Event Safety ServiceMandatory or not: what it depends on
Many organisers only discover a fire watch officer is required when they read the permit conditions. That rarely comes as a surprise once you know what the fire service looks at.
Who imposes the requirement
The requirement comes from the municipality or the local fire service and appears in the conditions attached to your event permit. The fire service assesses your application on fire safety and can prescribe the deployment of one or more state-certified fire watch officers.
Situations where it is often required
- Open fire on site, such as fire baskets, torches or cooking fires
- Fireworks or pyrotechnics during a show
- Large marquees or canopies holding many people
- A building or hall where escape routes are temporarily altered
- Stand construction, set building or welding during build-up and break-down
- The use of gas cylinders in catering and food trucks
What a fire watch officer does
A fire watch officer supervises preventively: they walk rounds, check that escape routes and emergency exits stay clear, see whether extinguishers are reachable and address risky behaviour. If something does go wrong, they act immediately on an incipient fire and call in the fire service.
State-certified, not a volunteer
The fire service usually requires a state-certified fire watch officer. That is a recognised qualification with a valid certificate, not a colleague who knows where the extinguisher hangs. Always ask about it when hiring.
Not sure?
Send us the conditions attached to your permit. We will read them and let you know whether you need fire watch officers, how many and when they have to be present.