Author Topic: Dear Abby: My employer is playing with fire  (Read 4458 times)

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PSMKay

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Dear Abby: My employer is playing with fire
« on: Mar 20, 2014, 04:47 am »
Occasionally our members will want to ask a question of the community while remaining anonymous. In these cases they may send their questions to a member of the staff, who will then post the anonymized question on their behalf. We call these "Dear Abby" posts. This is one.

NB: links were added by me, as I'd never heard of either product.

Quote
Dear Abby,

I'm currently SMing a show at a small theatre. It's mostly amateur actors, though some of the leads are well paid pros. I consider myself a professional SM, and they're paying me to be one.

They insist on using live flame on stage. At several times, Gam Torches are used. I've tried to steer them away, but the artistic team is insistent. This is the same theatre that asked me to fly actors on line sets multiple times.

I don't feel comfortable with the live flame effects. We don't have a permit, and the fire marshal will not be informed. My big concern is that the torches are used by non-professional actors, who sometimes don't know upstage from down. I'm concerned that no matter how much I train and drill into them, they will not act responsibly in the event of a fire.

I'm also concerned at the lack of flamexing-which is not being done at all. In fact, they are not willing to purchase flamex.

What should I do? I'm not financially able to walk away from the contract, so what steps besides basic fire safety and evacuation plans can I take?

Thanks.



iamchristuffin

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Re: Dear Abby: My employer is playing with fire
« Reply #1 on: Mar 20, 2014, 06:58 am »
I'm concerned that they aren't informing the fire marshal - what was their justification for this? Could you inform them directly? Over here, if you see something unsafe, and don't report it, you could be just as liable as anyone else in the event of an incident - I don't know OSHA's policy/your laws about that to give you more information I'm afraid.

As for Flamex/Flamebar'ing items - do you have budget/petty cash yourself? If no-one else will, you could always purchase it.

With regards to the actors - what age are we talking about? Just because they have trouble with US/DS, doesn't mean they won't realise that they are holding live fire, and act accordingly.

I've never seen GAMtorches specifically (what an awful video on their site!), but have used similar items with liquid fuel. If they are dropped, the flame is automatically extinguished, so that makes them a whole lot safer.

On the whole, so long as FM is informed, and combustible items are made retardant, and cast are talked through everything, I would be happier to proceed with the effects.

Hope this helps

Cx

MatthewShiner

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Re: Dear Abby: My employer is playing with fire
« Reply #2 on: Mar 20, 2014, 09:49 am »
Without a fire permit, you might be breaking the law.

Bump your concerns casually to the producers and production management.

Who knows, at your first performance, a call could be made to fire marshal . . .
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Anything posted here as in my own personal opinion, and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of my employer - whomever they be at a given moment in time.

soonjung

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Re: Dear Abby: My employer is playing with fire
« Reply #3 on: Mar 20, 2014, 05:55 pm »
I agree with Matthew. You need to check your local regulations. This situation could lead to legal and financial consequences for the production company, venue, and more. I'd say the anonymous tip should happen as soon as possible...

megf

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Re: Dear Abby: My employer is playing with fire
« Reply #4 on: Mar 20, 2014, 10:48 pm »
I've worked with Gam torches, carried by pros and non-pros. (My current show uses three at once, in a fast, choreographed chase sequence. Looks amazing.) No complaints. The fuel pellets don't smell pretty, but they're not as unpleasant as liquids which can spill, stain, make hands and surfaces oily, etc.

I'd recommend devoting 10 minutes of your first tech to "fire tech" - have the folks who handle these torches practice lighting them, walk through the entire sequence to work out if they need drapes paged or doors opened, and remind them that safety - their own, their colleagues', and of the physical space - is a top priority.

Regarding the fire marshal question... Whoa! I agree with Matthew and soonjung. If there's any expectation that this show will run for an extended time, the sooner you're formally cleared, the better.

KMC

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Re: Dear Abby: My employer is playing with fire
« Reply #5 on: Mar 20, 2014, 10:53 pm »
My opinion - you need to [rapidly] climb the ladder at your organization one rung at a time until you hit the person that understands the severity of glossing over this type of situation.  Though yes, it's unlikely the worst will happen, it has happened before.  Best to cover your bases.

