Event Safety Insights Issue One | Fall 2016 | Page 23

If you own a venue:

- have water freely available or at discounted
prices,
- erect and staff cooling stations with shade, fans,
misters, water, a place to sit or lay down, etc.;
- stock concessions with high-water content foods
such as fruits and vegetables;
- have extra medical personnel on site and trained
in the treatment of heat-related illness;
- make sure that all messaging outlets, announcements, social media, video boards, etc. each carry
pre-written heat safety messages and advice on
the location of water and cooling stations;
- have local medical personnel train your venue
staff in the recognition of heat-related illness;
- have extra staff on call or on hand;
- socialize your heat mitigation plans with your
artists/acts;

If you own a ticket:

- liberal use of sunscreen;
- wear light-colored or loose-fitting clothing;
- wear a loose fitting, wide brimmed hat;
- plan a schedule for an all-day music festival that
includes shaded breaks;
- start hydrating in the days ahead of the event;
- discontinue use of caffeinated and alcoholic
beverages, (Drinking caffeine and/or alcohol in
extreme heat conditions is actually worse for your
body than if you drank nothing at all);
- consume snacks/food with high water content
(fruits and vegetables)
- exercise care using medications and contact your
physician or pharmacist regarding the heat tolerance of individuals on certain medication;
- rest well, both in the days leading up to the
event, and at the event;

W h a t C a n Yo u D o ?

venue to begin preparing for the possibility of
heat-related casualties.
As a venue manager, you should also disseminate
heat safety information to ticket holders via multiple conduits (local media, social media, web sites,
etc.). The information should include good heat
mitigation practices for your patrons to aspire to.
Excessive Heat Watch: Issued when conditions
are favorable for extreme heat in the next 1 to 3
days. The Excessive Heat Watch should continue
to prompt organizers of outdoor events to take
every available means to protect patrons from the
heat. Proactive planning saves lives.
Heat Advisory: A heat advisory is issued within 12
hours of the onset of extremely dangerous heat
conditions. Although the criteria for heat advisories are different throughout the country, they are
typically issued when the heat index is expected
to be greater than 100F. Activation of venue-specific heat mitigation and remediation plans should
occur.
Extreme Heat Warning: This is the biggie! When
you see this product, it is because the NWS has
the expectation that heat fatalities will occur unless
mitigation actions occur. This step should include a
moratorium on alcohol sales, as alcoholic beverages and extreme heat are a lethal combination. The
Extreme Heat Warning product tends to be issued
with heat index values are over 105F.

A Loud Response to the
Silent Killer

The first step in your preparation for the heat is to
pay attention to the weather forecast for the location of the event that you will be hosting/attending. The National Weather Service (NWS) web site
at weather.gov is a great place to start. The NWS
issues the following products when extreme heat
is expected:

Every weather plan should include loud and clear
mitigation strategies and proactive decision triggers against this silent killer. Planning for extreme
heat is especially important as the summer outdoor event and festival season gets into high gear,
and as late summer athletics events are just around
the corner.

Excessive Heat Outlook: Issued when the potential exists for an excessive heat event in the next
3-7 days. This product should be a trigger for your

And, as many of you with outdoor events and venues have already noticed, it’s not getting any cooler out there!
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