Haunted houses are a popular form of entertainment during Halloween and can also be seen during other times of the year. While Halloween-themed occupancies are meant to be scary in an entertaining way, they can be scary in the most unwanted sense if they are poorly designed and do not meet the safety requirements of building and fire codes. Audio and visual effects, combustible materials, low lighting, and confusing means of egress arrangements can all increase the risk of fire and accidents. If you are planning to create a haunted house and make both authorities and visitors happy, you should determine whether the facility meets all the safety standards that apply in your jurisdiction.
A building can only operate if it meets specific standards for fire safety. These standards are not static and keeping a building’s structure updated to fire ratings codes and standards requires both a good understanding of them as well as effective strategies to implement changes at reasonable costs. When upgrading to a 1 or 2 hours fire rating, one option to consider is to add intumescent coatings to the desired structure.
Fire safety in commercial buildings is nothing to take lightly. According to the U.S Small Business Association roughly 1 in 4 businesses that experience a fire (or other disaster) will not reopen their doors afterward. Of course having to shut down a business is the last of your worries when the alternative could be as damaging as significant loss of life to customers and employees.