Q. The bridal couple that I am working with would like to include indoor fireworks as a grand finale. I havent worked with pyrotechnics before what should I be aware of?
Fireworks both indoor and outdoor can be a dazzling delight for wedding guests but your primary concern has to be guest safety. You need to find out from your venue -- and the local fire marshal -- whether or not an indoor or outdoor firework display will be permitted and what you and your chosen supplier will need to do to comply with their rules and regulations. Never accept a verbal okay from the facility. It should be in writing and should detail the terms and conditions under which indoor or outdoor firework displays can be done. And never accept written confirmation from the venue alone without having it also confirmed in writing by the local fire marshal as well. It is imperative that you and your firework supplier talk to the fire marshal personally preferably with the venue representative -- and find out what needs to be done. An inspection of the property with the fire marshal will take place. What will be reviewed and discussed will be the number of fire exit doors, how well they are marked you could be required to bring in extra signage, the maximum number of people you will be permitted in the room, your proposed room layout and what will be placed on or near the fire exit doors on the day of the wedding it is important that access not be blocked and you may be required to submit a final floor plan for sign off and approval and this cannot be changed at a whim any design changes will need to be resubmitted and approved, the dιcor you will be bringing in and what you will need to do it to make sure that it meets fire safety standards with regards to being flame retardant do, what you will need to provide to the fire marshal with regards to proof of fire proofing (paperwork/fire retardant certificates), the type of insurance and dollar amount that you will be required to take out, fire permits you will need to obtain, whether you will be required to hire someone for fire watch (recommended and provided through fire department) and what will be the course of action you need to take should anything unforeseen take place.
One thing that will be very important to do on the day of the site inspection of the venue, the walk through with the fire marshal and your pyrotechnic supplier and the day of your event is to physically walk the fire exit escape routes. One planner found a fire exit escape route completely blocked when they opened the door to check what lay behind it. The staff at the venue had been using the passageway that led directly outdoors as a place to throw their bags of garbage out in cold weather. The planner found the entire walkway was piled high with bags of garbage that towered over six feet high in places and there was no way that anyone could have made it through to the street in safety. The garbage was removed before the fire marshal visit and the planner insisted on the walkway being power washed, as the stench was that great. The venue was happy to comply because they were in violation of safely codes and had had no idea that had been going on. Another planner found on the day of their event that one of the fire exit escape routes was being used for furniture storage and there was no longer a clear path available should the need have arisen. This was rectified before suppliers began to arrive to set up the wedding reception site.
Always make sure on the day of your event that you have your fire permits, fire retardant and insurance certificates with you with copies left back in the office as backup. It is also a good idea to provide your key staff members with copies as well so they have them immediately at hand in case the fire department shows up for an inspection pre or during your event. The fire marshal or the local fire department can do a fire inspection at any time during your event and it is essential that you have proof of adhering to fire marshal rules and regulations with you otherwise wedding or not your event can be shut down.
Meeting fire marshal regulations, obtaining permits and insurance is not limited to events using pyrotechnics. It is important to always find out fire marshal requirements for any event. It will vary from venue to venue and you can never assume what is valid in one region or township will be the same in another. It is an essential event-planning step that an experienced event planner would never risk doing as it could put their event in jeopardy of being closed down.
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