Common Safety Issues At Events & Festivals - Part Two

This is Part Two of this blog post. Common Safety Issues At Events & Festivals - Part One was very well received.

We see the same safety issues cropping up at events all the time. This blog post and Part One are designed to highlight those issues in the hopes it'll help people avoid making them.

There is a more detailed and in-depth version of this article over on SafeEvents.ie if you're interested in learning more.

So, let's look at more of these issues.

#8 Diesel generators

Only ever use diesel generators for events. You do not want petrol generators near crowds. Simple as.

We wrote a blog post entitled Do Not Use Petrol Generators At Events. They're Not Safe, which you may find useful to understand why we avoid petrol generators.

#9 Fire exits

Check the fire exits in your venue. Don't just trust that all is ok with them. 

Walk through them. Ensure they open easily. Ensure they open outward. Ensure there is nothing blocking them outside and that there is nothing impeding an exit once outside. 

#10 Too many people

You need to know how many people can safely fit in the venue for your event. NOT knowing that is negligent. 

Having too many people in an event space is negligent and reckless. 

Involve Crowd & Event Safety specialists like us if you need to.

#11 Medical cover

You really shouldn't run an event without providing some degree of medical cover. You should have an experienced person perform a Medical Needs Risk Assessment (MNRA) to see what you need for your event. 

There's more to medical than phoning the local voluntary organisation and ticking a box.

#12 Barriers

Barriers are an issue at nearly all events. 

The wrong types of barriers tend to be used for the wrong purpose. Barriers perform in different ways and they are ONLY of use to you if used properly. When used improperly they are a danger. 

We wrote this article years ago, which you may find useful - For Your Safety - Mojo Barriers Are A Must

Event the White House gets this wrong sometimes. 

#13 Vehicle movement

Vehicle movement through crowds of people during an event is best avoided. If it can't be avoided then it needs to be safely managed.

We wrote this article entitled Vehicles Shouldn't Be Moving Through Crowds Of Pedestrians, which you may find useful. 

#14 Insurance

People running events, especially local, 'smaller' events often tend to bury their heads in the sand when it comes to insurance. 

Don't ignore insurance for your event. It's often not as expensive as you think.

The bottom line

We're Crowd & Event Safety professionals. We work on all sorts of events every year and we attend all sorts of events. This post and Part One outline the most common safety issues we see on events in Ireland. 

You have a duty of care to the people who come to your event. Do whatever you can to ensure they're safe. 

Hopefully you have found the content useful.

If you think I've missed out on a safety issue you see cropping up regularly, then let me know in the comments.