Public Relations - How do I host an event?

Post by **Elise Reyna** » 18 Aug 2021, 19:13

PUBLIC RELATIONS EVENT HOSTING GUIDELINES

Hosting an event, filing for permits and organizing presence could be a tedious task, depending on the event, you may require up to three or more different permits and/or certifications, the Los Santos Fire Department's Public Relations Division realizes that the tasks may be tedious and has such, decided to write up a couple of guidelines that should steer any event organizer in the correct path.

For starters, not all events require a permit, dependent on if it's on public property or not, dependent on the present fire hazards and security risks. As an event organizer, you'd be required to recognize the difference between a notification, permit and required presence.

A notification or a formal notice is required when the event hosted is on private property and may cause minor disruption to the current penal code. (An example being; an overcrowded club that has gone over the maximum fire safety code capacity).
A permit or a formal certification is required when the event is hosted on either private property or public property and the event may have pending fire, medical or public risks that requires acknowledgement from the Officials of Los Santos. Upon receiving the permit, the issuer (usually the Los Santos Fire Department in the case of a Fire Certification and the Los Santos Government in the case of a Special Event Permit) acknowledges all pending risks and waves their right to criminal prosecution for negligent handling of the event. A permit usually requires the requesting party to agree to a set of terms and attempt to circumvent all pending risks.
Presence is usually required when the event is hosted but not limited to public property and the event has an imminent pending fire, medical or public risk or the risks are too dangerous for the event organizer to handle on their own. In the context of the Los Santos Fire Department, if you as the event organizer request presence, we do issue a certification alongside that, with that, if you request presence from other agencies, they usually also issue a permit.

For the context of the Los Santos Fire Department, the following table may be used to determine which action is needed for the hosted event, if one or more of the points are met, then you must file for the respective action;

FORMAL NOTIFICATION	EVENT FIRE SAFETY CERTIFICATION	REQUIRED FIREFIGHTER PRESENCE
The Los Santos Fire Department does not require any type of formal notification for private events as the Los Santos Fire Department does not enforce the penal code, other agencies may require a formal notice in the event of the above outlined points, please check with the agencies websites.	- The event exceeds or is predicted to exceed the capacity of over 50 people. - The event is hosted on public property. - The event poses a hazard to the public. - The event poses a medical safety risk.	- The event exceeds or is predicted to exceed the capacity of over 100 people. - The event poses a significantly dangerous hazard to the public. - The event poses a fire safety risk. - The event poses a chemical and other hazardous materials safety risk.
In the event of an emergency call 911.	In the event of an emergency call 911.	In the event of an emergency liaise with the firefighters on scene.

The above should explain to you the fundamentals for which type of request you as the event organizer are required to make, when contacting the Los Santos Fire Department. Now, of course, the Los Santos Fire Department does not issue certifications without the event meeting proper requirements.

The requirements for each of the certification and required presence can be found below;

EVENT FIRE SAFETY CERTIFICATION

REQUIRED FIREFIGHTER PRESENCE

- The event has a valid Special Event Permit (SPE).

- The request is submitted 72 hours prior to the planned start for the event.

- If the event is on public property presence from a Law Enforcement Agency is required (LSPD, LSSD, SAPR or SFM).

- The event has basic fire safety countermeasures to prevent an imminent fire (fire extinguishers, on-hand water defense lines).

- The event has basic first-aid equipment in cases of injuries and the requirement to render first aid.

- The event has a valid Special Event Permit (SPE).

- The request is submitted 1 week prior to the planned start for the event.

- If the event is on public property presence from a Law Enforcement Agency is required (LSPD, LSSD, SAPR or SFM).

- Basic event security is required, as both the safety of the public and the safety of firefighters must be guaranteed. Event security can be from a law enforcement agency or from an in-house / contracted security company.

- A basic staging area must be setup for the Los Santos Fire Department.

The Los Santos Fire Department does reserve the right to deny any event request for any reason not listed above.

