Ensure Your Haunted House’s Insurability With These Safety Tips:
–Check every wall for protruding nails and screws, just in case attendees cower against the wall in fright. Also check the floor for nails and screws that were dropped during construction.
-Don’t allow actors to use real weapons, especially while fog machines and strobe lights are in full effect. Who’s to say you won’t miss your target and injure a customer on accident?
-Make sure to protect the haunted house from a devastating fire by using one (or more) 55-gallon drums of fire retardant. Fabrics draped around the haunt to give it an extra creep factor should not be able to ignite by lighter once protected, and proper flame tests should be conducted. It is also important that all actors know the location of fire extinguishers.
-Before opening, check the facility for trip hazards such as cords, uneven floors, obstruction by prop, etc. to avoid customer injury.
-All stairways should be properly lit, and no patrons should be scared within 15 feet of the top or bottom of the staircase for safety reasons.
-Use emergency exit signs so exiting guests can find their way in the dark. Also add access corridors and pocket doors to the maze so actors and security can access different areas quickly, which can also be life-saving in case of an emergency.
-If you feature a maze in your haunted house, make sure it is properly supported and checked regularly. Its stability is imperative to the customers’ safety, and the maze should be shut down until it is fixed should a wall support come loose.
-Most importantly, there should be a constant means of communication between management and actors, just in case of emergency. It is advised to have no less than eight actors with radios inside the haunted house at all times.
To learn more, visit the Haunted House Association.
