Sprinkler ordinance threatens to shut down Music City clubs
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DATE LINE: WEST WARWICK, RHODE ISLAND: February 21st 2003.
Hair metal band, Great White is on stage. Hundreds of people are inside the The Station night club.
According to published reports; the band is cranking out its first song when pyrotechnics begin going off.
That’s when foam that had been placed around the stage as soundproofing quickly ignited.
“Thick smoke quickly spread through the club and within minutes, the one-story, wooden building was engulfed in flames, trapping club goers as they rushed toward the same exit.” 100 people died.
Great White guitarist, Ty Longley, was among those killed the fire. Dozens more were injured.
The club owners were charged with 200 counts of involuntary manslaughter.
“In the wake of the fire, Gov. Don Carcieri called for emergency inspections of all public buildings similar to The Station nightclub, and the state formed a commission to investigate the blaze. State lawmakers passed stringent new fire-safety standards, including stricter rules on sprinkler requirements for older buildings.” Because of what many call the nations “deadliest nightclub fires”
Laws are changing here in Tennessee mandating that live music venues with occupancies of 100 or more must install fire sprinkler systems.
Metro Fire Marshal Danny Hunt says it is a direct result of the Rhode Island tragedy and it is all about safety.
“The national fire protection association put in a mandate that required the retrofitting of sprinklers for night clubs that serve drinks and have live entertainment and if you had occupancy over 100.”
“It requires a night club, a dance hall, a disco, anything that mixes drinking, alcohol with excitement, 43 the high intensity and the vibe they (the crowd” gets, with loud music, that is distracting, and they are so focused, like a concert, you go in, loud music, and all the people’s attentions are totally on the group, and you could have fires, that happen, and people will ignore it, they cannot hear things going on, so there are requirements in the code to take care of that.”
Hunt admits that the new code will be costly to all the establishments that it affects.
“It gets expensive when you have to bring it (water) in from the street. I think the major cost is getting the water from the water main into the building. The residual costs are the sprinkler lines in the building.”
Hunt says the city has been very lenient on club owners who have appealed, almost automatically granting them 18 month extensions to comply.
That time is running out for some clubs, like the world famous Exit In.
Since 1971, live music has poured off this stage at this concrete slab of peeling paint and stale beer stench.
The walls are tatooed with history of the bands that have rocked across the stage.
The Guess Who, the Ramones, Muddy Waters, Jerry Lee Lewis, the Fabulous thunderbirds, Wolf Mother, Fats Domino, REM, Billy Joel, the Black Crowes, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
The list goes on and on and on.
Josh Billue is the latest owner of the venerable rock and roll hall.
“I am 27 years old and I own the biz it is very scary to be facing bankruptcy at 27″
Billue doesn’t own the building - but he does own the business
“I am not against the sprinklers, I am for them. And if they were handing them out for free I am all about it.”
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