Safety rules

Fire safety

1. Smoking and the use of naked flames are strictly forbidden in the exhibition spaces. This ban is fully valid during preparations (assembling), the event itself, dismantlement and at all events (exhibitions, gala evenings, concerts, etc.) held in the Exhibition Grounds. Smoking is allowed only in the Business and V.I.P. Lounge.

2. The exhibitor (assembly firm) is responsible for constructing the individual exhibition stalls at the exhibitions, when constructing the decorations for other events (herein “Events”) inflammable materials shall not be used, e.g. reed grass, straw, paper, synthetic textiles, plastics, cardboard, polystyrene foam and other materials classified as D, E and F reactions to fire, this includes floors and floor coverings. These materials are only used in the event that they are treated to reduce their flammability, which is demonstrated by a testimonial on this treatment issued by an authorised test centre. Before constructing the stand the exhibitor (assembly firm) is obliged to submit this, along with a sample of the materials used, to the authority for fire safety of the Exhibition Grounds Administrator, that being PVA Expo Praha (herein the “Exhibition Grounds Administrator”). For the assembly of ceilings, it is prohibited to use materials that could drip during an eventual fire. Items made of plastic materials, which are not self-extinguishing, cannot be used as decorative items. The exhibitor (assembly firm) is also responsible for the stands’ roofing being merely optical – a light alloy frame grid or the stand is left uncovered (open).

3. For the construction of stands higher than 3 metres the exhibitor (assembly firm) is obliged to present a calculation of the fire load, carried out pursuant to Czech State Norm (ČSN) 73 0802 Article. 6. The calculation must be submitted to the authority for fire safety of the Exhibition Grounds Administrator before beginning the construction. The maximum value of the calculated fire load is 60 kg/m2 (tab. A.1 item 3.8 ČSN 73 0802). The exhibitor (assembly firm) is responsible for ensuring that the stand will not be constructed before the authority for fire safety of the Exhibition Grounds Administrator gives written approval.

4. The exhibitor (assembly firm) is responsible for not placing advertising above their exhibition stand (e.g. balloons, etc.) without written permission from the Exhibition Grounds Administrator’s worker responsible for fire safety. The adverts must meet these conditions:

• Balloons may not be filled with an inflammable or explosive gas
• Adverts cannot be placed above the communications corridors used by visitors to the exhibition
• Adverts cannot be fixed to the pavilion’s load-bearing constructions
• Advertising balloons and placards cannot screen the fire alarms

5. Throughout the Exhibition Grounds it is forbidden to carry out welding work, cutting using an oxy-acetylene welder, grinding, etc.

6. Throughout the Exhibition Grounds it is forbidden to use fireworks or artificial smoke.

7. The exhibitor (assembly firm) is not allowed to use any nitrocellulose based coatings or paints, nor to store these materials in the stand. The worker from the Exhibition Grounds Administrator responsible for fire safety can grant exceptions in writing.

8. If planing, cutting, drilling, etc. of wooden materials is necessary during modification of the stand or decorations the exhibitor (assembly firm) is responsible for vacuum cleaning up and, immediately after completing the work, placing waste, as well as flammable powder formed during this work, into a designated location outside of the pavilion’s area.

9. The exhibitor (assembly firm) is responsible for not using pressurised bottles, containers or other devices with gases that are flammable or that support flammability in the internal areas. If their use is necessary for the presentation, then the exhibitor (assembly firm) must discuss this with and gain approval from the worker of the Exhibition Grounds Administrator responsible for fire safety. The exhibitor (assembly firm) is obliged to submit to the worker from the Exhibition Grounds Administrator responsible for fire safety a document proving a pressure test was carried out on the device, including any distribution mechanisms and accessories. During operation the exhibitor (assembly firm) is responsible for adhering to these conditions:

• the device can only be handled by an employee with the corresponding qualifications. Such an employee must not leave the vicinity of the device during its operation.
• the entire device must be secured against misuse by unauthorised persons
• in the event of the operating personnel being absent the main valve on the pressure container must be closed, as well as any other valves on the device.

10. During exhibitions and presentations of motorised vehicles the exhibitor (assembly firm) can only have an amount of fuel in the fuel tanks necessary for the vehicles’ exit from the exhibition area. The exhibitor (assembly firm) is responsible for the accumulator (if the vehicle has one) being disconnected whilst the vehicle is located in the exhibition area.

