PROVIDENCE — Any legislative effort to roll back the 2003 overhaul of the state fire code will meet heavy resistance, promised one of the architects of the new laws, which were approved four years ago in response to The Station nightclub disaster of Feb. 20, 2003.

“I will be with the forces that will be fighting any repeal of these fire laws,” said state Rep. Peter T. Ginaitt, D-Warwick. “We’ve been the only state in the country that’s had the fortitude to do this. And time has not healed this issue. We need to continue to move forward to providing a safer state.”

In the months after the nightclub fire that killed 100 people four years ago, Ginaitt co-chaired a 17-member commission that took testimony from dozens of experts and then crafted the new state fire code, which adopted national standards and added special requirements on nightclubs and other places people gather. Those requirements for places of assembly include sprinklers and fire alarms that connected directly to municipal fire departments.

Opponents of the fire code, including business owners who claim the code is draconian, are trying to build momentum to revisit the law this legislative session. State Rep. Joseph Trillo, R-Warwick, argues that the new code goes too far beyond regulating nightclubs, and has hurt businesses.

House leadership has appointed Ginaitt and Trillo to the 2007-08 House Oversight Commission to Study the Ramifications of the Fire Safety Code, an advisory board that dates to 2004. The other members are Rep. Russell Jackson, D-Newport; Rep. Susan Story, R-Barrington; Rep. John McCauley, D-Providence; Rep. Jon Brien, D-Woonsocket; and Rep. Donna Walsh, D-Charlestown.

“Hopefully, were going to have hearings this session and we’ll take some testimony from fire authorities and from individuals and schools and anybody who wants to testify to the kind of problems they’ve had with this code,” Trillo said. He may introduce legislation to address concerns about the fire code uncovered by the testimony, he said. “If there’s a safety problem, it needs to be addressed, but I just feel that the code is going too far.”

A number of business owners agree. Kevin Graveline, owner of Grav’s Pub in West Warwick, said yesterday he has spent tens of thousands of dollars to upgrade the fire protection at his bar and rooming house under the new code. Fire inspectors “come in any time they want and just keeping hitting you and hitting you” with new requirements, he said. Local fire marshals, Graveline said, have enormous power to force a business owner to spend money on upgrades, yet do not always know the law. “If a fire marshal tells you to do something, you have to do it or they will shut you down,” he said. “In my eyes, that’s Gestapo tactics.”

Graveline is bringing appeals to the Fire Safety Code Board of Appeal and Review, he said.

Lime Rock Fire Chief Frank Sylvester said yesterday that the majority of fire professionals support the new code, which is based on standards from the National Fire Protection Association. “We’ve been enforcing the new codes up here and we think they’ve been effective,” he said.

Ginaitt said he’s willing to listen to the concerns of businesses, to identify the “nuances” of the law that may be causing problems. But he maintains that most complaints relate to inconsistent enforcement. “I’m hopeful we may clarify some of the problems that may exist out in the local jurisdictions,” he said. “From what I’ve heard year after year, the ability to interpret the code from one community to the next continues to be confusing.

“I see any question of repeal as a destructive direction,” Ginaitt said. “How many [business owners] have already stepped up to the plate? How many said this is the right thing to do, the responsible thing to do” and upgraded their buildings to meet the new code? “The crux of this is we need local jurisdictions that know how to enforce the code. Repeal is not the answer. That’s a poor way for policy to go. And we need to defend what we did.”

A spokesman for House Speaker William Murphy said the speaker wants the commission to investigate the effects of the fire law on local business and will consider the group’s recommendations. “The safety of the citizens remains priority one,” said Murphy’s spokesman, Larry Berman. But Murphy wants to make sure the laws are not putting people out of business, he said.

Governor Carcieri, who signed the new code into law nearly four years ago, “recognizes that there are a number of businesses and organizations that believe these new standards to be overly onerous,” said Carcieri spokesman Michael Maynard. The governor “would support a comprehensive review of the codes to determine [their] impact. We must be flexible to the needs of businesses without compromising safety. We should not lose sight of the fact that these codes were put into place, first and foremost, to protect lives. Safety should remain the number-one priority.”

marsenau@projo.com