quite a lot of mains cables, but the poor description of the requirements put me off, I don't recall if I even replied.

Some weeks later I watched kit being 'confiscated' at an illegal rave on the local news...

 

I think I posted it on here but a quick search didn't find it.

Edited May 23 by sunray

[Jivemaster]

As their advisor for (as you say) electricity and lighting, in the event of an incident you will be at risk for damages if anyone gets hurt vaguely related to electricity or lighting.

[Junior8]

Just to reinforce my hint earlier - has a licence actually been applied for?

[adam2]

2 hours ago, Junior8 said:

Just to reinforce my hint earlier - has a licence actually been applied for?

Not as far as I know.

This event is being held in the extensive grounds of a fee paying school. Only open to invited guests who have some connection with the school, not to the general public.

The school buildings are equipped with emergency lighting, fire exits, and fire alarms, but they consider such to be not needed outdoors. Or in more detail.

Fire alarm not needed in a field.

Emergency lighting is provided by use of two independent supplies for the normal lighting.

Fire proofing, curtains and drapes are fire retardant, the rest of the field is not. In the event of severe drought the surroundings will be watered to reduce risks of grass catching  fire.

[Stuart91]

17 hours ago, sunray said:

Several years back I received an email asking for a price to supply quite a lot of mains cables, but the poor description of the requirements put me off, I don't recall if I even replied.

Some weeks later I watched kit being 'confiscated' at an illegal rave on the local news...

This gives me happy memories of the tail end of lockdown, when there were all manner of furtive events going on. We found ourselves having to quiz punters on what they were doing with kit before letting it out to them. 

[sleah]

1 hour ago, adam2 said:

Only open to invited guests who have some connection with the school, not to the general public.

I've no idea about license requirements etc so won't comment, other than to say - I work in a fee paying school - in our case (and probably any other school?) anyone who is not a paid member of staff or currently enrolled student is effectively treated as a member of public. This is in terms of both safeguarding and H&S etc. The only exception is when visitors are DBS checked (by the school) but that's only a safeguarding issue.

[ImagineerTom]

3 hours ago, adam2 said:

Fire alarm not needed in a field

Again just to be really picky - the school teacher may have decided that is not the case but the law isn’t so loose. Lots of safety regulations require a “fire alarm” (a way of notifying the crowd of an incident and the need to evacuate immediately) to be used in open air situations. Outdoor music festivals have a whole infrastructure of fire exits, secondary and backup  lighting systems, backup PA systems, trained staff with megaphones and portable lights, fire extinguishers and literal fire engines on site ready to react even though the entire event is “in a field”

We’ve also had to install “fire alarm” (heat or smoke detection systems) in tents, trailers, under grandstands, under stages - again the law (and the risk assessment your insurer will expect you to have to be covered) requires appropriate monitoring systems or processes in place to ensure a small fault can’t grow into a big fire unseen and suddenly become a really big problem.  
 

The idea that because it’s outside or not a public event means that it doesn’t need proper safety systems or to follow current safety legislations (and best practice) is a nonsense. Whether the audience is the public, visitors, employees or somewhere in between the obligation to be safe always remains however inconvenient that might be to the administrators  

[themadhippy]

Quote

Outdoor music festivals have a whole infrastructure of fire exits, secondary and backup  lighting systems, backup PA systems, trained staff with megaphones and portable lights, fire extinguishers and literal fire engines on site ready to react even though the entire event is “in a field”

maybe in the world of glastonbury size events,but the 2 day festy in the field at the back of the local pub certainly dont. About the only thing the license bod is interested in  is you wont be disturbing the neighbours

[adam2]

2 hours ago, ImagineerTom said:

 

We’ve also had to install “fire alarm” (heat or smoke detection systems) in tents, trailers, under grandstands, under stages - again the law (and the risk assessment your insurer will expect you to have to be covered) requires appropriate monitoring systems or processes in place to ensure a small fault can’t grow into a big fire unseen and suddenly become a really big problem.  

Very sensible, but in this case only one small tent, (more of a garden gazebo than a proper tent) with a maximum occupancy of 4 persons and two exits.

No trailers, no grandstands, no raised stage, actors stand directly on the grass. No vehicles near enough to be a danger in the event of fire. In the unlikely event that a vehicle catches fire, less risk than in a supermarket car park.

Edited May 24 by adam2

[ImagineerTom]

4 hours ago, themadhippy said:

maybe in the world of glastonbury size events,but the 2 day festy in the field at the back of the local pub certainly dont. About the only thing the license bod is interested in  is you wont be disturbing the neighbours

I’m acutely aware that blue room posts appear in google searches so whilst I’m not specifically expecting the OP to have this level of emergency planning it it’s important that the claim that “fire alarms aren’t needed outdoors” is corrected otherwise someone else will be hosting a bigger event and decide they don’t need safety infrastructure because someone on a knowledgable forum said it was fine and no one corrected it. 

[Jivemaster]

Very simply, this event MAY be within the school's normal activities or not, and may come under their authority or not. The only way to determine this is to speak to the school and the local authority licensing official. It may or may not be your responsibility to do this checking BUT if things go pear shaped and someone get's hurt then liability WILL land on everyone involved. Lawyers would prefer to find people with insurance to take liability because then they have someone to supply money.

The event may go well but if it "has issues" then you as an advisor could have a liability for damages, if the event is simply unlicensed then your equipment could be seized and forfeit.

The simple question to ask is "Is there a licence in place for this performance?" A Licence or temporary event notice means that the council have approved the event and the measures taken to ensure the safety of the audience and cast. It also defines the Event Manager. Without a licence it's just as illegal as an illegal rave.

Assume that with a three page topic(so far), someone locally will have advance knowledge of the event.

[kerry davies]

14 hours ago, themadhippy said:

maybe in the world of glastonbury size events,but the 2 day festy in the field at the back of the local pub certainly dont. About the only thing the license bod is interested in  is you wont be disturbing the neighbours

You may not notice much EHO action but the pub already holds a premises licence and when I held a premises licence for a local meadow the EHO/LO was across the event like a rash. The fire officer was more marginally involved but my getting the local brigade to do their exploding chip pan demo and provide their river rescue display ticked all his boxes.

Doing community festivals we had fire fighting kit, security barriers, first aid kits and mini versions of everything Glasto has including RA's and event manuals for those with more than about 1,000 attendees. The fire RA is, like all of them, a legal requirement. Even those events funded and equipped by the local council often saw LO and EHO inspections.