11. When using heating appliances the exhibitor (assembly firm) is responsible for complying with the following principles:

• nelectric cookers and heaters (electric and gas) will not be used
• any heating device used must be in a perfect technical condition; for electrical and gas devices the exhibitor (assembly firm) must present a valid document stating that an inspection of the device has been carried out,
• for heating appliances that do not have a prescribed safe distance from flammable surfaces in their documentation (e.g., floor coverings, fixtures and fittings, etc.), it is necessary to maintain the safe distance according to ČSN 06 1008 tab. 1 and pursuant to Decree No. 23/2008, Part 8
• if it is not possible to comply with these distances, then heat isolating barriers made out of fire-proof material (e.g., gypsum plasterboard, lignin, etc.) with a thickness of at least 3 mm must be used. The isolating barrier must be at a distance of at least 30 mm, with a tolerance of ± 5 mm, from the protected substance. The protected substance must be exceeded on the top edge by at least 300 mm, and on the sides by 150 mm (ČSN 06 1008 Article. 4.4.1.3). If the heating appliance is placed on a flammable floor covering or on other items made out of flammable materials, then an isolating mat made out of the same fire-proof material must be used.
• The heating appliance must be under constant supervision, and the person responsible for its operation must be designated in writing. After the end of exhibition operations or events, electrical appliances must be demonstrably disconnected from the electricity source every day and all valves must be closed on gas devices.

12. The exhibitor (assembly firm) is responsible for ensuring that the handling and storage of exhibits, packaging and other materials is prohibited in escape routes and the close vicinity of extinguishers for electricity distribution equipment. Every day the exhibitor (assembly firm) must clear out unnecessary materials into the designated locations. No material may be stored behind an exhibition stand or on its ceiling structure.

13. All fire safety equipment (e.g., fire hydrants, portable extinguishers, fire alarms, etc.) installed in the premises can only be used in the event of a fire. Their use, any damage or any handling of them must be immediately announced by the exhibitor (assembly firm) to the employee responsible for fire safety. Unrestricted access to all fire safety equipment must be permanently secured.

14. It is prohibited to park motor vehicles next to entrances into the exhibition pavilions, underground or above ground hydrants and water stopcocks if the driving space around them is less than 3 metres. If it is necessary to stop in such places (e.g., to transport exhibited items or materials for the construction of the exhibition stand, etc.), then the exhibitor (assembly firm) is responsible for the driver remaining near the vehicle so that he/she can drive away if the need arises.

15. If it is necessary to use flammable materials to exhibit a device’s operation, then the exhibitor (assembly firm) is responsible for ensuring that at the stand or rented area there is only enough fuel for one day of exhibition.

16. The exhibitor (assembly firm) is responsible for ensuring that devices or items, which by their properties threaten fire safety, are not used.

17. The Exhibition Grounds Administrator will establish fire patrols to monitor fire safety and protection. Each exhibitor (assembly firm) is obliged to enable these patrols access to all areas being used by the exhibitor.

18. If the exhibitor (assembly firm) discovers fire defects that he or she cannot remedy, then he/she is responsible for immediately notifying the Exhibition Grounds’ employee responsible for fire safety or a member of the fire patrol.

19. All exits from the exhibition pavilions must be clear, just as the escape routes between individual stands and access to fire safety equipment. The exhibitor (assembly firm) is responsible for ensuring that their activities do not cause these areas to become inaccessible.

20. Every fire, even if it has been extinguished by the exhibitor’s (assembly firm’s) own means, must be immediately announced at the fire registration point.

21. The exhibitor (assembly firm) is obliged to notify the employee responsible for fire safety of any damage or use of fire safety equipment by the exhibitor (assembly firm).

22. The internal communications (the walkways between expositions) define the distance between each exhibition whole. The exhibitor (assembly firm) is responsible for ensuring these communications are permanently kept free and, at the same time, that free access to all the technical areas is ensured as is the free space around the perimeter walls in places where technical and fire safety equipment is located (there must be free access to all electrical distributions systems, main switches and stopcocks, fire alarms, fire hydrants, fire extinguishers etc. the thoroughfares behind the stands and expositions by the perimeter walls to the exits and the access points for the installed technical equipment, in exceptional conditions to resolve the situation only through the free parts of the exposition!)

23. Every exhibitor (assembly firm) is responsible for ensuring that during the exhibition they always allow organisers access to the rear areas of the exhibition stands during the night when the stands are guarded by the electronic fire, security and camera systems.

Fire protection of two-storey expositions

When constructing two-storey exhibition stands the exhibitor (assembly firm) is responsible for adhering to these principles:

1. For the construction of two-storey exhibition stands flammable materials, such as reed grass, straw, paper, synthetic textiles, plastic foil, cardboard, polystyrene foam and other materials with a D, E and F level of flammability shall not be used. These materials may only be used if they have been treated for decreased flammability. Before beginning construction of the stand the exhibitor is obliged to present a valid certificate of this treatment to the fire protection authority of the Exhibition Grounds Administrator, as well as a sample of the materials used. For the assembly of ceilings, it is prohibited to use materials that could drip during an eventual fire. Items made out of plastic materials, which are not self-extinguishing, cannot be used as decorative items.

2. Exhibition stands will be used as office, meeting or exhibition areas without increasing the threat of fire.

3. I t is prohibited to cover approved assembly elements with flammable materials, and to store easily flammable substances in a solid or liquid state in the area where the stands are located. Equipment or devices that could cause a fire cannot be exhibited in the stands.

