No Matter What, I Will Never, Ever . . . .
 

. . . set up in front of a fire exit.

This happened a few years back but was brought to mind in recent conversation.

We arrived to set up at one of our usual venues and they said, "Oh, we need you to set up over here tonight." I looked. "But that's in front of a fire exit." "Oh, nobody ever uses it, set up there." "No." "What do you mean no? "I mean no. Not there." "Set up there or get out!" We got out.

Never went back, never called or got called. Don't know if anyone else ever set up there. Did notify the fire marshal, but he'd have to catch them doing it. Maybe he did later. But it wasn't us.

You absolutely did the right thing...without a doubt.

I'll never, ever forget the Station fire, never.

The Station fire was literally a couple miles from where I grew up. Past that location almost daily.

Nor will any of us who lost friends in that tragedy. Many lessons were (should have been) learned from it. But evidently not everybody catches on.

For the sake of future players and all the patrons, you should call the fire marshal's office and let them know to increase spot checks on that venue.

Nice to hear someone behaving with a sense of responsibility and honor. Good on you. That club owner deserves to have the book thrown at him.

Agreed.
apart from anything else, I believe that would be illegal in the UK, and rightly so.

I agree but it's kinda pointless to give a reply to the OP who clearly stated

So responding, even with a compliment, is a waste of time since he already stated he will not be bothered with the conversation he started or your (worthless) replies. :rolleyes:

Also illegal in every State in the USA AFAIK.

I was at a show at The Station not 10 days before that tragedy. I remember thinking how cramped it was at the time.

Congrats to the OP for doing the right thing.

Mr. Moustache, "tend not to" does not mean never. I do not often have the time to look back at threads and posts. Today I happen to have that time. I suggested the PM as a courtesy to those who might disagree with me and wish to explore this or any matter further.

To amplify the original post, this was many years ago in another state. I played in weekend bands. Part of my day job duties at the time included being a safety officer at my place of employment. As such, I was very familiar with the NFPA Code extant at that time, and was very attuned to blocked or locked exits and things of that nature. I still habitually look for paths of egress in any public building I'm in.

I did notify the local fire marshal who said he could not do anything about that particular incident, but having been alerted to it would be paying close attention to that venue. He asked if I wanted a follow up phone call which I thought was very kind of him, but declined not wanting to add to his work load. Just the knowledge that he would be attending to it was all I needed.

I grew up and had my business in Pawtucket.
Knew a few of the victims.

Absolutely... good decision. I would have done the same.

Just when I thought I'd heard all the bizarre gig stories...just Wow. Thanks for doing the right thing-for you and for any others who played there.

I ran manufacturing plants as a profession. Safety was a constant fight. Everybody hated the safety rules and regulations. Nobody believes bad things will happen to them. But I was one of the people that would end up talking to the accident victims to keep them from going into shock as we waited for the ambulance. Once something goes wrong things are never the same again. You did the right thing.

Besides being verboten by the Fire Marshall, setting equipment by the fire door (never locked from inside) seems an open invitation for oxygen bandits to run off with guitars, mics, etc.

So what if the door is alarmed? That merely alerts somebody that your gear was just swiped.