Connecticut legislation awaiting Gov. John G. Rowland's signature imposes harsher penalties for the kinds of safety violations that fueled the deadly West Warwick nightclub fire, and empowers town fire marshals to immediately shut down dangerous venues.
But unlike what Rhode Island senators considered yesterday, the Connecticut bill will not require sprinklers in nightclubs and other buildings where pyrotechnics are used. Instead, in a compromise, anyone who uses pyrotechnics without permits and causes injury or death would face up to 10 years imprisonment, up to a $10,000 fine, or both.
Rep. Stephen Dargan, the West Haven Democrat who pushed the bill, said he was pleased that it will offer several incentives for business owners to run a safer operation. The rules generally apply to places of assembly with more than 100 people present.
Dargan said the legislature backed off the sprinkler requirement to avoid penalizing larger venues, such as the Hartford Civic Center. And Dargan, the House chairman of the legislature's Public Safety Committee, said the current process requiring a venue to get a town and state permit to use pyrotechnics is strict.
"In the best-case scenario," Dargan said, "I would like to see every building in the state of Connecticut sprinkled, public and private. It would just dramatically cut down on the loss of property and, most important, the loss of life." But, he said, in the interest of the bill's passage, no sprinkler mandates were added because, realistically, opposition from the building trades could have torpedoed the entire legislation.
"We're going to have to revisit some other issues," Dargan said.
Experts in Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts have said that sprinklers sharply reduce the impact of a fire such as the one that tore through The Station nightclub in minutes on Feb. 20. One hundred people died and some 200 were injured in the blaze, compelling states to improve laws to reduce the chances of repeat tragedies and to punish those who needlessly endanger lives.
"Sprinkler protection is the ultimate, the best. You can't have any better type of protection," said West Haven Fire Chief William Johnson.
West Haven Fire Marshal Richard Spreyer called the $10,000 fine, the 10 years imprisonment and the local power to shutter buildings "wonderful" because it gives teeth to law enforcers. But in "a perfect world," he added, "as a fire marshal, I want the sprinklers."
Rowland and legal advisers have not received the bill yet, but spokeswoman Michele Sullivan said yesterday the governor will probably sign it. Once the governor receives legislation, he has 15 days to sign or veto it.
Before the House of Representatives amended the bill, it called for automatic sprinklers on every floor of buildings that feature indoor pyrotechnics. The original language gave the state fire marshal discretion to make exceptions, typically for larger venues such as the Hartford Civic Center.
Another requirement, that buildings install floor-level exit signs, was also scrapped.
The House amendment also toughened Connecticut's legislation by adding blocked exits as grounds for a building's immediate closure by a local fire marshal or police officer. Under current law, a fire marshal cites a violation, but the owner can essentially ignore it for weeks, leaving the building open while the owner appeals or remedies the citation.
To contact Mike McKinney, phone 508-674-8401 or e-mail mmckinne@projo.com
