OCEAN CITY CROWD MANAGER TRAINING
WHAT IS A CROWD MANAGER?
A crowd manager is someone who is designated and trained to monitor the number of occupants within an assembly occupancy. A crowd manager is also responsible for ensuring all means of egress are clear and accessible, as well as marked and illuminated. Crowd managers should be familiar with emergency evacuation routes and plans for their establishment. An effective crowd manager should also have the knowledge to ensure that fire protection systems for the assembly occupancy indicate normal operation.
WHY DO I NEED A CROWD MANAGER?
The idea for crowd management came from tragic fires experienced in the United States. Most recently, the Station Night Club fire in 2003 demonstrated the need for effective crowd management. Lessons learned from this fire emphasized egress reliability and awareness as well as orderly evacuations.
In accordance with the Life Safety Code, NFPA 101, 12.7.6.1 / 13.7.6.1, which is adopted in the State of Maryland Fire Prevention Code, all assembly occupancies with an occupant load of at least 50 are required to have 1 trained crowd manager. Once the occupant load reaches 250, an additional crowd manager must be provided and thereafter for each additional 250 persons. Crowd managers are required to be on site at all times during occupancy.
HOW DO I BECOME TRAINED AS A CROWD MANAGER?
You may complete the Town of Ocean City’s Online Crowd Manager Training Program. The program takes approximately 30 minutes to complete, and includes a small test at the end of the program. Upon successful completion, students will be able to print out their course results, which must be maintained on site at their place of employment.
IS THIS TRAINING REQUIRED?
This training is required in the Code. Upon request by the Fire Marshal’s Office, applicable occupancies will be required to show proof of the required number of crowd managers on site based on occupant load, in addition to producing all course results for the crowd managers on site.
Daily Fire and Building Safety Checklist
Please find the suggested daily checklist in the link below. The checklist will help employees maintain a fire safe establishment for your staff and customers. It should be reviewed to ensure crowd manager compliance.
http://oceancitymd.gov/pdf/CMCheckList.pdf
To begin the online Crowd Manager Training Program, please ensure your volume is enabled on your computer, and click on the below button.