CHICAGO -- The Chicago City Council, after hearing testimony from the
father of a woman killed in The Station nightclub fire, is considering a
measure that would require all new and substantially remodeled
nightclubs to be equipped with sprinkler systems.
Under the current city code, only new and remodeled nightclubs located
below street level and able to hold more than 100 people are required to
be equipped with the safety devices.
The proposed ordinance advanced by the council's Buildings Committee
yesterday would expand that requirement and lower the occupancy
threshold to 50 or more people.
The measure was introduced a week and a half after a fire at a downtown
high-rise killed six people and more than eight months after 100 people
died in The Station club fire in West Warwick, R.I.
Before the committee advanced the measure, alderman listened to
testimony from Raymond Mattera, of Providence, R.I., whose 29-year-old
daughter, Tammy, was among those killed in the Feb. 20 fire at The
Station.
One sprinkler above the stage where the rock group Great White was
playing that night would have made a big difference in how the deadly
blaze spread, Mattera said.
"That single sprinkler [could] have contained the fire, according to ...
tests that I have seen," he said.
The building that housed The Station was built in the 1940s and did not
have sprinklers. Some fire safety experts have said sprinklers might
have slowed the blaze.
Richard Ray, president of Cybor Fire Protection Co., said installing
sprinkler hardware typically costs between $1 and $4 per square foot.
Installations in smaller venues tend to cost more because the cost of
the central control equipment cannot be spread over a larger area.
Proponents of the ordinance say it would do more harm than good to small
businesses that do not cater to large crowds.
"We don't feel it is necessary to spend all that money to get 50 people
out of a building," said Joseph Spagnoli, vice president of the Illinois
License Beverage Association.
The full City Council is expected to vote on the proposal at its Nov. 5.
meeting.
DIGITAL EXTRA:
Find an in-depth report on The Station nightclub fire and its aftermath,
including a multimedia look at a test fire demonstrating the
effectiveness of sprinklers.
