(A) Application.
(1) No tent exceeding 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 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, and the like. 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 division (A)(1) above may be renewed for an additional period of not to exceed 90 days upon inspection and certification as required by division (A)(1) above.
(B) Location, construction, and material.
(1) Tents exceeding 120 square feet in area shall be located so as to comply with all applicable provisions of the current adopted edition of the Fire Code. All tents shall be constructed and erected to withstand a wind pressure of ten 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 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 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 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.
(C) Exits, aisles, and seats.
(1) A minimum of two exits shall be provided where a tent is used as a place of assembly with a capacity of 100 or more persons, in any tent where ten 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 500 people, each exit shall be not less than nine feet wide, and the number of exits shall be based upon the ration of one exit to each 500 persons or major fraction thereof which the tent is designed to seat or hold. Such exits shall be placed not over 75 feet apart and exitways serving such exits shall not be less than nine feet in clear width.
(2) Aisles not less than 44 inches in width shall be provided so that there are not more than ten seats between any seat and an aisle. Where individual seats are not provided a distance of 18 inches along any bench or platform shall constitute one 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 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 20 feet beyond any exit shall be kept free and clear and be made readily passable.
(4) Where two or more tents adjoin, with an opening between, an exit to the outside shall be provided at the point of juncture.
(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.
(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. It shall be the permit holder’s responsibility to enforce no smoking rules.
(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.
(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 25 feet to any tent.
(H) Extinguishers.
(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 fire extinguishers as deemed necessary, and designate their location.
(2) Fire extinguishers 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 extinguishers so that they can be quickly put in operation; the Chief of the Fire Department may require these employees to prove their fitness.
(I) Inspection and supervision by Fire Department. Uniformed Fire Department personnel 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.
(Prior Code, § 92.14) (Ord. D-77, passed 9-4-1945, effective 9-14-1945; Ord. D-1753, passed 9-11-1995, effective 9-21-1995)