Medical, Weather, and Emergency Action Plans for Concerts

An emergency action plan (EAP) is a written document that sets out how the event team detects, decides on, and responds to emergencies. That includes medical incidents, severe weather, fire, power failure, crowd problems, and security threats. The plan only works if the people who will use it have read it, practiced it, and know who makes each decision. This guide covers what an EAP should include and how to put it into action on show day.

Nothing here replaces the requirements of your local fire, police, emergency management, and public health authorities. Many jurisdictions require a written plan as part of the permit process. Write it with them, not just for them.

Structure of an emergency action plan

For general templates, Ready.gov covers business emergency planning, and the Event Safety Alliance focuses on live events.

1. Event overview: date, times, venue, capacity, layout, and the expected audience profile.
2. Command structure: who is in charge, who decides what, and how decisions get communicated.
3. Risk assessment: the hazards you have identified and the controls for each.
4. Medical plan: staffing, locations, transport, and hospital coordination.
5. Weather plan: monitoring, thresholds, and actions.
6. Show stop procedure: who calls it, the scripted announcements, and how the show restarts.
7. Evacuation and shelter-in-place plans: routes, shelters, and capacities.
8. Communications plan: radio channels, code words, public messaging, and contact lists.
9. Site maps: exits, first aid, emergency vehicle routes, shelter locations, and rendezvous points.

Command and decision-making

In an emergency, ambiguity costs time. Name the people and their backups in the plan:

• Event or incident commander: usually the promoter's operations lead or the venue's event manager. Has final authority on a show stop or evacuation unless public safety officials take over.
• Production manager and stage manager: carry out the stop on stage, kill the sound when told, and manage the artist's team.
• Security lead: manages the crowd, staffing positions, and escorts. For the overall structure, see concert security planning.
• Medical lead: manages patient care and transport, and calls for additional resources.
• Public safety liaisons: police, fire, and EMS. Many larger events use a unified command post where these people are physically together.

Write down who can stop the show. Everyone on the radio should know that a stop request from security, medical, or the weather monitor goes straight to the decision-maker, not through a chain.

Medical coverage

The level of medical coverage depends on the audience size, its profile, the duration of the event, alcohol, heat, the distance to the nearest hospital, and local requirements. Several published guides and local regulations give staffing models based on these factors. Use the one your authority accepts as the starting point, and check with a licensed medical provider.

• Levels of care: first aid, EMT or paramedic, and advanced life support with ambulance transport on site for larger events.
• Placement: a main first aid post, plus roaming teams for the crowd, and a team near the barricade for high-energy GA shows.
• Transport routes: a clear emergency vehicle route that is kept clear for the whole event.
• Hospital notification: let nearby hospitals know about the event, its size, and the expected issues.
• Heat and hydration: free drinking water, shade, and cooling for outdoor and summer shows.
• Documentation: a record of every patient contact, kept according to medical privacy rules.

Severe weather

Monitoring

Assign one person, the weather monitor, whose only job during the event is to watch the weather. Use a professional weather service or a lightning detection system, plus official alerts from the national weather authority (in the US, the National Weather Service). Check forecasts days in advance, and brief the team on the day.

Lightning

A widely used practice is to stop outdoor activity when lightning is detected within a set distance (often about 8–10 miles), or when thunder is heard. Activity resumes only after 30 minutes with no lightning or thunder inside that distance, and the 30-minute clock restarts with every new strike. Check your venue's policy, the NWS lightning safety guidance, and local rules, and write your exact criteria into the plan.

Wind

Temporary structures such as stages, roofs, PA towers, LED walls, and banners have wind ratings from the manufacturer or engineer. The operations management plan for the structure sets the wind speeds that trigger an action:

• Watch level: monitor more closely and alert the production manager.
• Action level: remove scrims and banners and lower anything that the plan says to lower.
• Stop level: clear the stage and the area around the structure.

The structural engineer and rigging provider set these thresholds, not the promoter. Have the document on site, and make sure the weather monitor knows the numbers. The stage and structure side is covered in writing the production spec.

Heat, rain, and flooding

• Heat: increase water stations, medical staffing, and shaded areas, and adjust set times if needed.
• Heavy rain: protect power distribution, watch for slip hazards, and check drainage around stages and entrances.

Show stop procedure

1. The decision-maker calls the stop on the main radio channel using the agreed code.
2. The stage manager tells the artist's tour manager, and the band stops playing.
3. House lights or work lights come up as appropriate.
4. A pre-scripted announcement plays from the stage. Ideally it comes from the artist, or from a recorded message played through the PA.
5. Security and staff move into position to carry out the next step: hold, shelter, or evacuate.
6. The restart is called only by the decision-maker, after the cause is resolved and all positions confirm they are ready.

Write announcement scripts in advance for each scenario: a medical incident in the crowd, weather hold, shelter-in-place, and evacuation. They should be short and specific, and they should tell people what to do and where to go. Avoid causing panic.

Evacuation and shelter-in-place

Evacuation

• Exit routes and their capacity, based on the venue's approved occupancy and egress plans. More detail is in crowd management and egress.
• Staff assigned to every exit, with lighting and signage.
• Assembly points away from the building, plus traffic management for crowds leaving on foot.
• Assistance for people with disabilities and anyone who needs help to move.

Shelter-in-place

Sometimes, such as when lightning is close or there is a threat outside, it is safer to keep people inside or move them into buildings. Identify shelters and their capacity in advance. For an outdoor event, there is often not enough shelter for everyone, so the plan must specify alternatives, such as telling people to go to their vehicles, and when that decision must be made.

Communications

• Radio channels: a dedicated command channel, plus separate channels for security, production, and medical.
• Code words: plain language is generally recommended for most messages, but agree on specific codes for things you don't want to announce to the crowd.
• Public messaging: PA announcements, LED screens, social media, and text alerts if your ticketing system supports it.
• Contact sheet: mobile numbers for every key person and public safety contact, printed as well as stored on phones.

Training and exercises

• Hold a pre-show briefing with every department lead covering roles, codes, and thresholds.
• Run through at least one scenario out loud, such as "lightning at 9 miles at 8:40 p.m., what happens?"
• After the event, review every incident and update the plan.

Putting it into practice

Write the EAP with your local authorities, name the people who make each decision, set measurable weather thresholds, script your announcements, and rehearse before doors. If you need medical, security, or staging partners for your plan, browse vendors and Avenue Mine venues.