Could Another Station Fire Happen in Rhode Island?
Wednesday, December 07, 2016
The fire at an artists' enclave in an Oakland, California warehouse that killed at least 36 is a stark reminder of the 2003 Station Nightclub fire in West Warwick that took the lives of one hundred people and injured over 200 more.
Could a fire of this magnitude happen in Rhode Island again?
“We like to think that it wouldn’t, and that we stay on top of things. The truth and reality is you don't always know what people do behind close doors sometimes,” said Chief Richard Susi, who heads the Rhode Island Association of Fire Chiefs. “But in public spaces, inspectors who see something that might not be right need to say something.”
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST“I think what our worry is, time has passed and people tend to forget and try to roll back regulations that were advocated for after the Station Fire, and that's the biggest worry,” said Susi. “I lobby at the State House on anything to do with fire safety. That's one of the things we're concerned about. We're looking to make sure it does not happen again."
Changes Following Station Club Fire
Rhode Island State Fire Marshall John Chartier, who was the Warwick Fire Chief at the time of the Station Fire, spoke to the issues of fire safety in the state, nearly fourteen years after the Station Fire.
“We’re in a better place -- definitely,” Charter told GoLocal on Tuesday. “Rhode Island re-did its [fire] code in 2004, which requires not only smoke detectors and and equipment but sprinklers in nightclubs. And fire safety has worked diligently since that time to make sure nightclubs that meet that criteria do in fact have fire alarms and sprinkler systems. We’re in much safer conditions than in 2003. I was the Fire Chief in West Warwick when [the Station Fire] occurred, and it’s left an indelible mark on me — I took this job to make sure it doesn't happen again.”
“My biggest concern, especially around the holidays, is overcrowding,” said Chartier. "The state requires that you have crowd managers that have to be trained by us on how to count heads and handle crowds, and what to do if things get out of hand. But I think we have a good handle on it."
As to unregulated spaces — such as an artists' enclave like the one in Oakland — Chartier noted that it would be monitored at the city and town level.
“I’m not aware of any situations that would rise to the level of what happened in California. The way the code is enforced at an artist enclave, unless it’s a state owned property — that’s delegated to the local fire department,” said Chartier.
On Monday, City Lab questioned whether Oakland's "affordability crisis" was part of the root cause of the unsafe conditions that led up to the fire.
“You can never say never. I’ve been in this business too long to know that. What happened in California was an absolute tragedy. The building, from the limited reporting I heard, was an artists' enclave that had a place of assembly, and no sprinkler system and inadequate egress,” said Chartier. “That shouldn’t happen here in Rhode Island — we changed our laws and sprinklers and smoke detectors are at the heart of it. That costs money to comply but I will tell you from safety standpoint are of the utmost importance.”
Combating State Assessments
Dave Kane, whose son Nicholas O’Neill at age 18 was the youngest victim of the Station Fire, said that in his opinion, the state has not moved “one square foot forward.”
“It just doesn’t change,” said Kane. “Here’s the thing. Not only did the [Oakland apartment] owner know what wasn’t in there, including sprinklers, the building owner knew, and the fire department was just blocks away — they got there in three minutes. It’s not an open secret that they were living there, and it was a hell hole. So here’s my question — the [fire department] said they couldn’t get into the building for an inspection. The fire marshal can’t get into a building? He can call the State Police and kick the door in.”
“There’s no reason for this,” said Kane. “This is another example of fire officials and government safety officials completely turning their backs.”
This summer, Kane took then-Presidential candidate Donald Trump for publicly stating an attendance limit at a campaign event was “unfair.” (Read that piece HERE).
“It’s a form of NIMBY, that it can’t happen here. Every time there’s a house break or a shooting or some kind of crazy kidnapping, and some neighbor says on camera that it’s a good neighborhood, I can’t believe it happened here,” said Kane. “They don’t think it can happen here. Tragedy happens to someone else. Until it happens to you.”
Editor's Note: A previous version had that Chartier was the Chief of the West Warwick Fire Department; he was the Chief of the Warwick Fire Department.
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