A concert promoter should be able to differentiate between the terms security and safety, and have a keen understanding of their importance and application.

 

Safety

Safety concerns the protection of crowds, volunteers, employees, artists and suppliers against accidental hazards that can lead to injury. For example:

• Due to attendance beyond venue capacity, the front of the audience is being pressed against the barricades.
• Barricades or PA-speakers falling over results in injuries to members of the audience.
• Food poisoning.

 

Security

Security is about protection from purposefully committed acts of crime. It can also be less serious acts that breaches with the organiser’s rules of conduct. Such as:

• Fighting between members of the audience.
• Sexual harassment or rape.
• Smuggling of alcohol of drugs.
• Staff is threatened by members of the audience.

 

The overall responsibility for the safety and security of a venue or festival lies with the organiser, and a good understanding of all aspects is essential to their proper application.

 

Summarised

• The administrative body of a promoter organisation carries the responsibility.
• The administration is responsible for abiding with laws and regulations.
• The promoter carries the responsibility of all potential injuries at an arena / venue, to any participating member of crew (volunteers, suppliers, employees or other working staff)
• The promoter is responsible for the safety of all attending audiences. This also applies to rented venues, where the promoter has to ensure it is maintained and regulated for their intended use.

 

Who carries the responsibility?

The administrative body of a promoter ultimately carries the responsibility for all of its activities. This will in most cases be a company’s general manager, but a board can also be held accountable if it is proven that they have acted in negligence.

Tasks to do with the implementation of security or safety measures may be delegated, but responsibility cannot shift with it. This means that an organisation can appoint a health and safety executive that will be responsible for the implementation of all measures, but the administration is still responsible that everything is done according to laws and regulations.

 

For example:

A volunteer at the arena is injured after having misused a power saw without appropriate protective gear. The administration may be punished if they as the promoter cannot provide sufficient evidence or documentation that all possible measures to prevent these kinds of accidents had been put in place, that training was given and protective gear was offered.

 

This does not however relieve any staff member of all responsibility, if actions have been taken without the confirmation of a superior, and the presence of protective gear is neglected.

 

 

Devising a security strategy is a useful step in order to make promoters conscious about the overall security efforts needed at their event. It will contribute to the assurance that all measures have been applied for a safe and secure event, and will also serve as the necessary documentation required by the police and fire department.

 

5-point strategy

Using a model familiar to the authorities is advised, and these are often a 5-point strategy with the following structure:

 

• Situation
  • An overall description of the event.
• Objectives
  • What are the objectives of the security measures?
  • Is there a security policy?
  • What specific assignments have been given?
• Plan and implementation
  • What steps will be taken at what point in time?
  • What risks are associated with the plan?
• Administration and logistics
  • Practical information to all involved parties.
• Communication and management
  • Who is in charge and who bears the overall responsibility?
  • What communication channels are in use?

 

1. Situation

The situation will be an overall description of the event. It should give the reader an understanding of what is at hand, and common details to include are:

 

• Promoter and general manager with their respective contact details.
• Location of the event.
• Conceptual description.
• Date and schedules.
• Artist segment.
• Audience segment.
• Age restriction and alcohol regulations.
• Working staff and their respective responsibilities.

 

2. Objective

This section describes what are the specific, assessable objectives of the security measures. If there is a general security policy, it should be included here. These policies must come from the board and should be of guidance in all matters of security. An example of a security policy can be:

“The event should be carried out as a safe, pleasant and professional event for audiences, artists, staff and other involved parties.”

 

Examples of objectives:

 

• No serious harm or injury to any member of audience, staff or artist.
• Main areas of the arena should be under constant surveillance.
• Any incident should be picked up within a short amount of time, either by surveillance or present staff.
• All staff should be well instructed about precautionary measures and routines for all incidents described in the safety instructions.

 

3. Plan and implementation

This sections describes what will happen, when it will happen and what risks are associated with the implementation of these plans. You should divide a plan into phases and sub-phases for bigger events. The phases could be:

 

• Load in
• Event
• Pre-doors
• Doors and event
• Curfew and close down
• Night
• Load out
• With each phase, describe the following:
• Names
• Itinerary (from - to)
• Description of the phase’s content
• Risk associated with the phase
• Schedule

 

4. Administration and logistics

This section concerns the practical information relevant to the staff involved in the execution of the plan. Details about meeting points, catering venues, available equipment and where it is placed, as well as instructions on how to use it.

