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Gil Fried, J.D. |
Gil Fried is an associate professor
at the University of New Haven where he coordinates graduate programs
in Management of Sports Industries and Facility Management, which
are endorsed by the International Association of Assembly Managers
(IAAM). Fried has worked with the IAAM on various projects from
train the trainer programs to developing case studies for the International
Crowd Management Conference. He is a well-known attorney in the
sport facility area and serves as general counsel for several sport
facility associations. He also serves as the director of risk management
for OR&L Facility Management where he helps monitor risks and
safety issues for several million square feet of public facilities
managed by OR&L Facilities Management. He has written several
books on risk and facility management and speaks extensively throughout
the country. Contact him through his Web page at www.gilfried.com
or through gfried@newhaven.edu.
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What is the Life Safety Code? —L.N., Arizona
Dear L.N.:
The Life Safety Code was developed by the National Fire Protection Association
(NDPA), a non-profit association founded in 1896 with about 74,000 members in
80 countries. NFPA works to reduce the likelihood of fire and other hazards
by developing codes/standards, conducting research, training and developing
educational materials. For example, NFPA created the National Fire Prevention
Week in 1911, and devised the “stop, drop and roll” fireresponse method. Numerous
industry tragedies such as fires at factories, hotels and nightclubs helped
fuel development of the Life Safety Code. The code details specific standards
facilities should implement to help protect facility users. The code is not
a law, nor can NFPA impose any penalties when the code is not followed. However,
there are two critical components of the code that venue operators should know:
- The code has been adopted in 33 states as a part of building or fire codes;
in those states, failure to comply with the code can result in fines and other
penalties.
- The code has received significant endorsement throughout the fire and building
industries and, as such, can be construed by the courts as the industry standard.
Failure to comply with industry standards can lead to significant liability.
NFPA regulations often are modified as facilities and their usage change. For
example, after the West Warwick, R.I., fire that killed more than 100 patrons
at The Station, NFPA worked hard to change some of the code’s provisions. For
example, the code previously allowed festival seating (general admission) at
facilities with an occupant load of less than 1,000 people. That number was
reduced to 250 patrons if the facility did not undertake a Life Safety Evaluation
(LSE). An LSE also is required for any facility with an occupant load of more
than 6,000 people. The code also was modified to require sprinklers in new and
older nightclub and festival seating facilities with an occupant load of more
than 100. The LSE needs to be completed by a professional experienced in code
compliance who will examine factors such as the nature of the event (rock vs.
gospel concert), occupant behavior (rowdy event or family crowd), building systems
(HVAC, lighting, etc.) and potential threats (from natural to manmade disasters).
Here are some noteworthy examples of Life Safety Code regulations that apply
to facilities used for gatherings of 50 or more people:
- The occupancy load (number of people in a given area) for a facility with
less than 10,000 square feet should be no more than one person every 5 square
feet. Facilities with more than 10,000 square feet shall not exceed one person
for every 7 square feet (Rule 13.1.7.1).
- Turnstiles are not allowed if they interfere with exiting (13.2.2.2.7).
- If there are more than 6,000 people in the facility, there must be at least
three stairways. If there are more than 9,000 people, there must be at least
four exits (13.2.4.2).
- Festival seating is prohibited, unless there are less than 250 seats. A
larger facility can use festival seating if there is a life safety plan, an
evaluation performed, lawn seating with a lot of room and security has access
to spectators. (13.2.5.4.1)
- Aisles between seats need to have at least 12 inches of clear space from
the front of one seat to the back of the seat in front. (13.2.5.5.2)
Since there are no seat backs for bleachers, the maximum number of seats between
the farthest seat and an aisle is 20 seats for outdoor facilities and nine
seats for indoor facilities. Grandstand seats that might have backs can have
no more than 11 seats from an aisle for outdoor facilities and 6 seats for
indoor venues.
- There also can be no more than 100 seats in any row (Table 13.2.5.5.2).
- There can be no openings on footboards greater than 1/2 inch. (13.2.5.5.6).
- Aisles blocked at one end cannot extend beyond 20 feet (13.2.5.6.2).
- Since the 18 inches of spacing required per patron is small, it is likely
that people will extend their bodies into aisles, which requires facilities
to increase aisle widths, although no specific amount of space is mentioned.
(13.2.5.6.3).
- If a stair rise is greater than 11 inches, there must be one intermediate
step, and if the rise is greater than 18 inches, there must be two intermediate
steps (13.2.5.6.5)
Steps with small rises and long treads pose a tripping problem. Unequal size
treads within aisles or stairs are not allowed. The minimum aisle stair rise
for aisles is 4 inches and the maximum rise is 8 inches. High risers reduce
people movement speed especially when they are descending the aisles (13.2.5.6.6).
- Railing needs to be provided with ramped aisles with a gradient exceeding
one in 12; aisle stairs also need railing with a recommended gap of every
three rows and a maximum gap not exceeding every five rows so people can get
to their seats without having to loop around too many steps to get in and
out of their seating area (13.2.5.6.7).
- Each tread on a stair step needs to have contrasting material 1 to 2 inches
wide on each tread nose (13.2.5.6.8).
- The travel distance to any exit cannot exceed 150 feet or 200 feet if the
facility has fire suppression sprinklers (13.2.6).
- Railing needs to be greater than 36 inches high if the foot of the aisle
has a fall to the ground of more than 30 inches. Cross-aisles need railing
equal to or greater than 26 inches high if there are no seat backs for the
seats in front of that cross-aisle (13.2.11.1.6).
- Fire alarms are needed for all facilities with more than 300 people (13.3.4.1).
- LSE need to be performed and a written assessment annually approved (13.4.1).
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