The Fire Safety Order (FSO) 2005 became law for England and Wales on the 1st October 2006, replacing 118 pieces of legislation, repealing the Fire Precautions Act 1971 and revoking The Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations. All fire certificates and plans have ceased to be valid and the standards set by the Fire Service have been replaced.
A five step fire safety risk assessment is now required of all employers or other persons who have control over any part of a venue or other premises (the “responsible person”). The five steps are:

1. Identify all fire hazards
2. Identify the people at risk
3. Evaluate, remove, reduce and protect
4. Record, plan, inform, instruct and train
5. Review the assessment regularly

Its a bit of a cheat calling it a 5 step plan – but slightly less scary than insisting on a 12 step process!

No longer is it the Fire Service’s duty to make sure the workplace is safe. That duty lies with the responsible person who will be held accountable under the new legislation.
Fire Protection Officers will audit the fire risk assessments and associated documentation relating to any premises and at the end of the premises’ audit, the responsible person will be informed of his/her compliance level. If there are matters of concern, then the FPO may use their powers of enforcement.
These powers vary from educating and informing (discussing action plans), notification of defects to be rectified, an alterations notice, an enforcement notice, a prohibition notice and possible prosecution.
Theatres contain a number of potential sources of ignition – thankfully since the days of candle and gas lighting, the risks have decreased, but even modern lighting equipment, projectors, lasers etc get hot. Some theatres also have a culture of ‘bodge’ or ‘adapt’ beyond a piece of equipment’s tolerance.

Don’t be surprised if a venue owner requires you to declare any equipment you wish to bring into the venue – and to have it tested. I’d recommend all venue hire contracts are reviewed with this in mind.

Watch out for special effects, naked flames etc, as well as the more mundane hot ducting, obstructed ventilation grills etc.

If you are using an unfamiliar venue, consider making a floor plan part of the risk assessment – it will help you understand the risks by considering the layout of rooms, location of fire fighting equipment, alarms etc.

Once the fire risk assessment is complete, you will be able to prepare an emergency plan so that all staff know what to do in an emergency, to evacuate the premises safely.

Theatre spaces, and open air spaces are complicated by design – each contains spaces designed to be used by distinct types of people (staff, performers, crew and public) and there is the possibility of confusion where these worlds overlap. Staff therefore should know what they should do if they discover a fire, how a performance will be stopped and building evacuated, and what checks will take place to ensure the premises are empty.

You might need different plans for different times of day – for premises when open to the public, when open for rehearsals, and when open for staff only as well as when dark.