 

5. Communication and management

The final section of a strategy describes who is responsible and what mandate comes with it. Making an organisational chart will display what key positions are involved and where they are placed in the organisation. For this specific purpose, we are mostly interested in making a chart of the staff involved with the safety and security. These might include:

 

• General manager
• Security Officer
• Head of Security Staff
• Head of Fire Protection
• Police
• Medic

 

Depending on the size of the event, it can be useful to add descriptions to each position with their assignments and mandate.

This section should also explain what lines of communications to use and guidelines to do so, such as radio, designated channels and who to call, as well as important phone numbers.

 

Attachments

The safety strategy will not be complete without some key attached documents. These should at the least include:

 

• Maps or illustration of the venue/area, including details about infrastructure, stages, tents, entrances, exits, facilities, stands, bars and food courts, emergency exits and fire extinguishers. Feel free to add security staff positions as well.
• Details and available documentation concerning venue capacity and fire regulations.
• Risk assessments
• Staffing plans describing positions, numbers, assignments for the present situation and assignments during an emergency situation.

If an emergency situation presents itself, it is paramount that everyone involved with the event knows exactly what to do. Designing procedures for a variety of scenarios, practicing and familiarising the entire organisation with them is the best way to prepare yourself for an emergency situation.

 

As a minimum an event should have pre-designed three emergency procedures:

• Fire
• Show-Stop (if the concert has to be stopped)
• Evacuation

 

Your staff’s responses to emergency situations can easily and efficiently be practiced with table top exercises.

 

Emergency procedures

An emergency procedure can also be set up as a 5-point list, but with a preface listing up all involved personnel and their respective contact details. The procedure should to a large extent be set up as an easily understandable checklist.

 

Example procedure in the event of fire/smoke:

Involved personnel

1. Promoter representative
2. Security Officer
3. Production manager
4. Head of the board
5. Shift supervisor

 

1. Situation

     Smoke or flames are detected.

2. Objective

     The objective is to ensure that all safety personnel is capable of responding            correctly in the event of fire or smoke detection.

3. Plan and implementation

     Definitively the most important section of the procedure. This will be a step by step description of what measures will be implemented by the heads of security at the event.

• Who should be alerted
• How to alert them
• What measures should be put in motion
• Who gives these orders
• Who carries them out

4. Administration and logistics

     Any relevant practical information.

5. Communication and management

     A description about who is in charge of the procedure, and what lines of communications will be used to communicate the steps in the event of an emergency.

 

Drills

Table top exercises

A simple but efficient way of practicing emergency procedures is through table top exercises. Gather together the key personnel from the security strategy to discuss one or more emergency scenarios, and talk through the procedures with each of them.

 

An advanced form of drilling is real life scenarios, where you partially stage an emergency situation that progresses as you discuss the effects of the procedures put in motion.

• Fire in a litter bin
• The fire spreads
• Panic ensues among the audience

 

Table top exercises is mostly relevant to key personnel in the organisation, but are easy to carry out and will contribute to a list of things:

• Create awareness among key personnel
• Can reveal potential weaknesses in emergency procedures
• Roles and assignments will be clarified
• All involved parties can get acquainted with procedures under calm circumstances, as opposed to a high-pressure and stressful emergency situation

The common definition of ‘risk’ is:

“The dangers an unwanted event represents to human, environmental or material values. The risk is expressed by the probability for and the consequences of the unwanted event”.

 

In short: what can go wrong?

What is it?

Risk assessment is the process of identifying risks, their consequences and estimating their likeliness. Then determine which risks require measures to a) prevent and b) limit consequences.

 

Do it as simply as possible! The process is more important than the method you use.

Remember that it is always better to prevent something going wrong than to fix something that has already gone wrong.

 

A risk assessment has little value if the most significant risks are not tied to specific measures, and responsibility for carrying them out is delegated. That is why a risk assessments and action plans are often in the same document.

 

Why risk assess?

There are several good reasons to assess risks of any event or venture. These include:

• Prevent injury / dangerous situations
• Create awareness about how risks can be managed
• Reveal where measures are needed
• Documentation in the event of an emergency

 

How to risk assess?

There is an array of methods you can implement to assess risk. Common to all is that they are often overly complicated. Keep it easy. The process of risk assessing is much more important than what form or method is being used.