The conversation should be simple and to the point: "I'm concerned that we're exposing customers and employees to physical harm, and exposing the company to financial risk both in terms of casualty liability and lost performances for regulatory reasons.  In my opinion we need to take x, y, z action immediately.  If you disagree I understand and will escalate accordingly"

If ultimately you get to the top of the organization and no action is taken, you can take action yourself.  If at that point you're shown the door at the organization I think you should question whether or not it's a good fit for you in the first place - but at least you'll know you've taken every step you can to provide a safe environment, which is certainly better than the alternative.
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PSMKay

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Re: Dear Abby: My employer is playing with fire
« Reply #6 on: Mar 21, 2014, 01:06 am »
There was a recent event in the film community where a camera operator working on a train track was killed by an unanticipated oncoming train. The shoot supervisors had not cleared their presence with the train company. Major lawsuits are in the works.

One of the major discussion points to arise from this event is the responsibility of those in charge to take all steps possible to ensure safety of those they supervise.

I'm not sure of the SOP of your current scene and how it agrees/conflicts with your training. I have a history of living in "dirty" towns. (It is a running joke with my family that my presence in a state has always coincided with that state's governor going to prison.) (Sorry kids, I have no desire to move right now.) I know I was taught fire safety in college courses but we did not practice it in our college theatre productions. No fire retardants were used, we never brought in the fire curtain except as a scenic choice, and at the time open flame was still permitted on stage. I suspect an abundance of palms were greased to make this the case.

This type of practice carried over to the professional environment where I did most of my career work. Unlicensed welders, uncharged fire extinguishers and unmarked fire exits were all part and parcel of my daily life. No questions were asked, either - it was just how things were done in the community where I worked. I did do some work in AEA houses where scenery was constructed by pro shops. In these cases maybe precautions were taken without my awareness.

Quietly ask around your local scene to see if fireproofing is a common thing and if the fire marshal is an effective presence. If they are, great, talk to them about your concerns. If they are not, it's a more rocky decision if you want to be the first to rock the boat. You need to bear in mind that anonymity in this case is not guaranteed, especially if you're the only one making a fuss over the matter and the fire marshal has not been seen to intrude for quite a while.

Regardless, the options suggested by the others as to how to do all you can on your own are excellent. Also, bearing in mind that there is this current of heightened liability in the performing arts, it might behoove you to reach out to the fire marshal anyhow to see if you can serve in some sort of liaison role within the theatre community. Stage managers with such a dedicated focus on fire safety are rare, and the industry could benefit from someone like yourself stepping up to help educate and cultivate greater awareness of risks.

DeeCap

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Re: Dear Abby: My employer is playing with fire
« Reply #7 on: Mar 21, 2014, 10:53 am »
I agree with everything that is said. I am very concerned about the attitude of the artistic staff and that they are choosing art over actors safety. 
Other than a candle, I have little experience with an open flame onstage. Wouldn't this trigger the fire alarms in the theatre? This has bad written all over it..

If you do continue down this road, make sure the proper fire extinguishers are close by. Home depot also sells disposal fire extinguishers that are good for various types of fires for about $15 each. Also having buckets of sand and/or boxes of baking soda. I would also make sure house management/ushers post signs regarding open flames and give them extinguishers as well.

Good luck and keep us posted on how things go.

Dart

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Re: Dear Abby: My employer is playing with fire
« Reply #8 on: Mar 21, 2014, 04:36 pm »
I, too, think you need some sort of clearance, not just for legal purposes, but for safety guidance - even if this guidance is given in the form of guidelines.

Even if The Worst doesn't happen, and the run is 100% safe, what happens if the fire marshal reads a review of the play that mentions the fire? What if they have dinner with a friend who talks about the cool torches used in the play she watched last night? At the very least, you'd get fined. Is that something your theatre can afford?

hbelden

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Re: Dear Abby: My employer is playing with fire
« Reply #9 on: Mar 22, 2014, 12:25 pm »
Also, assign one of your crew (or an offstage actor) to stand in the wings with the fire extinguisher in hand, ready to immediately run onstage should a flame get out of control.  Fire can spread more quickly than you can believe, and the seconds spent finding the extinguisher and picking it up can mean thousands of dollars in injury and damage.

Those fire safety scare videos really did a number on me.  Particularly the wig going up in flames on a mannequin head.
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