Digital Extra: The Station Fire

Property owners tell a House panel yesterday about inconsistencies in interpreting the new rules.

01:00 AM EDT on Friday, October 22, 2004

BY EDWARD FITZPATRICK
Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE -- Stephan G. Erinakes said he's been trying to bring his six-unit apartment building into compliance with the new fire code adopted in response to the Station nightclub fire.

But he's been frustrated in his attempt to get answers to simple questions. In talking to two local fire inspectors and a fire-alarm contractor, he's been told he'll need either 2, 6 or 14 pull stations for a new fire alarm system in his Warwick building, he said. And the state fire marshal's office hasn't gotten back to him with an answer, he said.

"If things are not addressed, I'll be prosecuted," Erinakes told a state legislative committee yesterday. "I'm still up in the air, not knowing what to do, and time is ticking. I'm going to find myself sitting in a jail cell with Martha Stewart making cupcakes."

Erinakes was one of about a dozen speakers who complained about confusion and costs associated with the fire code revisions, which were passed in reaction to the Feb. 20, 2003, West Warwick nightclub fire that claimed 100 lives.

"This meeting showed me there is just too much confusion statewide at this stage in the game," said Rep. Joseph A. Trillo, R-Warwick, chairman of the House Oversight Commission to Study the Ramifications of the Fire Safety Code. "I wasn't as concerned when the confusion first came up eight months ago, but it doesn't seem any better."

Trillo attributed the confusion to the sweeping nature of the changes and a shortage of fire inspectors to enforce the code. "It's like trying to fight the war in Iraq with 2,000 people," he said.

A standing-room-only crowd of about 55 people packed yesterday's hearing in State House Room 135, which has a posted maximum capacity of 35. At one point, Capitol Police Chief Stephen G. Tocco asked people to move so he could open a second door to the room. Channel 12 news reporter Sean Daly took note of Tocco's action, asking Trillo about the maximum-capacity sign posted on the wall behind him. "Is the irony lost on anyone in this room?" he asked.

"With all these fire officials here, this should be the safest room in the state," Trillo replied before continuing with the hearing.

Vincent A. Marcello, of Bellevue Realtors, in Newport, said the new fire code is prompting owners of smaller apartment buildings to give up on rentals and turn their properties into condominiums. He said there are too few fire inspectors to handle all the buildings that need to be checked for compliance. "We have a lot more Realtors than fire marshals," he said.

Marcello said he'd previously suggested that there would be "chaos" if changes weren't made to the new fire code. "I've been here more than two hours," he said toward the end of yesterday's hearing, "and I think I'm beginning to hear chaos."

Eric F. Anderson, executive director of the Rhode Island chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America, told the committee: "You have an extraordinary public information problem, and assets are needed to inform the public and address some of the chaos the previous speaker just mentioned."

Brian A. Goldman, a lobbyist and lawyer for the Rhode Island Hospitality & Tourism Association, said the cost of inspections is not uniform across the state, and "there appears to be some inconsistencies in interpreting the code." For example, he said, space heaters are allowed for outdoor seating in some municipalities but not in others.

Rep. Peter T. Ginaitt, D-Warwick, a commission member, said, "Warwick shouldn't be different from West Warwick, which shouldn't be different from Cranston, which shouldn't be different from North Kingstown. That has to start to change today."

Ginaitt, a Warwick Fire Department rescue captain, said he understands the frustrations of business owners and fire inspectors. "It's a huge code and it's not simple to interpret, but it should be coming together by now," he said. "There is some frustration among the inspector community that they need guidance about what the new code means."

State Fire Marshal Irving J. Owens told the committee that local fire inspectors were at Community College of Rhode Island from 1 to 5 p.m. yesterday for a training session meant to "dispel any confusion" about the new code. Also, openings for five new state fire inspectors will be posted Monday, and surprise night inspections began last week at places of assembly, he said.

Lyn Spinella said a local fire inspector is requiring that she install a fire alarm in her North Smithfield horse farm, and that she paint the 30,000-square-foot barn with a fire-retardant paint, which costs $70 a gallon. The total bill could be as high as $24,000, she told the committee.

George S. Farrell, chairman of the state Fire Safety Code Board of Appeal and Review, agreed that would be a big bill, but he noted that the local fire inspector had suggested she seek guidance from Farrell's board, which can grant variances and work out compliance plans. "So we may or may not require all of that work be done," he said.

Also, Tom Coffey, executive director of the fire safety code board, noted that the barn contains an apartment, and Spinella confirmed that someone is living there.

Ginaitt said businesses that come before the fire safety code board often come away with compromises they can live with. "If there's any message, it's that the board is an avenue where sensible decisions can be made that go beyond what the static law states," he said.

Katherine Caito told the committee the new code has made it difficult to sell her two-story brick office building in North Providence. "There is great confusion as to the ultimate cost for the modifications," she said.

Caito said local fire and building officials have walked through the building with prospective buyers and made recommendations, but Coffey suggested she get an official inspection report to spell out what's required as opposed to what's simply recommended.

Later, Farrell said, "Before anyone does any work, they should get an inspection done by their local fire marshal, and not from someone who is selling a product."

Ginaitt said he has talked with the attorney general about ensuring that sprinkler and fire alarm companies are not gouging Rhode Islanders who are trying to comply with the new fire code.