 

The super easy method

The most basic model for risk assessment is this:

• Open your favourite spreadsheet software, i.e. Microsoft Excel, Numbers or Google Sheets.
• Make 5 column headlines:
• Status
• What do you fear could happen?
• Preventive measures
• Limiting measures
• Responsible
• Gather as many of members of the organisation as possible
• Add as many rows as you can to each section. Think about all phases of an event.
• There you go!

 

Pointers

• Apply objectives from the emergency strategy when you start working on risk assessment. It will the overall acceptable level of risk.
• Collaborate with as many as possible
• Divide the assessment into areas and/or phases. For example:
  • Catering
  • Volunteers
  • Production/Arena
  • …
• Describe or document everything there is to know about the event. It bases an important foundation for understanding and identifying risks. For example:
  • Map
  • Audience demographic
  • Artist demographic
  • What time of day / year?
  • Number of volunteers
  • What will volunteers be doing. Food, beverages, merch, backstage, infrastructure etc.
• What are the experiences from previous events, or from others in the industry?
• When dealing with ‘what can happen’, it is important not to digress.
  • Do not consider the probability or consequence
  • Do not consider what measures to implement
  • Act like nothing has been prepared
• Try to visualise every possible scenario. If you have a production plan at hand, use it to go through the entire program and build ideas about what could go wrong.
• One event can often spark another one.
• Consequences are often divided into three main groups:
  • Human
  • Environment
  • Material

A healthy HSE-culture is:

• Good Communication
• Talk to everyone and do so respectfully.
• Trust
• Trust in each other and put it into your words and actions.
• Openness
• Have an open and inviting attitude.
• Teach
• Share your knowledge.
• Motivate
• Motivate each other to pull the weight together.

 

HSE is a natural part of an organisation and the safety and security work at an event. Although HSE is regarded by many as an unnecessary amount of rigid safety regulations and paperwork, a thorough HSE plan will lead to:

• Professionalisation
• Ensure the quality of ourselves and the event
• Systemisation
• Acquiring of knowledge
• Enable ourselves to know what to expect from others
• Assure ourselves that laws and regulations are being followed
• Financial security based on the previous points

 

However, the most important gain from through HSE work is that you will help prevent human injuries, and that material and the environment will remain unharmed by our actions.

 

When talking about HSE, you often talk about taking care of your own. HSE-measures are mostly internal procedures and with regards to concert promoting these will deal with all personnel involved with an event in any way. As promoter, you have the ultimate responsibility for everyone involved, including suppliers working at your event.

 

Remember!

HSE is not about abiding to laws and regulations, it is about incorporating mind-sets and work-ethics in an organisation.

 

HSE challenges

Several things can impede the implementation of a healthy HSE-culture:

• Being pressed for time leads to cutting corners.
• Laws and regulations can be hard to fully comprehend.
• The perception that everything will take care of itself as long as HSE-measures are implemented.
• Complicated reporting routines can lead to unwanted situations not being reported.

 

Basic HSE measures 

• Devise a basic HSE-plan that gives information about what to focus on and some rules you want to implement.
• Delegate the responsibility for following up on the plan.
• Let all suppliers know they need to hand in an HSE-declaration, and tell them that you will be the one dictating HSE-rules at your event.
• If possible, close off the entire rigging area of the and enforce admission control.
• At the least make sure that areas in front of the stage and lifts are closed off during rigging.
• Enforce the use of helmets
• Make sure to hand out all necessary personal protective equipment related to the work being carried out, such as safety helmets, gloves, eye protection, hearing protection, high-visibility clothing, safety footwear and safety harnesses.
• Trucks, lifts and other motorised equipment should not be operated by anyone that has not presented a valid license or permit to operate.
• Follow guidelines from the food safety authorities for all handling of produce.
• Give everyone breaks, food, sleep and love!
• Smile!

 

 

 

 

Internal control

 

Working systematically with HSE will ensure proper planning, organisation, execution and maintenance of all activities.

Internal control is necessary to ensure that all laws and regulations are being met. It also makes it easier for authorities to perform HSE controls. Internal controls are comprehensive, but even for small organisations having a list of the key processes will break it down to a manageable task.

Plan

Get going!

Responsibility for internal controls lies with the managers of an organisation, but it is important that the entire organisation is involved in the process. Managers alone can’t decide how everyone is going to improve their routines.

 

A good place to start is the HSE- and/or security strategy.

