Theatre space faces fire code squeeze
Regulations could limit seating capacity in the Pit
(0)
By looking at both right and left sides of the photo you'll notice the Pit's fire exits. If an emergency was to occur, people on the other side of the room would not have any closer exits. Photo: Suzette Belliveau
Break a leg! It's said many times during theatrical productions in the University of King's College basement space known as the Pit.
But it's also a safety concern if a fire was to break out at the location and there were no proper emergency exits.
"We began working right away," said Dr. Roberta Barker, chair of the university's Pit renovation advisory committee. "Safety is our top priority for everyone involved with the Pit's productions."
The university has one year to comply with a directive issued by the Halifax Regional Municipality requiring the Pit to meet standard fire regulations. The regulations state that the Pit must have two fire exits at least 36 feet apart. Therefore, if one door is blocked, people will be able to exit safely from the other door.
Enlarge Image
This is the Wardroom's new outdoor fire exit. The Pit's advisory committee would like to have a fire exit similar to this one installed for the theatre. Photo: Suzette Belliveau
Related Stories
Currently, the Pit has temporary fire exits but they are located too close to each other. If this change is not made by September 2012 the municipality will reduce the Pit's maximum occupancy to 60 people. This would include everyone involved in the production and the audience.
At the moment, the King's Student Union says the Pit does not have an actual numbered occupancy. They said this could change if renovations are not made within the year.
This past summer the committee looked at several possibilities for renovations, one of which would be to put in a new entrance by opening up a stone wall to the outdoors.
"One of the goals while doing this would be to make the Pit wheelchair accessible," said Barker.
Barker said fixing the Pit would be expensive.
The university's bursar, Gerry Smith couldn't say how much it would cost to fix the Pit, but he said renovations for the school's pub, the Wardroom, cost $403,322. A major part of the Wardroom's project was building a new exterior exit through the building's original stone wall. This job is similar to the one Barker's committee is hoping will be done to the Pit.
Barker said fundraising campaigns might be the only way to save the Pit. She says she is hopeful because many students and alumni refer to the Pit as their greatest memory on campus. "There is a lot of good will towards the Pit."
"I think it is really important to keep this space alive, make it workable and keep it growing," she said.
The student body reacts
Anna Dubinski, the King's Student Union's vice-president of student life, sits on the university's property, grounds and safety committee. She is also the student representative on the Pit's advisory committee.
Dubinski says although students may be angry or upset, these fire codes are universal laws and "it's not the university's fault."
Dubinski believes students will work with the university to find a way to build the required exits.
"Productions are still going and they're not going to give up." Dubinski says that more than 80 per cent of the student body participates in the Pit's theatrical productions.
Siobhan Fleury is part of the 80 per cent of the student body that is involved with theatrical plays at the university. She says many people will be disappointed if something were to happen to the Pit.
"I've only been in one production here thus far, but I already think of it really fondly." Fleury says making the Pit into a rehearsal and theatre place has taken a lot of time and love. "It's really an important part of King's."
Barker says the Pit has been used to host theatrical productions since the 1960s. It was transformed years ago into a black box theatre, which can be altered to accommodate different styles of presenting a production. This year the King's Theatrical Society will present five plays in the Pit.
Comments on this story are now closed