Assessment of fire protection systems in proscenium theaters

Stage fire protection measures, details differing from one region to another, have been established, codified and enforced throughout the world and have changed little over the past 100 years. Technological advancements in both stagecraft and fire protection systems have led to a need in the theater community to study the current state of theater fire protection requirements. The objective of the study was to assess the level of protection afforded by stage active fire protection measures, as prescribed by the International Building Code (IBC) (2009), NFPA 80 Standard for Fire Doors and Other Opening Protectives (2007) and as implemented in current design practice, in the event of a fire in the stagehouse of a proscenium theater. The study presented herein assesses the effectiveness of each of the fire protection systems required by building codes for proscenium type theaters. The egress study is not part of this study and thus not specifically carried out.

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has been utilized to examine fire conditions and to assess the effectiveness of the fire protection systems provided within a stage. The input data including representative theater dimensions, fuel loads, and fire scenarios have been determined by a survey of theater design professionals.