 

What applies?

Get an overview of what applies to you. 

• What laws, regulations and rules apply?
• Internal rules and routines?
• Industry norms?
• Audience expectations?
• Other demands from the authorities?

 

What do we have?

This is the phase where you collect everything there is. 

• Existing routines
• Written rules
• Unwritten rules
• Customs
• Training
• Employment agreements
• Contracts
• Fire safety documentation
• User manuals
• User permits for equipment
• etc. etc.

 

What can go wrong?

If you have already performed a risk assessment of the event, these should be included here. If not, now is the time to do it.

 

What do we do?

This phase is for planning and documenting measures.

 

Based on what has been collected under “What applies” and “What do we have”, including the risk assessment, you should now devise an action plan.

 

Management and staff must perform this together, and the plan should as a minimum include: 

• What should be done
• Who is responsible to see it through
• When will it be performed

 

Execute

Devise routines and procedures

Start by devising routines and procedures for moving forward, as this will ensure that everyone is proceeding the same way and that you will be performing the same controls every time.

For example:

No one should be operating trucks without valid permits.

• Keys are only handed out upon presentation of permits.
• The driver is then responsible for not allowing anyone else to operate the truck.

 

Training plan

Devise a plan for how training is performed.

• At or in conjunction with volunteer meetings.
• Group training before a shift starts.
• Written work descriptions for various tasks.

 

Make information, routines and measures known to everyone

There’s is no use for great planning if the result is not announced to everyone.

• Send out instructions in advance
• Demand that everyone signs a document stating they have read and understood the applied rules upon registering for work.
• Print and hang posters with information in communal areas.
• Carry out info meetings.
• Introduce rules through training

 

Carry out the event

Everything you have planned is now being set to life.

 

Start by implementing a few projects to keep it manageable the first time around. Some of these may be:

• Print an “Applied safety instructions” document that all volunteers, employees and suppliers should read and sign.
• Plan and carry out a HSE/security brief during a volunteer meeting.
• Make a written routine for use of helmets and other personal security equipment.
• Make a deviation form, or any other means of reporting deviations from procedures.

 

Track

Continuous control 

Assign one or more with the responsibility of following up on HSE work continuously. Make a form with a list of every aspect that should be controlled.

 

Follow-up

Carry out follow-up meetings with suppliers working at the venue/arena. This can also serve as an opportunity to discuss delays or other details needing adjustments.

 

Treatment of deviations

• Go through and consider all reported deviations.
• Rectify potential flaws and shortcomings
• Implement new measures if necessary

 

Evaluate

At the end of an event you must perform an evaluation. Ask yourself:

• Did we achieve our goals?
• Did unforeseen or unwanted events occur?
• Did these occur due to rules or routines failing?
• Did these occur due to the absence of rules and/or routines?
• Did these spark new risks?

 

Improve

Do not forget to have records of previous events at hand when you start planning the next one. The whole point of thorough planning, execution and evaluation is to get better - and these experiences should benefit you next time around.

 

• Backaplan in Gothenburg, Sweden - 1998. Discotheque. 63 dead.
• The Station in Rhode Island, USA - 2003. Club/ rock concert. 100 dead.
• Lame Horse in Perm, Russia - 2009. Dance performance. 153 dead.
• Kiss in Santa Maria, Brazil - 2013. Club / concert. 242 dead.
• Collective in Bucurest, Romania - 2015. Club / concert. 60 dead.

 

A fire at a venue or arena can potentially have catastrophic consequences, as the above list of some of the latest nightclub- and concert accidents caused by fires clearly states. Fire safety is a subject to have extra focus on while planning security strategies, risk assessments and contingency plans. As with any other potential threat against an event, you will never be able to safeguard yourself completely, but you can minimise its chances of occurring and limit its consequences if it were to happen after all.

 

Through thorough planning and effective implementation of these plans, you can save lives.

 

There is a minimum of three points you should focus on:

1. Prevent fire

• Devise good rules and routines, minimise use of flammable fabrics and only use approved suppliers of pyrotechnics

2. Alert and extinguish

• Apply compensatory measures if you are unplugging fire detection systems, and make sure to have routines for alerting the audience in case of fire - preferably with voice announcements through the PA.

3. Evacuate

• Ensure that your evacuation routes can handle the full capacity of the venue or arena.

 

Fire prevention

The most important subject of all.

