Fire
and Egress!
By
Leonard Pickel,
editor of
Haunted
Attraction
Magazine
I am sure that
you are tugging
at the reins,
eager to start
scaring people!
Right! Well
before we get
too far down
the road, there
is one aspect
of haunting
that is more
important than
where you are
going to hide
the guy with
the chainsaw,
and that is
Safety! There
is no faster
way to being
forbidden from
ever haunting
again than to
get an actor or
guest hurt, or
to burn to down
the building.
If you know the
simple
guidelines for
making your
attraction
safe, before
you start
building, it
will save you
time,
frustration,
and lessen the
chance of
getting someone
injured.
There are two
important
safety issues
to think about
when you design
the layout of
your haunt -
Fire and
Egress! On May
11, 1984, a
fire started in
a haunted
attraction in a
popular
amusement park
in New Jersey.
When the fire
was finally put
out, 8 young
people had lost
their lives
needlessly, due
to poor
planning and
poor choice of
materials.
Fire!
Always design
your haunt for
the worst
possible
situation, and
the worst thing
that could
happen at your
attraction is a
fire. The best
way to make
sure that this
never happens
is to make sure
everything in
the attraction
as flame proof
as possible.
All wood or
lumber used in
the haunt
should be
covered with
gypsum board
(sheetrock), or
painted with a
flame retardant
paint, (this
includes the
lumber inside
of an
unfinished
garage), or
sprayed with a
flame retardant
chemical. Smoke
detectors in
strategic
locations in
the space are a
must!
Styrofoam
(white bead
board, and blue
or pink foam
insulation),
and foam rubber
are very
flammable and
should be
avoided all
together. If
you do use
them, they must
be coated with
something that
will not burn.
Styrofoam can
be covered with
a mixture of
sheetrock mud
and latex paint
(know as
Monster Mud),
to provide a
hard
non-flammable
surface, and
foam rubber can
be covered with
a non-flammable
cloth (such as
duvetyn) dipped
in watered down
white glue.
Plastic cannot
be flame
treated,
because the
chemical will
not penetrate
the smooth
surface, and
there is
nothing for it
to cling to.
Plastic
sheeting,
especially the
thick black
plastic (called
visquene) sold
at most
lumberyards is
very hazardous,
and is not to
be used at all.
Not only is
this material
highly
flammable, but
it also drips
molten burning
plastic and
releases a
toxic gas when
on fire. Use
non-flammable
black plastic
sheeting
available
through
convention
supply
companies, or
flame treated
black cloth
instead.
There are only
a few ways that
a fire could
get started in
your
attraction. The
two main ways
are a guest or
actor bringing
it in (in the
form of a lit
candle, burning
cigarette or
lighter) or
from and
electrical
source. Make
sure all of
your actors
realize that
open flame is
not allowed in
the haunt. You
can stop guests
from bringing a
lit cigarette
into the
attraction with
"No Smoking by
order of the
Fire Marshal"
signs, and by
watching at the
entrance. You
can keep guests
from using
lighters in the
attraction; by
giving them
enough light to
see where they
are going. Make
sure your
actors know to
watch for the
flickering
light given off
by lighters and
that they tell
the guests to
put them
out!
Before you
begin to design
the haunt
layout, take a
look at your
space and take
note of where
the electrical
outlets are.
Then try to
plan your
layout so that
it places the
power needs,
near the
existing
outlets. If you
need power in
places where
there is none,
make plans to
add these
outlets before
you start
building in the
space.
Extension cords
should be
avoided and
only use the
heavy-duty
grounded cords,
(the smaller
brown or white
house hold
cords can
overheat and
cause a fire).
Make sure that
when the
electrical is
in place that
all electrical
cords are out
of the
pathways, and
out of reach of
the guests. I
recommend that
you run any new
electrical on
the ceiling of
the space,
using grounded
heavy gauge SO
type cable or
hard conduit,
run to 4-plex outlets on
their own 20
amp dedicated
circuits. Be
sure not to
overload the
electrical
system. You
should not plug
more than 6
things into any
one outlet, and
electrical
strips with
circuit
breakers in
them are
recommended.
Egress!
If there is an
emergency in
your
attraction, how
will you get
your guests and
your actors out
of the building
safely? How
will they know
where to go in
case of a fire?
It only takes
seconds for a
fire to build
enough smoke to
be dangerous,
and how people
will "egress"
(exit path)
from the space
should be
planned in
advance. First,
make sure that
the space you
want to haunt
has at least
two different
exits on
opposite ends.
A lit exit sign
at both of
these doors is
highly
suggested. The
doors must be
non latching or
have "panic
hardware," (a
bar that
unlatches the
door when
pushed on) and
the doors must
"open in the
direction of
travel" (swing
outward from
the
attraction).
Both of these
doors must be
unlocked, or
made not to
latch, anytime
there are
people in the
space.
Directional
exit signs are
an important
part of getting
the guests out
of the space in
an emergency.
You can buy
non-flammable
plastic signs
at the hardware
store. Place
these 6-8
inches off of
the ground
throughout the
attraction
pointing to the
nearest exit,
so that they
can be seen
when the room
fills the
ceiling with
smoke. By
walking through
the haunt
backwards when
placing these
signs, you can
put them in
places that are
less noticeable
to your
guests.
Taking the time
to make
everything in
the haunt as
flame retardant
as possible, we
keep the fire
from having
anything to
burn. By paying
close attention
to the
electrical, and
by keeping open
flame out of
the haunt, we
decrease the
opportunity for
the fire to be
introduced in
the first
place. And by
providing
proper means of
egress from the
space, even if
there was a
fire, everyone
inside would be
able to get out
safely. None of
us wants to get
anyone hurt,
and by
following the
safety
guidelines,
your haunted
house will not
only be the
scariest in
town, but also
the safest.
Leonard
Pickel is
editor of
Haunted
Attraction
Magazine, the
premier
publication for
the dark
amusement
industry. He
can be reached
at
704-366-0875,
or by email at
Leonard@hauntedattraction.com.
Check out his
web site at www.hauntedattraction.com.
