CROWD MANAGEMENT IN CAMBRIDGE, MA

Like most municipalities, in Cambridge, the city's licensing board is responsible for ensuring that local businesses comply with the broad range of public safety standards including fire-prevention and crowd-control ordinances. If you're operating a business with an occupancy of more than 100 persons, that business is also subject to even more stringent state fire-prevention regulations. For more information about the licensing department in Cambridge, visit them at their website.

KEEPING IT SAFE, SANE, AND TOTALLY CAMBRIDGE

With a number of universities and a well-functioning mass-transit system, Cambridge is an expansive community of eclectic individuals and host to many thousands more from not only the greater Boston area, but around the world. The city and its many restaurants, nightclubs, and bars reflect not only its bustling international character, but also a time-honored parlance that in-part reflects the historic ambitions of the local authorities to maintain a particular way of life and civil order.

Among the most important authorities in the city is the  licensing department, responsible for ensuring that local businesses are in compliance with all public safety requirements including the wide range of fire-prevention and crowd-control ordinances.

Consult the Cambridge licensing board to determine your particular business requirements. Non-compliance can result in severe penalties, including suspension or revocation of your license  to do business or to serve alcohol.

PURPOSE OF CROWD-CONTROL REGULATIONS

In the wake of deadly fires at crowded venues, like the  Station Nightclub in Rhode Island in 2003 where dozens were killed and hundreds injured, several states, including the state of Massachusetts, enacted sweeping fire-prevention and crowd-control regulations that strongly focused on preventing similar incidents at nightclubs, dancehalls, and bars.

SWEEPING REGULATORY CHANGES FOR PLACES OF ASSEMBLY

Among the many changes, the Massachusetts Legislature and the Commonwealth's Board of Fire Prevention Regulations placed significant requirements on places of assembly with a capacity of 100 or more. These include the installation of automatic sprinklers, the prohibition of indoor pyrotechnics, and the submission of a valid certificate of inspection issued by the local building inspector and endorsed by the fire chief for the issuance and renewal of liquor licenses. Moreover, the state and local licensing commissions have increased both fines and criminal penalties for owners that permit certain dangerous conditions to persist in any place of assembly.

DESIGNATION OF A CROWD MANAGER  

As of 2011, all places of assembly with a capacity of more than 100 must designate and maintain a state-certified crowd-manager on-site at all times during regular business hours who must complete a daily  fire-safety checklist. In addition, crowd-managers must submit for  retesting and recertification every 3 years through the state of Massachusetts website.

IMPORTANCE OF COMPLIANCE

Local authorities are on the lookout, and conduct regular inspections of buildings and places of assembly. Every month, local fire-safety inspectors cite hundreds of Boston area restaurants, nightclubs, and bars maintaining unsafe conditions inside their buildings. After receiving a citation, and depending on the circumstances, business owners may be required to appear before before the local licensing officials for a disciplinary hearing. Among the most common penalties for business owners is the suspension or revocation of their business or alcoholic beverages licenses.  

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