City Regulations

§ 92.14  TENTS.

     (A)     Application.

          (1)     No tent exceeding one hundred twenty (120) square feet in area shall be erected, maintained, operated, or used except under a license issued by the City Clerk.  Such license shall not be issued for a period exceeding ninety (90) days subject to removal as hereinafter provided, and shall be revokable for cause.  Application shall be made on proper form and, when determined to be necessary by the Fire Department, shall include plans drawn to scale, showing exits, aisles, and seating arrangements and details of structural support of the tent, seats, platforms, etc.  No license shall be issued until the provisions of this section have been complied with, and the Fire Department shall have certified that the tent and related structures comply with all applicable ordinances, laws, and regulations.

          (2)     Any license issued under subsection (1) may be renewed for an additional period of not to

exceed ninety (90) days upon inspection and certification as required by subsection (1).

(`38 Gen'l Code, Ch. 2, § 1501)  (Am. Ord. D-1753, passed 9-11-95, effective 9-21-95)

     (B)     Location, construction, and material.

          (1)     Tents exceeding one hundred twenty (120) square feet in area shall be located so as to comply with all applicable provisions of Section 105.8(q) of the Uniform Fire Code, 1994 edition, as adopted by Ord. D-1751.  All tents shall be constructed and erected to withstand a wind pressure of ten (10) pounds per square foot.  All canvas, curtains, cloth, rope, netting, and decorative material shall be rendered flameproof, a test being made of the tent by the Fire Department prior to each erection and on the decorative and other materials before they are attached to or placed therein.  In lieu of such test, the Fire Department may accept a certificate from the manufacturer that the material has been tested by Underwriters' Laboratories, Inc., or some other recognized laboratory, and found to be permanently flame-proofed, provided the material has proper identification markings and is not more than three (3) years old or has not been waterproofed subsequently by a process which increases its flammability.

          (2)     Where tents are used as places of assembly with a capacity of two hundred (200) or more persons, the seats, chairs, jacks, and other appurtenances, if of wood, must be suitably treated to reduce the fire hazard by a suitable application of a surface treatment or by impregnation.

          (3)     No tier of seats shall rise to a height exceeding twelve (12) feet.

          (4)     All lighting shall be by electricity, with lamps properly guarded to prevent ignition by radiation.  In places of assembly, emergency lighting facilities must be as provided in the building and electrical codes for theaters.

          (5)     All wiring conductors shall be of a type approved for the class of service and be protected against over-current.  Loads for feeders and branch lines shall be limited in accordance with the carrying capacities as specified in the National Electrical Code. When deemed necessary by the Electrical Inspector, conductors shall be trenched and covered.

          (6)     Tents in which persons sleep, and mess tents, shall not be used for any exhibition purposes.

(`38 Gen'l Code, Ch. 2, § 1502)

     (C)     Exits, aisles and seats.

          (1)  A minimum of two (2) exits shall be provided where a tent is used as a place of assembly with a capacity of one hundred (100) or more persons, in any tent where ten (10) or more persons sleep and in any tent involving conditions hazardous to life. When tents are used as a place of assembly with a capacity in excess of five hundred (500) people, each exit shall be not less than nine (9) feet wide, and the number of exits shall be based upon the ration of one (1) exit to each five hundred (500) persons or major fraction thereof which the tent is designed to seat or hold.  Such exits shall be placed not over seventy-five (75) feet apart and exitways serving such exits shall not be less than nine (9) feet in clear width.

          (2)     Aisles not less than forty-four (44) inches in width shall be provided so that there are not more than ten (10) seats between any seat and an aisle. Where individual seats are not provided a distance of eighteen (18) inches along any bench or platform shall constitute one (1) seat in computing required aisles and exits.  Every aisle shall lead directly to an exitway, or to a cross aisle running parallel with the seat rows and leading to an exitway.  Such aisles shall not be less in width than the combined width of aisles that they connect.  In tents having a capacity of one thousand (1,000) or over facilities must be provided for admitting patrons on opposite sides of ends convenient to their seating locations.

          (3)     Aisles and exitways shall be used only for passage to and from seats and for vendors carrying their wares.  No poles or ropes shall be permitted in aisles and exitways and all exitways and exits shall be kept unobstructed at all times and so maintained as to not present a hazard from fire.  The area for a distance of twenty (20) feet beyond any exit shall be kept free and clear and be made readily passable.

          (4)     Where two (2) or more tents adjoin, with an opening between, an exit to the outside shall be provided at the point of juncture.

(`38 Gen'l Code, Ch. 2, § 1503)

     (D)     Marking and lighting of exits.  All required exits, other than those normally used for entrance shall be plainly marked during hours of darkness, as to be readily distinguished.  Required exitways shall also be kept adequately lighted at such times, including the immediate area outside the exits.

(`38 Gen'l Code, Ch. 2, § 1504)

     (E)     No smoking.  Signs prohibiting smoking shall be prominently displayed at all entrances and at other locations within any tent used as a place of assembly, so that they may be clearly visible to all occupants.  Frequent announcement regarding such prohibition shall be made, preferably over a public address system if available.  Suitable noncombustible containers shall be provided at all entrances for the proper disposition of cigar or cigarette butts and pipe dottle, and a uniformed attendant shall be stationed at such locations to advise patrons of the no-smoking regulations.  (`38 Gen'l Code, Ch. 2, § 1505)

     (F)     Motion pictures.  No motion picture film of the nitro-cellulose type shall be used, stored, or exhibited within a tent.  Such exhibitions, when held within a tent, shall be restricted to the use of safety film only.  (`38 Gen'l Code, Ch. 2, § 1506)

     (G)     Automobiles, trucks, tractors, lighting equipment, and other equipment using gasoline.  All such appliances shall be filled with approved safety

cans or by hose from fixed pumps, from wheeled tanks with pumps, or a pump from a tank wagon located not closer than twenty-five (25) feet to any tent.  (`38 Gen'l Code, Ch. 2, § 1507)

     (H)     Fire appliances.

          (1)     The Chief of the Fire Department shall survey, or cause to be surveyed, each tent for which a permit has been granted, after it is erected and, if it is to be used as a place of assembly, before it is occupied.  He or she shall require the installation of such fire appliances as are deemed necessary, and designate their location.  Such fire appliances may consist of water tanks, pumps, hose, water buckets, extinguishers, and fireproof blankets.

          (2)     All fire appliances shall be kept in working condition and all pumps and hose, when used in connection with tank wagons, shall be inspected, and tested, if deemed necessary, prior to the occupancy of the tent.  Portable extinguishers and similar appliances shall be properly distributed and readily accessible.  It shall be the duty of the owner or manager of each exhibition to properly train sufficient responsible employees in the use of fire equipment so that it can be quickly put in operation; the Chief of the Fire Department may require these employees to prove their fitness.

(`38 Gen'l Code, Ch. 2, § 1508)

     (I)     Inspection and supervision by Fire Department.  Uniformed firefighters shall be detailed to all circuses, carnivals, or other exhibitions where  large crowds assemble.  They shall familiarize themselves with all fire protection facilities and fire prevention features and with the condition of exits, and shall patrol the entire area of the tent during the time it is occupied.  Special police or firefighters should see that overcrowding is not permitted, that aisles and exitways are kept open, and that no-smoking rules are observed.  (`38 Gen'l Code, Ch. 2, § 1509)

(Ord. D-77, passed 9-4-45, effective 9-14-45)