I can vouch for the fact that a Fire Marshal will have opinions about fabrics hanging in a public assembly space, like a hall used for dancing.   At the Capital City Grange Hall, when we wanted to make some acoustic panels to (permanently) hang on our walls, we discussed them first with our Fire Marshal.   He told us we needed to make them with fire-rated sound-absorbing insulation (we used RockWool batts), and cover them with a fire-rated fabric (we found acoustically-transparent, fire-rated fabric at Guilford of Maine (we purchased from ATSAcoustics.com).  He was OK with us making the frames out of non-fire-rated wood with non-rated plywood backs.  They also had to be hung so that they could not be knocked down by accident--we made simple hold-downs.

In general at the Grange Hall (I am the President as well as on the Montpelier Contra Dance Committee), we have found that the Fire Marshals are very willing to talk about options if you consult them before you do the project, and will sometimes make helpful suggestions.   In our state (VT), the Fire Marshal's office is the one that issues building permits as well as directly supervising fire-safety issues.   They are not nearly as friendly if they come in after the project is done!   We always consult with them early in the planning process, and have maintained good relationships with their office. 

For those organizations that rent space for their dances, I would recommend similar consultation with the landlord before making changes, as they will be liable whether:

A) The Fire Marshal discovers an un-permitted change to a space or

B) A fire takes place and un-permitted changes have been made.  No one wants that to happen, of course!

Be aware that Fire Marshals have to be always thinking about worst-case scenarios, so they are obligated to look for potential safety problems with the design of public spaces.  I'm sure it's not a comfortable job to have!  If you respect the requirements of their job, they will most likely be happy to work with you--but of course will not automatically approve your first ideas. 

Tim Swartz, Montpelier Contra Dance committee member

On Mon, Dec 16, 2024 at 12:18 PM Bill Frysinger via Organizers <organizers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

I don't want to start a whole new thread, but as people think about options I want to remind folks that it is important to have someone involved who can "think like a Fire Marshall".

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