Local nightclub and bar owners are preparing for increased fire code inspections after tragedies at two different nightclubs last week, in which 118 people were trampled or burned to death.
Ray Cutrer, chief of the Fire Prevention Bureau and in charge of inspections in Baton Rouge, said the bureau sends out two inspectors once a week to make unannounced nightclub inspections but will increase to two and maybe three times a week.
These inspections will be in addition to the bureau’s annual scheduled inspections, Cutrer said.
A stampede broke out early Feb. 17 in Chicago’s E2 nightclub, crushing 21 people on a narrow staircase after a security guard shot pepper spray into the crowd, the Associated Press reported. Last Thursday, pyrotechnics for the band Great White burned down a Rhode Island nightclub, killing 97 people.
Cutrer said inspectors this week will make unannounced inspections Thursday, Friday and possibly Saturday.
“We’ve been authorized to step it up some,” he said.
Joey Peyregne, manager at The Station nightclub, said Baton Rouge has strict fire codes compared to other cities where he has worked.
“The fire marshal came in the day after the Rhode Island incident,” Peyregne said.
Fire Marshal V.J. Bella said Louisiana is fortunate to have good life-safety codes.
“We intend to do what we’ve been doing — trying to enforce codes,” Bella said.
Chained and locked exit doors led to the stampede in Chicago, while unauthorized use of pyrotechnics led to the tragedy in Rhode Island, the Associated Press reported.
“If you see an exit with a chain or a lock on it, you need to report it,” Bella said.
Chris Lundgren, Varsity Theatre talent buyer, said the staff is prepared as if the fire marshal would show up.
“We have five fire exits; we have a sprinkler system,” Lundgren said. “I think the fire marshal knows how to equip a building.”
Peyregne said The Station has four exit doors for its 200-person capacity, a rate of 50 people per door. The club can clear out in about 30 seconds, he said.
      Cutrer said the state has no ordinance against the use of pyrotechnics, but tight restrictions discourage its use. Only a handful of commercial businesses, such as the Centroplex and Argosy Casino, are large enough to comply with pyrotechnic restrictions.
Ichabod’s manager Eric Broussard said fireworks in wooden buildings such as his are simply not a good idea.
“We’re not going to allow pyrotechnics in our bar,” Broussard said.
The life-safety codes require businesses in Louisiana to install sprinklers if the building capacity is more than 300 people, Bella and Cutrer said.
The Associated Press reported officials in New York this year required sprinklers in any public venue accommodating 100 people or more.
Bella said if a nightclub’s capacity is less than 300, the inspectors require fire extinguishers every few feet and fire alarms loud enough to be heard over any music.
Most of the clubs on Chimes Street and in Tigerland fall into that category, Cutrer said.
Bogie’s manager Aaron Saulnier said the fire codes did not require sprinkler installation there, but they do have fire extinguishers and two exit doors. The bouncers keep a count of patrons to avoid overcrowding.
Bella said students should be more aware of their surroundings.
If decorations or advertisements are hanging from the sprinklers, students need to report that, Bella said.
Cutrer advocated a common-sense approach.
“Be aware of exits,” Cutrer said. “If you go in a facility and it’s not apparent how to get out, investigate on your own and find out how to get out.”
By nature, people will try to exit through the door they came in, Cutrer said. Students should recognize other exits and, if possible, stay near them.
Bella said the responsibility primarily falls on the fire marshal.
“When you enter a building, you assume that building is safe for you to occupy,” Bella said. “You assume the fire department has made that building safe.”
Students were divided in their concern about local clubs’ safety.
Antoine Colbert, a general studies senior, said the tragedies last week would not affect him, but said he “doesn’t go out that much anymore.”
Communication studies graduate students Shaun Treat and Sunshine Webster said they were concerned about the evacuation plans of some local clubs, especially with Mardi Gras parties this weekend.
“In crisis situations, people are governed by emotions, not logic,” Webster said.