Connecticut Gov. John G. Rowland yesterday signed into law harsher penalties for fire-safety violations and gave local fire marshals power to immediately shut down dangerous venues.
Connecticut's response to the pyrotechnic-fueled West Warwick nightclub fire that ended 100 lives this year offers no enhanced sprinkler protection even as a national fire-safety panel on Tuesday recommended that every new nightclub with 50 or more patrons have sprinklers. Instead, Connecticut's sprinkler requirements for indoor pyrotechnics remain for places of public assembly with occupancy of 300 or more.
But under the new law, anyone in Connecticut who uses pyrotechnics without permits and causes injury or death faces up to 10 years imprisonment, up to a $10,000 fine, or both, according to a bill analysis by the legislature's Office of Legislative Research. And those who violate a fire marshal or police officer's order to vacate a building immediately will face fines of $200 to $1,000, the law says.
"I think the important thing is we have tried to address some concerns in regard to pyrotechnic use inside facilities and to secure and ensure that the public is protected if they are being used," said Michele Sullivan, director of communications for Rowland, in a phone interview. "Also, I think it will allow for far more structure in how a club can do things."
The bill, pushed by Rep. Stephen Dargan, D-West Haven, originally called for sprinklers in more buildings and for floor-level exit signs that can help people find a way out of a smoke-clogged place. But an amendment in the House of Representatives stripped those provisions.
Still, given that Connecticut bases its fire code on that of the National Fire Protection Association, which recommended the stricter sprinkler rules Tuesday, it's conceivable the state's code could be toughened.
Connecticut's new law includes:
For new construction and renovations that occur after the law's passage, a building's main entrance must accommodate two-thirds of a maximum capacity crowd exiting in an emergency, up from a half-capacity crowd.
Local fire marshals have the same power as the state fire marshal to remove, seize, store and dispose of pyrotechnics.
Building owners, band managers or agents must announce locations of emergency exits at the start of any rock concert or other event.
Violations including maintaining combustible material or conditions that present a fire hazard, failure to maintain sprinklers, and failure to install smoke detectors, become punishable under the state's nuisance law. It allows the state to stop someone from maintaining a building or running a business after three arrests.
To contact Mike McKinney, phone 508-674-8401 or e-mail mmckinne@projo.com
