Hungary has grown into a festival country over the past decade. There’s hardly a weekend in the country without a major music festival, outdoor event, mass sports event or other cultural event linked to a holiday.

What are the characteristics of these events?

Mass music events – preparing the planning

The planning of a festival in terms of fire safety – safety engineering, but especially emergency management – must start early, and in parallel, the consultation of the authorities. We are well aware that the implementation of the directive is required by the authority involved in the authorisation procedure, but a derogation can save millions of euros in costs while increasing safety. This requires careful preparation and agreement with the fire authorities of level I on the requirements of the OTSZ and/or the Directive in the specific situation.

At a music event, there is usually a fear of fire, weather or crowd hysteria. The risk of a fire starting at an outdoor mass event is relatively high, but the likelihood of it affecting crowds is very low. There are a lot of catering units, all using propane butane gas cylinders for cooking, which can explode. Therefore, the use of a safety siphon bottle at events is advisable, not a legal requirement, but practical, safe and at no extra cost, in fact it just requires a broader mindset to implement. However, we don’t expect a major tragedy or emergency to result from a fire: we are in an open space, with lightning rods on the main stages. If the risk is high (e.g. due to the weather forecast), we will cancel the event.

I think that there is a much greater risk of someone creating tension in the crowd, which could cause a panic situation. A more practical approach to fire safety design and implementation, not just a fire safety approach, is therefore essential.

Fire safety planning for mass musical events

The first stage of planning is to design the capacity to meet the needs of the event organiser. The simplest way to do this is to design the stage and auditorium layout in such a way that you don’t need to worry about evacuation calculations. The size of the area will determine the overall fire safety planning and evacuation protocol. In my view, it is not enough to use only the multipliers set out in the directive, but also to take into account the increasingly frequent extreme weather conditions and the different musical trends.

A natural part of festivals is that

• which at the design stage is a grassy, grassy paved area that becomes muddy after two days of rainfall, so the speed multiplier changes from 1 to 0.5,
• at the end of a rock concert or an electronic music concert, a significant proportion of the audience will, without prejudice, be restricted in their movement and ability to act. This should definitely be taken into account!

A solution to improve security could be to increase the number of security guards or to display clear safety animations on projectors, but it could also be to designate a larger auditorium that results in a better crowd density than 4 people/m2. In my experience, the authorities concerned always show a spirit of partnership.

Regrettably, the basic considerations that could most effectively address evacuation in the event of an emergency are not given the attention they deserve. These include evacuation protocol, crisis communication, emergency management strategy. I would not overthink the concepts involved, but a simple, practical and up-to-date design in this respect is essential and may go beyond the requirements of the Directive or the standards concerned in this respect.

Crisis communication example

• “Heavy rain is expected, prepare for stormy weather” So when the skies fall, you can avoid a panicked escape as everyone arrives in wellies and raincoats.
• “The left side of the stage is full, there are still seats available on the right” – another simple communication message to avoid panic caused by crowd pressure.

Of course, you can also communicate with other devices, such as the sound system, a stage PA system or, for smaller events, a battery-powered loudspeaker or megaphone. It is essential that texts written and announced in advance during the planning phase are available before the event starts, as this is no longer possible in an emergency situation. Panicked crisis communication can have the opposite effect of the desired goal, i.e. the communicator’s uncertainty only amplifies the fear.

Evacuation protocol

This is a simple scenario, which is perhaps the most important part of the documentation from a strategic point of view, because a well thought out, well put together strategy can save lives! Yet it does not require careful planning, but rather a consultation with the relevant security managers of the event.

It is advisable to draw up a plan of action to make evacuation feasible. In this, everyone needs as much information as the task of evacuation. The event organiser in charge is the decision-maker, i.e. it is his/her duty, authority and responsibility to order the evacuation, so the event organiser is obviously at the top of the protocol. He needs to know the whole scenario – and here the fire chief has a huge responsibility. It is not enough to “hold the line” until the official procedure is positive, but the content of the documentation must be communicated in detail.

The event organiser in charge cannot be expected to have all the skills: he or she must be an event organiser, a fire and safety expert, a firefighter, a police officer, a medical officer and a technically trained engineer. However, it can hold to account the work done by the professional managers it has invited, selected or delegated to work alongside it, all the more so because it takes responsibility for them. Their expertise is crucial and indispensable.

Responsible leaders need to know the outcome of their decisions and see the next step. While a security guard or crowd control officer only needs to carry out the instructions given.

Appropriate protocols should be established for the decision-making mechanisms, setting out the specific tasks of decision-makers and implementers. If it is well developed and involves all relevant decision-makers, it will provide an effective basis for emergency response over the long term.

If the protocol works

Example: a fire occurs in one of the cafeterias due to the use of an oven and heating equipment.

• The security guard who is there knows where to find a fire extinguisher, goes to it and starts putting it out.
• The security guard at the next set-up point sees him and opens the fence element that is supposed to enclose the event area and starts to usher out the spectators (he has learned that the smoke generated rises upwards and soon you can’t see anything).
• The health service sees the incident and sends its patrols there, but since they know that the escape is in the northbound direction from that sector, they automatically approach it by another route.
• The engineer on duty starts the standby power source, because he has learned that in case of fire, the firefighter on duty will cut the power.

In parallel, decision-makers will liaise with professional bodies and public transport operators. They prepare to avoid mass panic and coordinate the activities of those under their command. Communicate with refugees and the “outside world” (social media such as Facebook or Twitter). Social media is an integral part of every young person’s life, so the event organiser can communicate effectively with participants through social media, avoiding panic.

As long as they are delegated to a job, a position or even a name, and everyone is aware of their own few lines of responsibility, a well-functioning evacuation protocol can be established.