Public entertainment fire safety: layouts, equipment and inspections

FSD's entertainment-premises guidance covers different categories, including temporary venues and cinemas or theatres. Establish the activity, area and application category rather than reusing a checklist from another event.

Collect the venue's existing approval records and proposed seating and stage layout, and list temporary additions. Ask the person coordinating the application to confirm the applicable process before seeking trade quotations.

Stages, display panels, curtains and equipment cases can obstruct signs or fire installations. Review the final arrangement rather than an empty-room photograph, and revisit the review when the layout changes materially.

Use a shared coordination schedule for emergency lighting, alarms, escape routes and material records. This helps the venue, organiser and contractors identify responsibilities while there is still time to resolve missing information.

Include testing, rectification and inspection support in the programme. Where the event date is fixed, agree access, connected-system testing and reinstatement responsibilities early instead of compressing them into the final setup period.

When temporary installations are removed, check whether the original fire systems were affected. Arrange for the venue representative to receive reinstatement records and any outstanding actions before the next booking.