LAFD Public Assemblage - Special Event Guidelines Tents and Canopies

Los Angeles City Fire Department Special Event Guidelines Tents and Canopies

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nder the provisions of the International Fire Code as amended by the State of California and City of Los Angeles, tents and canopies must be at least twelve feet (12’) from other tents/canopies, twelve feet (12’) from cooking apparatus, and twenty feet (20’) from any building and must also have a Certificate of Flame Resistance.

If the aggregate square footage of the tents used in your venue is greater than 400 square feet or greater than 700 square feet for canopies, a permit from the Los Angeles Fire Department is required. A detailed site and floor plan for tents or canopies shall be submitted with each application for approval.

The floor plan shall include: ▪ Detail of Exits ▪ Seating Arrangement ▪ Heating and electrical equipment ▪ Property boundary lines ▪ Square footage of tent/canopy Applicants are responsible for meeting or exceeding the following requirements for the management of all tent and canopy areas:

LOCATIONS ▪ ▪

Shall be at least twenty feet (20’) from property lines and buildings.

A twelve‐foot (12’) fire access passageway must be maintained around all tents and canopies. The access route must be outside of support wires, ropes, and guy wires.

Special Event Guidelines Tents and Canopies

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A twenty-foot (20’) fire lane must be provided around the entire event venue and must connect with all fire lanes required around tents/canopies.

Tents and equipment shall never be an obstruction to a fire hydrant.

All vehicle parking and other internal combustion engines must be at least twenty feet (20’) from any tent/canopy.

Additional authorization and on-site inspections may be required for tents/canopies positioned less than twenty feet (20’) apart.

INSTALLATION ▪

Construction and installation will be governed and inspected by the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety.

INGRESS/EGRESS ▪ ▪ ▪

All tent ingress and egress points must remain open and not obstructed whenever event participants or staff occupy the tent.

Illuminated exit signs are required at each exit while the tent is occupied.

Two separate sources of power must power these exit signs if occupancy is in excess of 300 persons.

FIRE SAFETY ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪

Fire extinguishers of a 2A‐10BC rating shall be provided every seventy‐five feet (75’) of travel distance between tents/canopies. They must be secured in an upright position, visible with signage, and protected from vehicular traffic.

Heating and cooking equipment shall not be located within ten feet (10’) of exits, aisles, passageways, or combustible materials.

Sawdust, shavings, or other combustible material used on the floor or ground shall be made flame resistant and approved by the Fire Marshal.

Hay, straw, trash, and other flammable material shall not be stored closer than fifty feet (50’) from the outside of tents/canopies unless approved by the Fire Marshal.

Smoking shall not be permitted in tents or membrane structures. Approved “No Smoking” signs shall be conspicuously posted.