WARWICK -- State Fire Marshal Irving J. Owens gave a PowerPoint presentation about Rhode Island's new fire-safety laws yesterday, beginning with a bold slide: "Rhode Island," it read, "The Safest State in the Nation."
But during the presentation and in an interview afterward, Owens made clear that Rhode Island did not, in an instant, become the safest state when the General Assembly passed new fire codes in response to The Station nightclub fire.
Rather, Owens said, it will be a process, unfolding over the months and years ahead, as different sections of the law kick in and fire inspectors meet face-to-face with the businesses and institutions that will have to change to make Rhode Island safer.
"It's not overnight," Owens said. "It's meeting with people, explaining the law, going to see the facilities and applying the law to the facilities, and then it's beginning the work phase -- going out to bid, hiring contractors. It's a process."
It will involve training the state's fire inspectors, beginning next month, so that they can enforce the new law, Owens said, and it will involve visiting sites to explain how the code applies to individual buildings.
"It's going to take awhile," Owens said. "I can't tell you how long." But he is confident that Rhode Island will emerge as the safest state.
The goal, Owens said, is to create "an atmosphere of fire safety" and a "culture of compliance" in Rhode Island, and that will require the assistance of "parents, industry, the media, firefighters, businesses, schools -- everyone."
Owens spoke to about 90 people prior to the monthly meeting of the State Emergency Response Commission at Warwick's Crowne Plaza Hotel. The commission members in attendance included representatives from manufacturing firms, chemical companies, colleges, local fire departments and state agencies.
The State Emergency Response Commission is the umbrella group for nine local committees that plan how to respond to emergencies at companies that store or use hazardous chemicals.
Owens, who is chairman of the State Emergency Response Commission, said he plans to make the same presentation to other groups, including the nightclub and tavern owners that will be most directly affected by the new fire laws. But no other presentations are scheduled yet, he said.
The "Comprehensive Fire Safety Act of 2003" was passed in response to the Feb. 20 West Warwick nightclub fire, which left 100 people dead. The law repeals the "grandfather" exemption from modern fire codes and requires more sprinklers in places of public assembly, especially nightclubs. The law also bans pyrotechnics in most indoor venues and gives greater power to fire inspectors.
Owens outlined the strategy for enforcing the law, emphasizing the need to provide sufficient notification and to explain the new requirements. The state will take a "hard-line approach" if necessary, he said, but officials should first try to convince businesses of the need for the changes.
"Compliance is much better than a citation," Owens said. "We have to do it in a way that people will accept. We are trying to avoid constant confrontations, because it doesn't get anywhere."
Owens pointed out that businesses can appeal decisions about the new fire laws with the state Fire Safety Code Board of Appeal and Review, and they can ask the board for more time to meet the requirements. "There is nothing wrong with doing that," he said. "There is no law in the United States that you don't have a right to appeal."
The state is not trying to be "dictatorial," Owens said. "It's the people who said 'This is what we want' through the General Assembly," he said. "We are not trying to put people out of business. We are trying to make this as easy as possible."
But it's not always easy to know what the new laws will mean for individual businesses.
At yesterday's meeting, Bryant College facilities engineer William Gilmore asked whether the college would have to install sprinklers in one of its gymnasiums because of the new law. Owens said, "We can't tell until we look at it. We are not really sure what it is or what they have as protection until we look at it."
Afterward, Gilmore said much depends on how the new law is interpreted. "I understand the statute's intent," he said, "but it gets down to: How do you comply?"
For example, Gilmore said, the new law focuses on nightclubs and other "special amusement buildings" that have concentrated crowds and "entertainment."
"Is a poetry reading entertainment?" Gilmore asked rhetorically, joking that the answer depends on how good the poetry is.
Gilmore said Bryant College just spent $1 million to install sprinklers in a 300-student residence hall. "We have been progressive in doing fire safety on campus," he said. "We support the legislation."
But for budgeting purposes, the college wants to know whether it will have to spend a lot more money because of the new fire laws, Gilmore said. When asked how much it would cost to install sprinklers in the gym, he said, "I don't even want to begin to think how much."
Gilmore said the timing of the new requirements will be critical. "The time line is tight," he said.
Owens provided a time line that includes the following dates:
Jan. 1, 2004: The 2003 Life Safety Code and Uniform Fire Code of the National Fire Protection Association become the Rhode Island Fire Code.
Feb. 20, 2004: The provisions of the Comprehensive Fire Safety Act of 2003 take effect. The state fire marshal must submit a five-year plan for improving state fire safety.
July 1, 2004: Municipally connected fire alarm systems are required for all special-amusement buildings with concentrated crowds and capacity of 150 or more.
July 1, 2005: Sprinkler installation deadline for all covered Class A and B places of assembly, and installation deadline for all newly required fire alarm systems in buildings other than places of assembly.
July 1, 2006: Sprinkler installation deadline for all Class C places of assembly classified as special-amusement buildings with capacity of 150 or more.
July 1, 2008: All three-family dwellings must be equipped with hard-wired or appropriate wireless smoke detectors and carbon-monoxide detectors.
