A theatre-goer has expressed her shock at having her cushion taken away at the door because it was deemed a safety hazard.
Rachel Everest is 1.46m tall or four foot ten and says she's never had an issue using a cushion or jacket to prop her up at other venues.
"It just allows that extra bit of height to be able to see over the people in front."
But when she went to Wellington's St James Theatre in April to see the show Shen Yun, she was told by staff that she couldn't bring the cushion into the venue.
It was explained to Rachel that, if there was an emergency and the cushion was left, her seat wouldn't go up to allow people to have free flow out for a fire escape.
Rachel says she tried to point out that it was only a light cushion, "so it would quite easily fold up, but they didn't want to accept that".
The cushion was placed in a manager's office until the end of the performance. During that time, Rachel says she ended up standing at the back of the theatre because she couldn't see the stage. She says it was hardly worth the $153 she'd spent on her ticket.
"It was almost like, 'you can't and that's it'. There was no sort of help to say, 'can we find you a different seat?' Or something like that."
Booster seats are provided at most cinemas, including Hoyts and EVENT cinemas and guests are also able to bring their own. Large theatres, like The Civic and the Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre, both have 80 booster seats available.
The word 'cushion' doesn't appear in New Zealand's fire safety and evacuation regulations, but when it comes to an evacuation, Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) says the buck stops with the building owner.
In a statement to Fair Go, FENZ risk reduction and investigations manager Pete Gallagher told the programme that while a simple item such as a cushion or a pillow "may seem innocuous", it could become a hazard to others trying to evacuate in narrow accessways, such as the rows of seating in a theatre.
"Therefore, if the owner believes that a cushion may become a hazard or would hinder the evacuation of persons from the building in the event of fire, then they are within their rights and obligations to restrict or prohibit their use."
Les Mellars, a senior fire evacuation advisor for Active Fire Consultants, says that while every building is different, there are ways to manage risks that don't involve simply eliminating them.
"Are high heel shoes dangerous in the event of an emergency situation in a building? Very likely. Someone would kick them off and they'd become an obstacle to escape. So there's all kinds of things to consider."
When Rachel's cushion was taken away, Les believes the venue should have had a plan so she could still enjoy the show. "How are we going to cater for the various kinds of people? I think that we need to be looking at that more seriously and giving more consideration to people that require assistance."
Fair Go asked WellingtonNZ, the council-controlled organisation running the St James, whether it would take another look.
WellingtonNZ events and experiences general manager Warrick Dent explained that as it stands, cushions or booster seats aren't allowed at any of its six venues and this is based on its operational procedures.
"All seats are required to fully flip back in the case of emergency, and whilst we recognise that some cushions may still allow the seats to flip back, others may not, and therefore potentially impede evacuation."
But he also expressed WellingtonNZ's apologies to Rachel and thanked her for bringing the matter to their attention. He says WellingtonNZ is now going to review its procedures, including "the possible provision of booster seats to ensure that we remain to be an accessible venue and deliver great event experiences to all customers".
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