By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
A few changes need to be made in the county building auditorium so that the area meets the fire code.
Chris Wilkey, county buildings and grounds superintendent, took Juab County Commissioners on tour of the facility.
The Juab Fine Arts Council has an agreement with the commission that they will use the area for all of their activities performed for the public such as the presentation of musicals, plays and concerts.
"We were told that we need to install three fire sprinklers—one for each beam—in order to be in compliance," said Wilkey.
A fire sprinkler system is an active fire protection measure, consisting of a water supply system, providing adequate pressure and flowrate to a water distribution piping system, onto which fire sprinklers are connected.
The state fire marshal under the office of public safety in Utah has a code that applies to all areas where the public would be found.
The code also requires that the seating on both sides of the main theater seating, which consists of folded chairs, does not meet state standards.
"They want those seats so that they cannot be pushed off into the aisles if the public needs to exit the area," he said.
The folding chairs sit on graduated flooring to match the main theater seating.
Wilkey said that the Fine Arts Council does not want the seating there to be permanent because they like to have the area to display items at certain events and now they can just fold up chairs to do that.
"Could the chairs be put on a track so that they could be removed, if needed, but would still be secure when in place?" asked Clinton Painter, commissioner.
The chairs would then be secure but would still be removable.
Byron Woodland, commission chairman, asked if a small wall, built to the side of each of the rows, would keep the chairs from scooting into the aisle at times of evacuation?
However, walls would still likely be in the way of any display.
What would happen, asked Woodland, if the secure seating were not installed?
Wilkey said that he had been instructed by the state fire marshal that not providing the necessary fire protection, in the way of overhead fire sprinklers and secure seating, would leave the county liable in case of a fire or other disaster.
Woodland asked that Wilkey consider some type of removable, but still secure, seating that could be made by him or found at a suppliers that would meet the need.
However, failing that, he and the other commissioners would like permanent seating installed because it was more important to have the insurance than the risk.
The theater has a capacity of 150 people on the stage and 273 in the theater.
Ninety of the seats are on one side of the main seating area in the building and are currently folding chairs.