When submitting a request to the Los Santos Fire Department, you have the right for the Public Relations Division to automatically determine which units will be present at the event, however, you do have the ability to determine which units the Los Santos Fire Department brings along yourself, however, any request for unnecessary resources will be denied.

Below is a list of all the possible units you are able to suggest.

UNIT	UNIT DESCRIPTION
Rescue Ambulance	A Rescue Ambulance is more or less an essential unit when it comes to any events, Rescue Ambulances are required as part of treatment and transportation of any medical incidents that may happen around at an event.
Rescue Engine	A Rescue Engine is a required unit for any type of fire hazards and fire risks that may happen during an event. It is also required for any rescue operation that may require technical tools (an example given; vehicle extractions).
Lifeguards	Lifeguards are required for any type of water-based events that may require intervention via any type of body of water. They are also the primary unit of deployment for events at any beach or near any beach.
Aerial Operations Unit	Aerial Operations Units are required for any type of hard-to-reach terrain, if your event travels through hard-to-reach terrain then it is best to reserve Aerial Operations for the event.
Hazardous Response Unit	Hazardous Response Units are required for any events that may utilize any type of pyrotechnics or chemicals during the duration of the event.
Public Relations Unit	Public Relations Units are optional for any events and provide the event organizers with a direct liaison for the entire duration of the event alongside photography of the Fire Department during the duration of the event.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: My event request got denied, what should I do?

[+] Event denials and how to continue: This can and does happen, the best thing to do is to re-plan, reschedule and resubmit a request. With the official advice of the Los Santos Fire Department being, that if mandatory presence or an official event fire safety certification is required, to not continue the event without going through proper approval as legal ramifications can be sanctioned by the San Andreas State Fire Marshals and the City of Los Santos.

The total amount of loss to reschedule an event will be lower then the fines in punishment of the organization for running the event with a revoked Special Event Permit.

Q: I have to cancel or reschedule the event, but my request has already been accepted by the Fire Department, what do I do?

[+] Event cancellations and rescheduling with an accepted request: Inform a member of Public Relations Management as soon as possible. Cancellations of the event are allowed at any point even during the duration of the event without penalty. Rescheduling of the event will be allowed as long as the new date follows the span of 72 hours prior to the planned start for the event for a Fire Safety Certification and/or 1 week prior to the planned start for the event for a mandatory presence of the Fire Department.

In case you fail to inform the Los Santos Fire Department of a cancellation, then the Los Santos Fire Department has the right to issue a sanction against the organization or entity be it in the case of a fine, or if the fines are not complied with, a permanent or temporary ban from being able to request any type of events in the future.

Q: I'd like to have a meeting to discuss the specifics of running an event, where can I request that?

[+] Scheduling a meeting with Public Relations: You are able to read the specifics of scheduling a meeting with a member of public relations via this article.

Q: What are the legal grounds that the Los Santos Fire Department has to determine that Fire Safety Certifications and Mandatory Presence is required at some events?

[+] Legal Grounds: Every event, as defined by the San Andreas Penal Code under Title I - 105 requires a Special Event Permit for the event to not risk being declared an unlawful assembly. Under the agreement with the Los Santos Government, the Los Santos Fire Department has the right to revoke any Special Event Permit, should there be a significant public, medical or fire risk that has gone unreported, unattended and/or has not been acknowledged by the Los Santos Fire Department. Along with that, the Fire Department has the right to report any events that may not have a Special Event Permit or a have a revoked Special Event Permit to a member of Law Enforcement for the event to then be declared an unlawful assembly.

Q: Does having LSFD present at the event cost any money?

[+] Event Costs: As long as the event holds a Special Event Permit, the presence of the Los Santos Fire Department is free, however, if your event is hosted without a Special Event Permit and you happen to be untruthful on the Event Request, you as the event organizer will most likely be subject to fines and/or lawsuits filed by the Los Santos Fire Department.