A promoter has to do everything in its powers to try to prevent fires for occurring. A lot can be done by the simple implementation of rules and routines applicable to everyone at the venue/arena. Make sure to use as many flame-retardant materials as possible when building or bringing new elements in to an arena. Ensure that all electrical appliances and cables are undamaged, approved for its use and not overloaded. As well as proper storing of flammable substances and equipment according to regulations. If you are using any pyrotechnics at the event, make sure to use an authorised supplier.

 

Rules and routines

Spend time devising rules for the arena, good routines to support these and a plan for monitoring that these are being followed.

 

As a minimum you should have rules for use of an open flame, operation of flammable substances like propane and frying oils, the use of open barbecues and waste management.

 

Propane and deep frying

These substances should not be stored at the arena or venue. Only amounts necessary for the ongoing operation of barbecues and other vendors should be allowed. Devise rules for this and make sure those concerned learn them.

 

This means that an extra fenced, locked and guarded area should be built outside the arena for storage of these substances. Make agreements with staff and vendors on how to handle refills.

 

Waste management

Good waste management routines are important to fire prevention. Never let waste pile up anywhere, empty litter bins continuously and do not store waste anywhere near storages containing flammable substances such as propane or frying oils.

 

Flame retardant materials

The cause of most of the accidents listed in the introduction was a combination of legal/illegal pyrotechnics and flammable materials in immediate proximity of the stage. Flammable soundproofing materials. Flammable ceiling materials. The more flammable materials present the higher the risk of fire, the stronger and faster it will spread. With so much electrical equipment present, the areas around stage and front of house are the most important to fire-proof.

 

Ensure that draping of the stage with molton stage-curtains or any other fabric is flame retardant. They should be labelled and there should be documentation from the supplier.

 

The same applies to tents. The fabric should be flame retardant and also labelled with its capacity. Suppliers should also be able to produce documentation of this upon request.

 

Electrical equipment

Electrical equipment will always be a potential fire source. Short circuits or component malfunction could ignite a fire in itself. Some equipment produce a lot of heat and can set fire to surrounding flammable materials.

 

• Avoid excessive dust on electrical equipment. Dust can lead to overheating and fire.
• Never use damaged equipment or cables.
• Installation of all fixed electrical wiring or components has to be carried out by authorised electricians.
• Only use cables that can handle the load. Overloading may lead to overheating.
• Keep your cables organised.

 

Regulatory storage

All flammable materials should be stored according to regulations. There are strict regulations about how to store propane or fireworks, as well as heater fuels etc. As previously mentioned, a separate fenced area outside the arena is an example of proper storing.

Make sure that fuel tanks are undamaged, free of leaks and not in proximity of any heat sources or flammable materials.

 

Put up signs where flammable substances are kept with “No smoking!” and “Strictly no open flames allowed!”.

 

Use of pyrotechnical effects

An all too common cause of fire is pyrotechnics. The most important measure you can apply is to consequently use suppliers with staff certified to handle and operate pyrotechnics, flamethrowers etc.

 

Certification

Demand that suppliers present certifications prior of any delivery or operation. A simple “we have done it many times before” is not enough. They should also have a risk assessment and contingency plan devised, with illustrations and descriptions of the task at hand. Ask to have the plans presented to you. Suppliers should also bring approved extinguishing equipment.

 

Facilitating

There are many things you can do as a promoter to contribute to the safety when using pyrotechnics.

 

• Supply pyrotechnics suppliers with stage- and arena plans.
• Make certain security around stage is handled by trained staff, not volunteers.
• Ensure that all decor, curtains and other fabrics on and around stage is flame retardant.
• Enforce the safe storage of explosives and other flammable substances and materials.

 

Alert and extinguish

If measures to prevent a fire has not sufficed and a fire does occur, its rapid detection is paramount together with subsequent well-trained routines and proper handling of extinguishing equipment by staff and volunteers.

 

Fire Alarm Systems

All buildings used as concert venues must have fire alarm systems with full coverage, optical detection sensors and an alerting system either to a local fire station or internally to an area with a fire responsible person.

 

In some cases, smoke machines and pyrotechnical effects will trigger an alarm system, and you will need to temporarily deactivate it during an event. This is common in venues where concerts are only held sporadically. This can be acceptable, but make sure of the following:

 

• Deactivation is only done is special cases/at certain events.
• Compensatory measures must be applied, such as reinforced security and improved communications systems. The measures should allow a fire to be detected and alerted as quickly, and to as many, as a fire alarm system.
• An evacuation sequence must be devised for the event, including routines for alerting, lines of command and assignments.

