Codes, Scrutiny, Technology Key to Club Safety

There have always been risks associated with nightclubs, from brawls to drunken shootouts. Fire has been an ever-present danger.

But in recent years, a combination of stringent fire codes, stricter enforcement and improved technology has dramatically reduced the number, and the severity, of nightclub fires.

No fire code can protect a club from the unauthorized use of fireworks, such as the display that appears to have caused the Thursday fire in West Warwick, R.I., that has killed 96 people. But strict enforcement, officials say, can minimize the likelihood that clubs will break the law, and fire safety equipment such as sprinklers -- which didn’t exist in the West Warwick club -- can minimize the risk when a fire does start.

“Constant vigilance is what we hope will ensure public safety,” said Lt. Barry Wong, a spokesman for the San Francisco Fire Department..

The effort to keep nightclubs safe differs from state to state and city to city, because of a patchwork of fire codes -- rules that vary by building size, usage and enforcement philosophies.

The West historically has relied on one set of regulations, the Uniform Fire Code, while the East has relied on the separate Basic Fire Code. While those have established the foundation, many communities have adopted their own regulations -- sometimes more stringent, sometimes less.

In California, the Uniform Fire Code has long been mandatory, although cities and counties have been free to adopt more stringent amendments. Southern California officials cannot recall a single fatal nightclub fire.

For whatever reason -- perhaps the different codes, perhaps the relative age of buildings, perhaps sheer luck -- only one of the 10 worst U.S. nightclub fires has taken place west of the Mississippi River. That blaze, which took place in a West Plains, Mo., dance hall in 1928, killed 38 people.

“I would certainly never say it couldn’t happen here,” said James McMullen, code coordinator for the Western Fire Chiefs Assn. and retired California fire marshal. “You never want to say that. But I would say that I think we have as vigorous an enforcement community here as anywhere, and probably more than most.”

Throughout the country, nightclub fires are becoming less frequent and death tolls are lower than decades ago. The worst of these -- the 1942 Cocoanut Grove fire in Boston (492 dead) and the 1977 Beverly Hills Supper Club fire in Kentucky (165 dead) -- became part of the national lexicon and led to major changes in fire codes.

In 1980, there were 1,369 nightclub fires in the United States, according to the National Fire Protection Assn. By 1998, that number had dropped to 510 fires, few of which caused any deaths. Before Thursday, the worst fire in the past two decades was at the Happy Land social club in the Bronx, N.Y., in 1990, in which 87 people died.

The best fire officials say they can do to avoid such a disaster is to make sure that nightclubs and performers know they face serious consequences if they violate the law -- and to shut down those who are caught.

In many cities now, fire inspectors routinely join the weekend throngs who pack clubs and bars, checking the establishment’s permitted crowd capacity, looking for emergency exits, making sure that escape routes are marked and unobstructed.

The work can be slow; the inspectors may get to just a few night spots. When they find code violations, such as a blocked exit, they try to get the manager to fix the problem on the spot. Sometimes they issue citations. They’ve been known to silence the music until the crowd size is reduced to the maximum allowed.

It is a system that on the whole has worked well, said Nathaniel Grissom, assistant chief for fire safety at the Atlanta Fire Department. He could recall no serious fires at bars or nightclubs here. “I think we do a fairly decent job,” he said.

Capt. Bill Wick, a Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman, said his department closed about 50 of the city’s 600 nightclubs last year for overcrowding violations, resulting in 27 criminal misdemeanor charges. An additional 18 criminal charges were filed last year for failure to have clear and unlocked exits.

“We rarely see two-time offenders,” said Eric Moses, a spokesman for the City Attorney’s Office.

Club owners in Los Angeles agreed that they have a healthy respect for inspectors, who they believe are tougher than their counterparts in other parts of the country.

“They can shut you down for an evening or close you down for good,” said veteran Hollywood club operator Glyn Samuel, general manager of The Highlands at Hollywood & Highland. “You don’t want to mess around with them. They make you follow the law to the letter.”

Lately, Los Angeles County Fire Capt. Stanley Perkins said, most club owners “are cooperating with us fully because of the issues of the times,” a reference to terrorism.

The Rhode Island fire sent a sobering reminder of the price of inaction to fire officials.

