Fire Safety Engineering | CrowdEx
Location
Sydney Showground, Sydney Olympic Park
Client
Sydney Showground
Venue
Munro Pavilion, an event space of approximately 6,600 m²
DCP services
Fire Safety Engineering, CrowdEx
DCP team
Olivia Yee, Tony Nichol, Bernabe Zaragoza
Issued
May 2026
Engagement
Combined fire and crowd modelling capacity assessment
Munro Pavilion, also known as Munro Warehouse, is an event space of approximately 6,600 m² at Sydney Showground. Originally built as livestock exhibition space for the Sydney Royal Easter Show, its industrial character has made it a distinctive setting for concerts, festivals, product launches and film shoots, including Boiler Room’s Sydney sessions in recent years.
That character is also what makes it complex. The building was never designed for large crowds or entertainment use, and with demand from promoters continuing to grow, Sydney Showground wanted a clearer understanding of how the venue performs as events get bigger.
DC Partnership’s CrowdEx and Fire Safety Engineering teams were engaged to investigate the venue’s event capacity, looking closely at crowd density, life safety and fire performance. The aim was not a single number, but an evidence base Sydney Showground could use with confidence.
A warehouse asked to perform like a venue
Event capacity is usually tested one discipline at a time: fire engineering asks how long conditions stay safe, and crowd modelling asks how long it takes people to leave. In a large, open warehouse with a stage, bars and back-of-house areas, those two questions depend on each other.
Standard evacuation assumptions also treat every patron as moving the moment an alarm sounds. Real crowds hesitate, respond in stages and follow the people around them, and that behaviour matters most in a full room.
DCP ran fire and smoke modelling in PyroSim Fire Dynamics Simulator alongside dynamic crowd modelling in Oasys MassMotion. The two were run as integrated workstreams rather than separate studies, so each informed the other throughout.
The crowd model was configured to reflect how people behave in real incidents: hesitation, delayed response and a phased, progressive evacuation. Patrons closest to the fire began to move first, with others following as the fire developed, rather than everyone leaving the instant an alarm sounds.
Crowd densities were calibrated to conditions observed at the venue, drawing on Sydney Showground’s own experience of how the space fills during events.
The fire model identified when each evacuation route would become untenable as smoke and heat developed. Those times fed directly into the crowd model, so the simulation reflected which routes were genuinely available rather than a fixed allowance.
The result was a more rigorous picture than either model could give alone: not just whether patrons could leave in time, but how route availability, crowd density and human behaviour interact at different capacities.
The modelling also showed the strengths already built into the warehouse. Its saw-tooth roof traps smoke within the upper roof void, delaying its descent and helping preserve visibility for longer, which extends the time available for patrons to leave safely.
Recognising those strengths gives Sydney Showground a more balanced view of the venue, rather than one built only around its constraints.
“DC Partnership’s CrowdEx and Fire Safety Engineering teams delivered a brilliant piece of work helping us unlock a deeper understanding of capacity and evacuation planning at Munro Warehouse, Sydney Showgrounds. Olivia, Tony and Bernabe took the time to understand the distinct challenges that come with hosting unique and popular events in a warehouse event space, going beyond standard crowd and fire evacuation modelling methodologies to provide tailored recommendations for capacity planning. Their expertise and creative approach gave us real confidence in how we manage and plan events at the venue. We wouldn’t hesitate to work with them again!”
Mel Goodman, Head of Events + Venue Operations, Sydney Showground
A flythrough of the crowd model for Munro Warehouse, showing how patrons fill and move through the venue.
The study was never intended to give Sydney Showground a single capacity figure. It provides a clear evidence base of how crowd and fire behaviour interact at different capacities, supporting internal decision-making and conversations with promoters about hosting bigger events.
The study also recommends further operational and risk-based analysis before any capacity increase is confirmed, so decisions about bigger events rest on the right foundation.
Many event venues are buildings that were never designed for the crowds they now host. Bringing fire engineering and crowd modelling together helps venue operators move past standard assumptions, understand how people really behave in an emergency, and plan bigger events with evidence they can stand behind.
Ellie is the powerhouse behind DC Partnership’s financial, operational and people performance. With over a decade of experience in consultancies, startups and corporate environments, she’s a master at combining big-picture strategy with hands-on problem-solving. Since joining DC Partnership in 2021, Ellie has streamlined operations, expanded the company’s footprint and kept everything running smoother than ever. A champion of diversity, inclusion and female leadership, Ellie is all about creating a workplace where everyone feels valued—and where no challenge is too big to tackle.
