I am in the midst of negotiating a contract with a venue for our annual awards show (approx. 1,200 guests). I’ve been told that we are required to pay for onsite nursing services and a fire watch official. Do you know if this is required by law or simply the venue’s own policy, disguised as a “requirement”? Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated.

An onsite nursing service and fire watch officials can be required by law and by the venue’s insurance policies, and a condition that has to be met to obtain a specific permit. It may also be something that is required by your organization’s insurance coverage as added protection against possible lawsuits should anything go wrong.

Providing and ensuring guest safety and care is an important part of event planning, as is protecting your organization from possible legal liabilities. For example, you should always consider adding nursing services, even when it is not required by the venue, your organization, or your insurance policy, when doing a team building activity where there could be chances of injury (and have all participants sign a legal waiver, as well). Anyone watching The Apprentice this season saw how easily an accident can happen within minutes of taking part in a fun event activity and how something as simple as a fall can potentially leave a guest or participant on crutches for six weeks, impact their day to day lives, and potentially leave your organization or the venue at legal risk if waivers have not been signed. Should something go wrong, having immediate assistance available helps to demonstrate “duty of care” and that reasonable thought went into planning for guest safety. Remember, injuries – even deaths – have occurred during special events.

Fire marshals can demand that fire watch officials are on duty as one of the terms and conditions to issuing an event permit. Fire watch officials may be standard policy for a particular venue – again, part of their insurance requirements – and not based on the type of event you are holding or what you may be bringing in. And in cases of gala fundraisers where a new car may be part of a giveaway and on display, in addition to having fire watch officials, extra fire precautions may also be required such as having a specific amount of gas in the tank, having additional fire extinguishers, fire exit signs, etc. The same applies when pyrotechnics – indoor and outdoor fireworks – and other theatrical special effect or décor are involved.

Guest safety, insurance, permits and the A, B, Cs – Anticipation, Back Up Plan, Crisis Mode Management – are all critical components of event planning. You can plan and prepare, but should something unexpected take place, it is essential that everyone involved in the onsite orchestration knows exactly what role he or she must play. Crisis mode management needs to be reviewed in advance and discussed, not only with your staff, but also with on-duty nursing services and fire watch officials, so event disruptions are minimal.

Major mishaps have taken place at events with no one but those in the immediate area any the wiser because everything was handled smoothly and efficiently with no alarm being raised. In one instance during a confetti burst, there was a hole in one of the air hoses that caused the confetti (professionally treated with flame retardant) to come down heavily on the small votive candles (permitted by the venue) on one table and catch fire. The fire was quickly and quietly put out and the tabletop freshened in minutes because everyone knew exactly what to do. In this case, while there was a fire watch official on duty, it was actually staff that spotted the problem and alerted the fire official about the incident.

At another event, proper attention was not given to all the potential fire hazards that could take place using pyrotechnics centrepieces. The pyro centrepieces were to be a surprise to guests and because they did not know what they were or what would be taking place, many items on the tables were being moved around and placed too close to where the flames were going to shoot out. The staff was prepared for this and before the charger was set off took care to make sure that every table was safe. At some tables, guests had accidentally disconnected the wiring, which was something that had not been planned for. It was also not anticipated that once the charger itself was set off that it could catch fire. The charger was set up in a seldom-used back hallway and once it had been activated the person manning the charger went to the ballroom to see the effect and rejoin the party in progress. Luckily, wait staff passing through saw the flames and took action, but not before the fire alarms had been sounded, causing stress to guests since they could smell the smoke but the event planning staff had not yet discovered the source. The talk of the evening was not how wonderful the event was, but how careless the planner had been about guest and fire safety.

One final important fact to note is that your event could be immediately shut down if the fire department did a random inspection and you did not have a fire watch officer when one was required.

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For paid professional event planning consulting – event design, site selection critique, venue and supplier contract review, budget analysis, strategic planning, event logistical and timing requirements, and on-site orchestration – contact Judy directly at Judy Allen Productions.

Advice and recommendations are based on limited information provided and should be used as a guideline only. Neither the author nor CharityVillage.com make any warranty, express or implied, or assume any legal liability for accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information provided in whole or in part within this article.