Required Documentation for Flame Effects

For flame effects projects the following items of documentation must be submitted for review and approval by the Fire Arts Safety Team (FAST).

Flame Effects Scenario

Your flame effects scenario is a complete, detailed description of how your artwork incorporates and uses fire. It should include details such as:

  • How your device operates
  • The fuel(s) it uses, how its fuel is stored, and how fuel flow is controlled
  • The types and rated capacities of the components it incorporates, including hoses, valves, solenoids, regulators (and the pressures you intend to set them to), pressure vessels, pumps, pressurization systems, fans/blowers, the pilot light or ignition system, and any other details you may have

When writing your flame effects scenario, please be as clear and concise as possible, while also being as detailed and technical as necessary, to fully convey how your fire elements will work and what will go into making them work that way. If you have not completed the design or construction of your artwork, just be as accurate and complete as you can. If we need further details or clarifications we will contact you.

Flame Effect Diagrams

You will be required to submit detailed diagrams or schematics showing all plumbing and electrical arrangements and controls, and any other relevant technical details. These diagrams should at a minimum illustrate the flow of fuels from the supply to the effect head(s), and all the components those fuels pass through along the way. In particular, you must indicate the locations of any shut-off or other control valves, regulators, pressure vessels, pumps, pressurization systems, fans/blowers, ignition systems and anything else that affects the flow or burning of your flame effect’s fuels.

If you have not completed the design or construction of your artwork, just be as accurate and complete as you can. If we need further details or clarifications we will contact you.

Note: You will need to provide a final set of complete drawings by the last full work week in July.

Layout Diagrams

The following Layout Diagrams are required:

1. Installation Area Layout (for on-playa and in-camp flame effects)

  • Fuel location and supply: Location of artwork in relationship to fuel tanks, showing fuel lines and tanks in relationship to flame source
  • Vehicle protection: How the fuel tank(s) will be shielded from vehicle traffic
  • Illumination: How the installation, including fuel tanks, controls, generators, etc., will be illuminated at night
  • Proposed perimeter safety zones: Show where the artwork stands in relation to participants/audience/performers, indicating distances, and note on the diagram how safe distances were determined NOTE: all perimeter distances will be determined together with FAST.
  • Fire extinguisher locations
  • Location of first aid kit with burn supplies

2. Vehicle flame effect layout (for mutant vehicles with flame effects)

  • Fuel location and protection: Location of fuel tanks and lines and how they are protected from damage by collision or participant actions
  • Safety zones: Locations of flame heads relative to where participants are able to stand
  • Fire extinguishers: Types and locations
  • First aid kit: Location of first aid kit with burn supplies

Operational Plans

Safety Plan

Your safety plan should describe all the measures that your crew will employ to ensure that your installation will be safe for participants, performers, and crew – both during and after construction, and during strike and clean-up. At a minimum, it should cover:

  • Illumination and protection from vehicle traffic for all elements of the installation, including the artwork itself, fuel supplies and fuel storage, operating positions, generators, etc.
  • Types, sizes and placement of fire extinguishers or other fire suppression means that will be kept on hand
  • Location and contents of first aid kit(s)
  • List of Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs) to be kept on hand
  • Safety training your crew members have
  • Safety-specific crew roles and responsibilities
  • Safety procedures and protocols:
    • Fueling procedures: how do you ensure that fueling is done safely?
    • Daily safety check: what conditions do you check for?
    • Operating procedures: what conditions do you watch for while operating?
  • Safety features, if any, built in to the installation
  • Safety perimeters, and how they are enforced

Emergency Response Plan

No matter how comprehensive your safety plan, things still go wrong. Your emergency response plan should list all the ways things may go wrong and expose your crew or other participants to potential injury, and how your crew will respond when they do. At a minimum it should cover:

  • Emergency shut-off/shut-down procedures
  • Response to fuel leaks
  • Response to liquid fuel spills, small and large
  • Response to unplanned fires, small and large
  • Response to damage (or incipient damage) caused by wind, vehicle collision or other physical forces
  • Response to hazardous material exposure of crew, performer or participant
  • Response to injury sustained by crew, performer or participant

Leave No Trace (LNT) Plan

The artist, Leave No Trace (LNT) Lead and crew are responsible for all clean up at the art installation site, both nightly and when the Burning Man event ends. Your LNT plan describes how you will accomplish this. At a minimum it should cover:

  • Nightly clean-up procedure
  • End-of-event clean-up procedure
  • Emergency clean-up procedures (e.g., for liquid fuel spills)
  • Clean-up tools and materials to be used