Rank: Forum user 
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i work in a theatre as a Duty Manager on a casual basis. Recently i found my self in a position where the a seating layout was in breach of the minimum standards of https://www.gov.uk/gover.../fsra-theatre-cinema.pdf The issue related to the minimum clear space that should be present between the front of one seat and the back of another. The guidance states a minimum depth of 305mm but depth of the 3 rows of chairs plus 3 x 305mm was 50mm deeper than the deck they were placed on. In addition the seats were not fixed to the floor and there was no handrail between each of the 3 decks (each deck is two steps hight than the last). The capacity was 200 and there were 3 FoH staff While I appreciate that the 305mm is "guidance" i felt that if anything were to go wrong, I would not be able to justify my decision in court for not complying with the guidance. Combined with some other shortfalls in safety management i decided that I could not "open the House" in good faith and stood down as the Duty Manager for the evening, handing over to a more more senior full time staff member that was willing to take my place, allowing the event to continue. I decided to use the company whistleblowing policy to report the issue and received the following in the reply: 1)"there is no legal compliance requirement with regards to the width of the seatways..." and 2)"While we encourage you to raise any concerns you may have at work we think it is reasonable to expect you to accept management instruction and carry out your duties." I am on a zero hour contract and realise that I am likely to need another job but as a member of the charitable trust that directs the organisation I have a significant vested interest in improving building safety, Thoughts and suggestions very much appreciated!
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Rank: Forum user
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I never like those RO books they are ok for small premises and beginers but should not be used for complex buildings were a professional risk assessor should be brought in
also the fire risk assessment should not be done by the duty manager his dutys should be for the area to be kept clear gangways good and to see that fire doors are not wedged general stuff ,
i would expect the risk assessment for a london theatre to be a complex document completed by a competant person and with this area being a theatre i would be surprised if it is not visited every 3 year by the fire brigade
the proper guidance you need to look at is
BS 9999 (2008) Code of practice for fire safety in the design, management
and use of buildings
Annex D (normative) Recommendations for theatres, cinemas and similar venues
where the distance between the seats is actually alot less than the 305mm stated above,
also i cant understand what you mean by 50mm deeper than the deck they were placed on in your origional thread
you do not state if the chairs are static tempory or perminant also in a fixed chair environment you do not require guardrails on the chairs as the chair back is considered to be the steadying device so more detail please
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Rank: Super forum user
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Difficult to comment on these requirements, are these chairs static, is it an old building with fixed seating, how many floors, how many escape doors? etc... however, my experience in this industry is that the show must go on, it takes a real serious safety issue to stop a performance going ahead.
Note: I'm not saying that this is not serous.
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Rank: Super forum user
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So the OP would have stopped the show for the lack of 13mm?
. Don't get hung up on the millimetres when there are bigger fish to fry!!!. Who were the intended audience? School kids or geriatrics? The guidance is right, but sometimes you gotta stretch it? One foot clearance plus or minus a little bit is very tight. But if the seats are tied together, and the audience is mostly young and slim, then no prob?
If the audience is expected to be old and fat... Then maybe the guide minimum wouldn't be enough? What is the issue?
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Rank: Forum user
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Psycho wrote:I never like those RO books they are ok for small premises and beginers but should not be used for complex buildings were a professional risk assessor should be brought in
also the fire risk assessment should not be done by the duty manager his dutys should be for the area to be kept clear gangways good and to see that fire doors are not wedged general stuff ,
i would expect the risk assessment for a london theatre to be a complex document completed by a competant person and with this area being a theatre i would be surprised if it is not visited every 3 year by the fire brigade
Annex D (normative) Recommendations for theatres, cinemas and similar venues
where the distance between the seats is actually alot less than the 305mm stated above,
also i cant understand what you mean by 50mm deeper than the deck they were placed on in your origional thread
you do not state if the chairs are static tempory or perminant also in a fixed chair environment you do not require guardrails on the chairs as the chair back is considered to be the steadying device so more detail please
Easy there, the official guidance on Theatre and Cinema is aimed at the RP in assisting them in completing a FRA, there are aspects within the document that the RP may need competent advice, unless you been to the site in question not sure how you get to your conclusion, there is nothing legally to stop the duty manager complete the FRA for the RP?
And BS9999 is not the guidance if the building is an existing building or a building built to ADB, BS9999 is a good guide to use though for reference etc.
The first bit of guidance is what the poster is using, then if alterations/ new builds to use either fire engineered, ADB or BS9999.
There are many points within the document that requires 'competent advice' and hopefully the RP will seek a competent risk assessor to assist and help the duty manager in completing a FRA.
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Rank: Forum user
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Psycho wrote:I never like those RO books they are ok for small premises and beginers but should not be used for complex buildings were a professional risk assessor should be brought in
also the fire risk assessment should not be done by the duty manager his dutys should be for the area to be kept clear gangways good and to see that fire doors are not wedged general stuff ,
i would expect the risk assessment for a london theatre to be a complex document completed by a competant person and with this area being a theatre i would be surprised if it is not visited every 3 year by the fire brigade
the proper guidance you need to look at is
BS 9999 (2008) Code of practice for fire safety in the design, management
and use of buildings
Annex D (normative) Recommendations for theatres, cinemas and similar venues
where the distance between the seats is actually alot less than the 305mm stated above,
also i cant understand what you mean by 50mm deeper than the deck they were placed on in your origional thread
you do not state if the chairs are static tempory or perminant also in a fixed chair environment you do not require guardrails on the chairs as the chair back is considered to be the steadying device so more detail please Easy there, the official guidance on Theatre and Cinema is aimed at the RP in assisting them in completing a FRA, there are aspects within the document that the RP may need competent advice, unless you been to the site in question not sure how you get to your conclusion, there is nothing legally to stop the duty manager complete the FRA for the RP? And BS9999 is not the guidance if the building is an existing building or a building built to ADB, BS9999 is a good guide to use though for reference etc. The first bit of guidance is what the poster is using, then if alterations/ new builds to use either fire engineered, ADB or BS9999. There are many points within the document that requires 'competent advice' and hopefully the RP will seek a competent risk assessor to assist and help the duty manager in completing a FRA.
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