It was 16 August 2016 in Rouen: 13 people died in a bar fire during a birthday party. This event is still in our memories.

 

Behind the scenes of events, safety is the priority

 

Have you ever asked yourself about the safety standards governing the authorised capacity of a seminar venue? Have you ever checked that the access routes comply with regulations for the emergency services? Or whether your event venues can actually accommodate people with reduced mobility (PRM)? Unfortunately, not always! You take it for granted, just as it is normal to find chairs, tables or a video projector.

Yet, behind the scenes, event venues must meet particularly strict standards to ensure the maximum safety of everyone welcomed at meetings, seminars, training sessions and events. Let us lift the veil on this little-known aspect of our profession and of our obligations.

 

Strict rules for ERPs

 

Behind the acronym ERP (Établissement recevant du public, a public-access building) lies legislation whose sole purpose is to protect you and your guests.

Every seminar and event venue is in fact required to comply with ERP and PRM (people with reduced mobility) standards: the installations are checked and approved by the Préfecture de Police and the fire brigade. And the specifications are particularly careful not to forget anything.

Door widths, fire extinguishers, evacuation procedures, fireproofing of materials, emergency staircases, lifts and elevators for people with reduced mobility, access for fire engines and ambulances… everything must be done to standards and regulations so that every person who walks through the door of the venue is perfectly safe.

Naturally, the more people a venue receives, the more important and constraining these standards become, requiring heavy investment from venues that receive the public. Regular maintenance is essential to guarantee safety in the long term, and the installations are of course systematically inspected by the competent authorities.

 

There is no joking with safety

 

Choosing a venue for an event means, above all, asking what guarantees it offers in terms of safety. It is a requirement at every moment and it comes before everything else. Companies, associations, local authorities and administrations must therefore make sure that the venues where they receive the public, internal or external, meet all the standards, so that nothing has been overlooked and they can rely on responsible professionals.

Our role is therefore also to warn against the temptation to turn to unusual and/or private venues, often run by people who do not master our profession, and which do not meet these standards. In the event of a problem, liability is criminal and will rest not only on the owner but also on the organiser.

Food for thought!