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First Schedule Duties and Obligations of Fire-protection Watchmen 1. All fire-protection watchmen shall attend for fire drill and general instruction at such places and times as the proper officer shall direct, and, during the first year of employment, shall so attend for such purposes not less frequently than once in every month. 2. It shall be the duty of every fire-protection watchman to carry out the following duties : (a) Before the admission of the public to the theatre, to examine the projection-room and all exit doors, fire-extinguishers, fire appliances, lobbies, passageways, stairways, and emergencylighting arrangements. The examination shall comprise the following routine—(i) Projection-room : Arrange with operator to test projection-port shutters by manual control. Examine fire-extinguishers and self-closing arrangements on projection-room door : (ii) Exit Doors : Test opening of all exit doors. Ensure that panic bolts are operating efficiently, that doors open easily, and that there is no internal or external obstruction to free exit in emergency : (iii) Fire Appliances : Ensure that fire-extinguishers, hose-xeels, and similar equipment are in good order, unobstructed, and ready for use : (iv) Lobbies and Passageways : Ensure that all lobbies, passages, and stairways are free from obstructions (including advertising billboards), so as to allow free exit in emergency : (v) Emergency Lighting : Examine exit and emergency lights, and test emergencylighting switch to ensure that all such lights are in order. (b) Fire Precautions.—To take all measures reasonably necessary to protect the premises against outbreak of fire throughout the performance and until the audience has left the building, including an inspection made immediately after the interval of all places where smoking is permitted : (c) To inspect the theatre for overcrowding before and after commencement of the performance : {d) In respect of every performance, to make his report in the log-book and to sign the report: (e) If any of the equipment, appliances, doors, shutters, places, or other things referred to in paragraph (a) hereof are found out of order, to notify the manager immediately thereof, and, if not corrected before the commencement of the performance, to make a report by telephone to the fire brigade : (/) If overcrowding takes place, to notify the manager immediately thereof, and, if not corrected forthwith, to make a report to the fire brigade within half an hour after the commencement of the.performance. The fact that any such report has been made shall be entered in the " Remarks " column of the log-book. Second Schedule A : Panic Drill 1. Positions shall be allotted to the attendants by the manager, and a special roster shall be prepared and exhibited in a conspicious place in the theatre, accessible to the staff. 2. A signal shall be arranged as a " call to stations," and shall be of such a nature as to be undiscernible by the audience. 3. At any such signal, all attendants shall QUIETLY take up their respective stations, and " stand by " the exit doors and emergency-lighting switch and be prepared to open exits, and apply the emergency-lighting switch, should the SECOND signal be given. CARE SHALL BE TAKEN THAT EXITS ARE NOT OPENED OR THE EMERGENCY SWITCH APPLIED UNLESS THE SECOND SIGNAL HEREAFTER REFERRED TO IS GIVEN. Positions shall be taken up quietly, and in such manner as NOT to arouse any apprehension in the minds of any in the audience. 4. A second signal may be given under circumstances described in the following part of this Schedule —B : Instructions to be Given at Panic Drill. 5. A third signal to " abandon stations " may be given after the first or second signal. Attendants will thereupon resume their theatre routine as though nothing had occurred. 6. Panic drill shall be carried out by the theatre staff at least once a month, preferably before the opening of the theatre. Positions for opening up the exits should be taken up and the procedure brought into operation at the close of the performance each evening. B : Instructions to be Given at Panic Drill 1. At any signs of incipient panic the second signal shall be given, and the emergency-light switch shall AT ONCE be applied by the operator or the attendant responsible, and the other attendants ahall throw open their exits at their respective stations. It may also be advisable for the manager to make an effort to address the audience from the stage or some other convenient place in the theatre. 2. It is imperative that IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES PANIC SHALL BE AVOIDED. Attendants shall be prepared to meet any emergency. They shall train themselves to be cool and collected. A calm demeanour will inspire others with confidence and thus minimize any danger of panic. Operators and musicians (if any) shall make every endeavour to keep the show going. Failing the picture, music—preferably of a lively nature—if heard through the auditorium helps to calm excitable persons and diverts attention from anything which might cause panic.
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