“Yes, what happened in Rhode Island could possibly happen here,” said V.J. Bella, state fire marshal for Louisiana. “I don’t want it to. That’s what my job is all about.”

Officials such as Bella say they have to fight the pressure of developers who don’t want to adopt costly measures such as installing sprinklers in older buildings.

In Louisiana, an owner can avoid installing sprinklers by persuading officials that the building would be just as safe by using other safeguards, such as fire-safe walls, a good alarm system or extra fire exits, depending on the size of the building. But the state has required sprinklers in high-rise buildings -- even older ones -- for more than a decade and most new buildings have such systems, said Bella.

“Our dream is to have automatic sprinklers everywhere, but that’s not the real world,” Bella said.

Arthur E. Cote, executive vice president and chief engineer of the National Fire Protection Assn., said that is the case throughout much of the country. “In general,” he said, “if a building is code-compliant when it was built, it remains compliant even as codes change.”

Such was apparently the case at The Station, the Rhode Island bar that burned down Thursday night and had no sprinklers.

It is not the case in Los Angeles, where fire sprinklers are required in any public place with a capacity of more than 50 people where alcohol is served and there is more than 5,000 square feet of space or a stage -- a definition that covers most nightclubs.

What concerns California officials most are overcrowding and blocked or locked exits.

Perkins, the Los Angeles County fire official, said that if patrons believe a place is overcrowded they should leave. Even if they feel comfortable walking in, he said, they should keep their eyes on exits.

“The first thing you do when you go in is to look for a place to get out,” he said. “A different way than you came in.”

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Times staff writers Daren Briscoe, Hanah Cho, Maria Elena Fernandez, Vicki Kemper, Nicholas Riccardi and Roger Vincent contributed to this report.

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Pyrotechnics on tour

A glance at Great White’s 2003 North American tour and the band’s use of pyrotechnics, according to venue officials and others:

* Jan. 18-20, Honolulu: Band did not use pyrotechnics during shows at Gussie L’Amour’s, club owner said.

* Jan. 23, Glendale Heights, Ill.: Band manager mentioned using pyrotechnics, but Shark City manager said club does not allow them and effects were not used.

* Jan. 24, Medina, Minn.: Band did not use pyrotechnics at Medina Entertainment Center, according to venue’s general manager.

* Jan. 25, Hewitt, Minn.: Great White used “flashpots” at the Checkers Bar. Club booker Brian Hendershot said club was informed in advance.

* Jan. 27, Sioux City, Iowa: Great White used pyrotechnics. Dan Lewis, owner of Lewis Bowl & Sports Bar, could not recall whether band sought permission.

* Jan. 28, Altoona, Wis.: No information available for show at Evolution.

* Jan. 30, Milwaukee: Band apparently used pyrotechnics, though the Rave club did not have a permit for the effects, said Todd Weiler, spokesman for the Milwaukee Department of Neighborhood Services.

* Jan. 31, Lemont, Ill.: Band did not use pyrotechnics at Sean Kaley’s, according to bar employee.

* Feb. 1, Detroit: Band did not use pyrotechnics at Harpos Concert Theater, club manager said.

* Feb. 3, Evansville, Ind.: Band complied with request not to use pyrotechnics at Oxygen, owner said.

* Feb. 7, Pinellas Park, Fla.: Band used pyrotechnics without discussing it with concert organizers at Pinellas Park Expo Center, said Tim Bryant, president of Past to Present Productions.

* Feb. 8, Boynton Beach, Fla.: Band complied with request not to use pyrotechnics at Ovation, owner said.

* Feb. 10, Atlanta: Band did not use pyrotechnics at the Riviera Club, club production manager said.

* Feb. 11, Winston-Salem, N.C.: Officials at Ziggy’s Tavern told fire marshal band did not use pyrotechnics.

* Feb. 13, Allentown, Pa.: Band used pyrotechnics at Crocodile Rock Cafe without notice, owner Joe Clark said.

* Feb. 14, Asbury Park, N.J.: Band used pyrotechnics at the Stone Pony without telling club officials, owner Domenic Santana said.

* Feb. 15, Wantagh, N.Y.: No information available about show at Mulcahy’s.

* Feb. 18, Bangor, Maine: No information available.

Associated Press

- Los Angeles Times