 

Outdoor events do not require the same fire alarm systems as indoor, but it is equally important to ensure rapid detection and alerting, but by the use of human detectors instead of electrical ones.

Alert the audience

Proper routines for alerting the audience of a fire is key to reducing the risk of injury or death. At indoor events, it can be required of you to have both sound and light signals set up.

 

Voice announcement

It is documented that voice announcements, explaining the situation to the audience and how to proceed, helps prevent panic and increases their possibilities to save themselves threefold. All promoters should have a plan about who gives the voice announcement, how it will happen and what should be said in case of a fire incident.

 

Show-Stop procedures

If you are to alert an audience in the middle of a concert, you will need specific procedures for this, a so-called “Show-Stop” procedure. The music must be stopped, lights should go on if the room is dark, and the artist must be taken off stage, preferably by a stage manager ordered by a security manager. An announcement should be made from the stage immediately. If the artists remain on stage and nor they or the audience is informed about an incident, insecurities and panic can arise. A Show-Stop procedure describes who is ordering a show to stop, who carries it out and what pre-written announcement should be made through the PA.

It goes without saying that all personnel at work on stage or at FOH should be familiar with the Show-Stop procedure before the concert starts.

 

Fire extinguishing

Extinguishing a fire is a fire brigade’s job. A promoter’s main objective is to get everyone at the event to safety. Material values can be replaced, human lives cannot. However, this does not mean that you should disregard efforts to extinguish a fire yourself. Managing to put out a fire outbreak at an early stage can be the difference between an unfortunate event and a catastrophe.

 

Extinguishers and labelling

All buildings should be equipped with fire extinguishers labelled in accordance with regulations. These can be fire hoses, sprinkler systems, powder extinguisher, etc. The first thing to do is to familiarise yourself with what equipment is available and its location. Existing equipment should not under any circumstances be moved from its location. There is a reason they are placed where they are. However, the available equipment might not be sufficient or appropriately placed for your intended use of the space as a concert venue.

 

There should be a CO2 extinguisher by the stage, at FOH and close to any other electrical fixtures. CO2 extinguishes fire by displacing oxygen, without the harm to electrical equipment caused by other powder agents.

 

If food vendors are using deep frying oils, the extinguisher should be labelled with a specific fire class designated for vegetable oils. Check your national standards for further information, and remember to never use water to put out an oil fire.

 

Additional extinguishers should be pointed to with signs. There are several standard signs online that you can print and laminate. Also, make sure these are indicated on arena plans and maps.

 

Training

As many as possible should receive training on how to operate a fire extinguisher. This can be included as part of a volunteer’s meeting or done in smaller groups.

 

Demonstrate how to remove the safety pin, move as close to the flames as possible, point towards the source of the fire and squeeze the trigger in small bursts while moving the nozzle back and forth in a fan shaped motion.

 

Emergency access

In addition to alerting, evacuating and extinguishing, it is equally important to plan for the inhibited entry and exit of emergency vehicles and personnel to the arena or venue. Inform the emergency services of the designated routes, write it in the security strategy and make sure that at least everyone involved with security at the event are familiar with these.

 

• Appoint someone to meet the emergency services at the gate when they arrive.
• Always make sure that no vehicles are parked on the emergency access routes.
• Try to avoid evacuating on these routes.

 

Evacuation

Once a fire has been detected and the audience alerted, the evacuation needs to be as effective as possible. The key is good preparation.

 

Capacity

The capacity of a venue is dependent of several factors, for example:

 

• The size and area of the venue or arena.
• The view of the stage.
• Entry- and exit capacities.
• Emergency exit capacities.
• Capacities of amenities

 

 

Procedures for evacuation

As with all other aspects, it is as important to have good procedures for evacuation that are informed across the organisation and preferably trained on. A written procedure should at least include:

 

• Who is involved in the execution of the procedure.
• Who should give the order to evacuate.
• How are the guards informed to open the gates/doors, and who gives the command?
• What are the tasks of staff and volunteers (for example guide the audience to the nearest exit)?

 

Do not forget to pay special attention to anyone with disabilities. They need to have equal opportunities to a safe evacuation and someone should be assigned with the responsibility to assist them.