Please note: This safety advice is offered as guidance only. If in doubt, Get out, Stay out and get the Fire and Rescue Service out!
Licensing Act 2003
Temporary Event Notices
Under the new Licensing Act 2003, anyone planning to hold a 'temporary' event, for which provision is made within the Act, must apply for a Temporary Event Notice at least 10 working days before the event is due to be held.
The Act does not require any consultation with the Fire and Rescue Service, and we are therefore generally not able to provide any advice or guidance to the licensing authority, on the premises to be used.
Many of these events are held in tents, marquees and agricultural buildings, which may pose a higher than normal danger from fire due to:
- their construction, which does not conform to regular building standards;
- non-standard doorways and exit routes;
- possible trip and obstruction hazards from the guy ropes and temporary utilities and services e.g. electric cables, water pipes etc;
- temporary site locations with a lack of adequate lighting, access and egress routes
Anyone intending to hold such an event has a duty of care to those attending, as well as any staff that may be employed to work as stewards, bar staff, waiters etc.
- Event fire safety advice sheet [2] - Appendix B52
Appendix B52 is intended to provide basic guidance on the fire precautions for marquees and tents, together with a framework on which to base the fire risk assessment.
The attached PDF leaflet provides guidance on the following:
- Introduction
- Siting and layout
- Flame retardant treatments
- Seating
- Exits / occupancy
- Smoking
- Light, power and heating
- Housekeeping
- Fire fighting equipment
- Fire plan
- Special fire hazards
Useful links
- Event fire safety advice sheet - Appendix B52 [2] - Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service
- Fire Safety Order 2005 [3] - Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service website
