The panel at the National Fire Protection Association’s World Conference last week included: (from left) Massachusetts Fire Marshal Steven Coan, Rhode Island Assistant Fire Marshal Michael DiMascolo, former Rhode Island Fire Marshal George Farrell, NFPA officials Gary Keith and Robert Duval, and Daniel Madrzykowski of the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
More than four years after a rock band’s pyrotechnics ignited a fire that killed 100 fans in a Rhode Island nightclub, the deadline for clubs here in the Bay State to install sprinkler systems is near.
“We have always been a state that tries to learn from tragedy,” said Stephen Coan, state fire marshal, who spoke at last week’s National Fire Protection Association World Conference. “Boston’s Coconut Grove fire in 1942 led to the creation of the Massachusetts Fire Code. The tragedy in Worcester in 1999 that resulted in the loss of six firefighters led to changes in firefighter safety at abandoned buildings.”
During the conference at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, Coan joined a panel that included George Farrell, Rhode Island’s former fire marshal; Michael DiMascolo, Rhode Island’s assistant state fire marshal; Daniel Madrzykowski of the National Institute of Standards and Technology; and NFPA officials Gary Keith and Robert Duval. They discussed how the catastrophe at the Rhode Island nightclub, The Station, has helped spur changes in safety regulations. The inferno was the fourth-deadliest fire in the nation’s history.
DiMascolo choked back tears as he described being among the first responders to the fire that broke out minutes after the rock band Great White took the stage on the night of Feb. 20, 2003, in West Warwick. The blaze began after the pyrotechnics ignited illegal soundproofing foam.
“I was asleep when I received the phone call about a bad fire,” he recalled. “We made every attempt to treat victims with dignity and this incident had a dramatic change in my life.”
Among the biggest changes in the Rhode Island Fire Code was the elimination of a provision that allowed fire inspectors to “grandfather” older buildings, or judge them only by the safety standards that existed when the facility was built or last renovated.
“The grandfather clause made fire safety very difficult and that’s why The Station nightclub did not have a sprinkler system,” said George Farrell. “But now that clause has been eliminated and that was the most important thing the state did to improve safety in these clubs.”
Farrell noted that there was opposition from the hospitality and tourism industry that represented some of the nightclubs. He said it was a challenging to convince them of its importance because of the steep cost of such systems.
“I told reporters after these new rules passed to come back next year when the Legislature will try to take away what we put into law,” Farrell said. “It’s a difficult task to keep what we’ve gained.”
‘A Lifesaving Tool’
In Massachusetts, nightspots with a capacity of 100 or more must have automatic sprinkler systems installed by November. Coan said he has received complaints from owners who say they can’t afford the systems that can cost up to $60,000.
“From a public safety standpoint, sprinklers are such a lifesaving tool that to own and operate an entertainment venue without them is not justified,” Coan noted. “That said, I understand the entertainment industry has been hurt by 9/11 and the smoking ban. It’s not our goal to make the industry suffer or go bankrupt. We convinced the Department of Revenue to speed up capital depreciation on these systems to save money in taxes and have encouraged the state to enact a low-cost loan program similar to septic systems.”
Officials are convinced that if The Station had an automatic sprinkler system, the tragedy could have been averted. Following the blaze, Jack Russell, the rock band’s lead singer, told reporters that the club’s managers had given Great White permission to mount the fireworks display. But the club’s owners, Michael and Jeffrey Dederian, countered that they had no prior knowledge that pyrotechnics were going to be used by the band.
Within three minutes of the band’s taking the stage, the club’s main room had convulsed into a fire, officials said. A half-hour later, flames cast a terrifying light on what remained of the club’s wood-frame skeletal exterior walls.
Last year, Daniel Biechele, former Great White tour manager, pleaded guilty to 100 counts of involuntary manslaughter. He was sentenced to four years in prison after a court hearing in which victims’ relatives described their depression and nightmares caused by the tragedy.
Also last year, club owners Jeffrey and Michael Derderian pleaded no contest to involuntary manslaughter charges for installing the flammable soundproofing foam blamed for spreading the flames. Michael Derderian was given four years in prison, while his brother received a suspended sentence, probation and community service.
Coan later told Banker & Tradesman that it takes a disaster to spur new rules.
“I have a theory that very few people believe they will be a fire victim,” he said. “People seem to understand that you will be a crime victim, but it’s very hard to convince people that fires have victims. Every time a fire truck leaves the station, there’s a chance someone will perish. I preach about smoke alarms and planning two ways out of a home. But it’s hard to get our decision makers to concentrate on this until, unfortunately, something horrible happens.”
Albert Gray, who lost his 22-year-old son Derek in the fire at The Station, sat in the front row listening to the panel. Gray, who has spent his career at the MBTA as a fire/life safety inspector, served on the task force that recommended changes to the Massachusetts fire regulations.
“The state has taken some big steps forward,” Gray said. “We spent a long time to get these changes approved, but we have to be diligent. I just found out that someone filed legislation to lessen the consequences for not complying with the new law. I had to go to Beacon Hill so we don’t turn our back on the changes.”
Gray, who said his son was a big fan of Great White, described his boy as a “good kid and who never smoked or drank” and was engaged to be married at the time of his death.
“It’s too late for me, I already lost my son, but I do what I do for others,” Gray said. “I’m scared that people will forget. Why do we have to lose 100 people to change laws?”
