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The direction is one way
Fire marshals and open flame: what venues are quietly banning
Candles went first. Chafing fuel is following. Venue rules on open flame are tightening after every incident report, and they do not loosen again.
Ask for a venue's event terms and look for the open-flame clause. Increasingly it covers candles, table lamps and chafing fuel together, with a permit process or a ban. The trigger is usually an incident somewhere else: a federal report on a dinner-cruise fire, a hotel closure after a kitchen blaze, a claim from a guest.
How the rules move
An insurer adds an exclusion. A fire marshal adds a condition. A venue writes it into the contract. A caterer arrives with cans and cannot use them.
Compliant by default
Cordless cells and water-activated packs are not open-flame devices. They pass every clause without a permit, which is why caterers who serve many venues are switching before they are told to.