PROVIDENCE -- The state Senate is expected to approve today a package of fire safety measures inspired by the Feb. 20 disaster at The Station nightclub, the deadliest fire in Rhode Island history.
The "Comprehensive Fire Safety Act of 2003" comes to the Senate floor with the unanimous recommendation of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Housing and Municipal Government.
The House of Representatives approved an identical bill last week by a 71 to 0 vote.
The bill draws from the recommendations of a 17-member legislative commission on fire safety. The legislation would strike the grandfather exemption from modern fire code, require more mandatory sprinklers, ban pyrotechnics in most indoor venues, and provide fire inspectors greater power.
Sen. John Celona, D-North Providence, who introduced the legislation in the Senate, expects the bill to have overwhelming or perhaps unanimous support, he said yesterday.
The Rhode Island Hospitality and Tourism Association has registered one of the few public complaints about the bill, saying in a letter to Celona that the bill's timetable for safety improvements was too aggressive.
Celona expects the bill to reach the governor for his signature next week.
The legislation would require nightclubs with maximum occupancies from 150 to 300 to install sprinklers by July 1, 2006. Larger establishments would have to install them by July 1, 2005. Clubs with capacities above 150 would need exit signs near the floor, so they would be easier to see if the room fills with smoke.
The bill would repeal the grandfather exemption, effective next Feb. 20, the one-year anniversary of The Station fire. In place of the exemption, the bill would adopt the National Fire Protection Association's codes for new and existing buildings.
