We also speak of preventive fire protection, which is intended to prevent fires in advance, and defensive fire protection, which is intended to make evacuation and extinguishing as simple and quick as possible in the event of a fire. All fire safety measures are set out in the fire safety regulations, which vary depending on the location and type of event.
The fire safety regulations
Fire safety regulations govern behavior in the event of a fire. These fire safety regulations differ depending on the company, location, number of guests and type of event. The fire safety regulations are roughly equivalent to house rules. There is therefore no generally valid template. A generally recognized template for the structure and design of fire safety regulations is DIN 14096. The legal basis for the structural conditions in terms of fire safety is provided, among other things, by the Ordinance on Places of Assembly, if you would like to find out more about this, read our article on fire safety in places of assembly here.
The fire safety regulations must be reviewed every two years and must always be up to date - this is particularly important if the venue has been converted, for example. A fire safety regulation consists of three parts:
Fire safety: Part A
Part A is aimed at the guests at your event. It briefly and concisely outlines the most important rules of conduct in the event of a fire using easy-to-read pictograms. This includes the following points:
Keep calm
Report the fire (call 112)
Get to safety.
Attempt to extinguish the fire.
As a rule, it does not cover more than one page and is clearly displayed in various places in the location.
Fire protection: Part B
Part B is handed out in writing to all employees who are on site during the event. It contains all important information on preventing the spread of fire and smoke, keeping escape and rescue routes clear and all rules relating to specific behavior in the event of a fire.
Fire protection: Part C
Part C is aimed at employees who have special fire protection tasks. These include fire safety assistants, evacuation assistants, safety officers, fire safety officers, etc. This part describes all preventive and defensive measures as well as the evacuation procedure (also known as the evacuation concept) for the group of people with special fire protection tasks.
You also need an escape and rescue plan in accordance with ISO 23601, which clearly shows the shortest route out of the building.
Normally, the location where your event is taking place will have a fire safety officer who is specially trained in this area. If not, you can hire an external fire safety officer. The fire safety officer's main task is to prevent fires, i.e. to identify and eliminate potential sources of fire in advance so that a fire does not start in the first place. He also draws up or updates the fire safety regulations for the event location, checks fire safety equipment such as smoke detectors, fire extinguishers or sprinkler systems and rectifies any defects. The aim is to keep the probability of a fire during the event as low as possible and, in the event that something does happen, to guide guests and employees in the best possible way so that no one is harmed and the danger can be averted quickly.
The Ordinance on Places of Assembly also applies to open-air events, especially if the open-air location
offers space for more than 1,000 visitors
has stage areas or stages or sports facilities with grandstands
does not consist of flying structures (i.e. structures that can be erected and dismantled)
Please take a look at the points mentioned above as well as § 7 of the Assembly Venues Ordinance. This regulates the dimensioning of escape routes. It states, among other things: The width of the escape routes must be dimensioned according to the largest possible number of people. This width must be at least 1.20 m. For outdoor venues and sports stadiums, the following applies: 1.20 m per 600 people.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are a whole range of fire safety rules and regulations that you need to observe. Normally, the venue, i.e. your event location, should be well prepared for this. Nevertheless, you as the organizer should also be aware of the regulations, observe them and ensure that they are adhered to so that everyone is well prepared in the event of an emergency. After all, you don't leave your guest list, admission and the program to chance - nor should you do the same for the safety of your guests. As early as 30 years ago, a ruling by the Münster Higher Administrative Court on the subject of fire safety stated: "The fact that no fire breaks out in many buildings for decades does not prove that there is no danger, but is a stroke of luck that must be expected to end at any time."
It is better not to challenge this stroke of luck. For more information, we recommend that you contact a fire protection expert directly. If you would like to learn more about fire safety at events yourself, you can contact the TÜV, for example, which offers regular seminars on the subject throughout Germany.