4. Assembly may only be carried out in approved locations, and there must be a 3-metre distance from the communications. This distance does not have to be complied with if the second storey is only bounded by a railing and/or the fire resistance is documented by a calculation.

5. I f such a stand has a winding staircase leading to the second storey, then the exhibitor (assembly firm) must ensure that the maximum occupancy of the second storey is 30 people; if the stand has a straight staircase, then the occupancy can be 55 people. If more than one staircase is used, then it is possible to increase the number of people proportionally.

6. The staircase must enable safe exit from a dangerous area. The escape route must not lead under the second above ground floor unless the resistance of its construction against fire has been proven.

7. Every exposition must be equipped with portable fire extinguishers at a count of one unit for every 200m2 of floor space initiated on each storey. If the exhibitor (assembly firm) does not have his/her own fire extinguishers, then the Exhibition Grounds administrator will supply them for a fee.

8. The exhibitor is obliged to attach a fire report or certificate documenting the construction’s fire resistance for a two-storey exhibition stand plan

9. The covering for stands (2-storey) will be the same as for single-storey ones, i.e. without any covering

10. Before beginning construction on 2-storey stands the exhibitor (assembly firm) is obliged to submit a statics appraisal of the construction, compiled and certified by a person or organisation authorised to do so.

11. The exhibitor (assembly firm) is responsible for ensuring that work on constructing the stand does not start before written approval by the authority of the Exhibition Grounds Administrator responsible for fire safety.

Electrical equipment

1. During the construction of an exhibition stand, including its rear area and electrical equipment the exhibitor (assembly firm) is responsible for ensuring that they follow the instructions of the worker from the Exhibition Grounds Administrator, who has the electrical qualifications in accordance with Decree No. 50/1978 Coll., that they allow a designated employee from the Exhibition Grounds Administrator, who has the electrical qualifications in accordance with Decree No. 50/1978 Coll., access to the exhibition stand, including its rear area, so that the worker can carry out an operational check of the electrical equipment and that they allow a designated employee from the Exhibition Grounds Administrator, who has the electrical qualifications in accordance with Decree No. 50/1978 Coll., access to the rented space, so that the worker can carry out an operational check of the electrical equipment.

2. The exhibitor (assembly firm) is responsible for ensuring that his/her electrical equipment is only installed by a person that has the electrical qualifications in accordance with Decree No. 50/1978 Coll., and in accord with ČSN 33 2000-7-711 (The Electrical Installations of Buildings – Part 7-711: Special Purpose Equipment and in Special Buildings (Exhibitions, Displays and Stands)) and that a report is compiled on the electrical equipment by a person authorised for this activity. The report is submitted to the designated employee from the Exhibition Grounds Administrator. The Exhibition Grounds Administrator can only allow electrical equipment thus prepared to be used.

3. The exhibitor (assembly firm) is responsible for ensuring that the exhibitor’s (assembly firm’s) low voltage electrical equipment will be connected to feeds by persons demonstrably trained in so doing or with higher classifications pursuant to Decree No. 50/1978 Coll.

4. The exhibitor (assembly firm) is responsible for ensuring that the persons entrusted with running the stand and packing it away, from the standpoint of connecting the feed for the stand’s electrical equipment, are persons that are demonstrably trained.

5. In the event of any problem the exhibitor (assembly firm) may have in connecting or running electrical equipment, caused by a mutual interaction of the feed network and the equipment, the exhibitor (assembly firm) is responsible for immediately informing the designated employee from the Exhibition Grounds Administrator as presented in the operational agreement and he/she is obliged to ask the employee for help from a person with the electrical qualifications in accordance with Decree No. 50/1978 Coll., who knows about the local operating conditions.

6. The exhibitor (assembly firm) is responsible for only using electrical equipment that is either under guarantee or has a valid report made on it compiled in accord with the pertinent ČSN. Further, combined electrical kitchen equipment for the rear area of the exhibition stands must allow for all of its parts, apart from fridges/freezers, to be demonstrably disconnected when the stand is not being used.

7. If the exhibitor (assembly firm) uses adapters for connecting electrical equipment (with or without extension cables) he/she is responsible for placing every adapter in a place accessible and visible for checks on the connection and warming. Furthermore, is responsible for ensuring that they use only extension cords with a valid certificate / inspection report or the guarantee certificate.

8. When the stands are not being used (when the pavilion has been locked up) the exhibitor (assembly firm) is responsible for ensuring that all electrical equipment is not plugged in (apart from fridges and freezers). If an exhibit is some electrical equipment that cannot be unplugged (due to demanding calibrations etc.) the exhibitor (assembly firm) must have written agreement from the designated employee from the Exhibition Grounds Administrator for it to be plugged in and running.

 

Prague, 8/7/2023

Cannafest Team