COLLEGE
OF COMMUNICATIONS
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (March 1, 2007)ÑWith more than 40,000 college
students living in State College, the nightlife in Happy Valley is anything
but dead on the weekends, especially when you have more than 20 bars in the
downtown area.
Hundreds of students, alumni and visitors crowd the bars every
weekend with the intentions to have a good time. However, sometimes having a
good time can quickly turn to disaster.
After two tragedies occurred in the United States, building code
and law enforcement officers across the country decided some changes needed to
be made to prevent deadly tragedies from occurring ever again at any
entertainment venue.
Last week marked the four-year anniversary of The Station Nightclub
fire in West Warwick, R.I. The station went up in flames Feb. 20, 2003,
trapping more than 300 people in a deadly inferno. One hundred people died
after a spark from a pyrotechnic display by a live band ignited a piece of the
foam, used on the walls and stage for soundproofing, and quickly spread flames
throughout the whole nightclub, according to a report by the Office for
Domestic Preparedness.
The Station fire came just three days after 21 people died in a
stampede at E-2, a Chicago nightclub. The stampede resulted after a chemical
irritant was used to suppress a disturbance on the second floor of the club,
according to a 2003 press release from the Cook County State AttorneyÕs Office.
After those two incidents, many cities and states across the country
amended their building codes and laws.
The changes trickled down all the way to State College, where the
Centre Region Code Administration met with borough officials to discuss
possible changes, fire inspector Shawn Kauffman said.
Because about 50 percent of bars and nightclubs downtown already
had sprinkler systems in place, the code administration felt no immediate
changes were needed with the bars, Kauffman said. However, another venue for
partying did need those changes.
ÒWe realized fraternity houses have large crowds and are not
supervised É and they werenÕt required to have sprinklers because they are in a
residential area,Ó he said.
An ordinance was
passed soon after that all fraternities must have a sprinkler system installed
by Sep. 1, 2008, Kauffman said. So far about 50 percent of fraternities have
installed them.
Some researchers of the Chicago and Rhode Island incidentsÑ the
National Fire Protection Association and Crowd Management StrategiesÑ have
stated that neither one of those tragedies would have occurred if the
nightclubs had complied with the local code laws.
The Code Administration has started to crack down a little harder
with safety regulations on the downtown bars and nightclubs to make sure they
are in full compliance with the code.
It was only this year that the code administration started using a
computer program that automatically tells the officers when a certain bar is
due for inspection.
Ò[Previously] most inspections were done because of complaint or
renovation,Ó Kauffman said.
The administration also will begin to do monthly occupancy checks,
Kauffman said. During these Òquick checks,Ó the code officers walk into
downtown bars during their peak hoursÑ10:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. on a weekend
nightÑto do a head count of the crowd and check for any blocked exits.
ÒWe want to make sure the bars are abiding by the laws not just
football weekends but every weekend,Ó Kauffman said.
He said if the head count is more than 10 percent of the occupancy
limit, the officers get all the patrons out and close the bar down for the rest
of the night. In addition, the establishment receives a fine ranging from $300
to $1,000, Kauffman said.
But if the bar or club is just within the 10 percent, they take it
as a Òfudge factorÓ because their averaged head count could be a little off.
On January 27, three code officers did a surprise occupancy
inspection on 11 bars downtown, Kauffman said. None of the bars were cited
because they were all in compliance.
All the bars were given fair warning since October, though, when
the code administration held a ÒFire Safety After-HoursÓ seminar for all bar
owners in the area.
During the seminar, Kauffman went over what the regular and
occupancy inspections consist of. The full inspections that are done either
once or every three years, depending on the size of the bar, are to check that
the bars are in compliance with the 2006 International Fire Code as far as
working fire alarms, emergency lights and other devices, including sprinklers.
The Fire Code is updated every three years, Kauffman said.
The 2006 edition of the Fire Code has a more rigorous set of rules
than the codes most of the downtown bars were built under. For example, since
LuluÕs, 131 S. Pugh St., and Candy Bar, 127 S. Pugh St., were built under the
new code, they had to get voice fire alarmsÑa recorded voice goes off saying
people need to evacuate instead of the typical siren noise, Kauffman said.
The new code also states that any commercial building, which includes
all nightclubs and bars with an occupancy load of more than 100 people, must
have a sprinkler system. Also any establishment that was built under previous
codes, when sprinklers were not required, and wants to make any structural
changes must put in a sprinkler system.
Even though a lot of tragedies, including the Rhode Island
incident, have shown sprinkler systems would made a huge difference, they are
still not mandatory for all bars in State College. They are only required for
new constructions or any bars that make structural changes.
ÒAs a fire inspector, I like to see sprinklers because I think it
makes a building safer but I canÕt say [the bars or nightclubs without
sprinklers] are not safe,Ó Kauffman said.
However, some code enforcers in other states might disagree with
Kauffman.
Thirty-eight states, not including Pennsylvania, have adopted the
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) safety code, spokesman Robert
Solomon said. The NFPA is a private nonprofit organization that develops safety
codes.
Solomon said that after the Station fire, NFPA made major changes
to its code, including increasing number and size of exit doors as well as
making sprinklers mandatory for nightclubs and bars.
Kauffman said that Pennsylvania has adopted some of the NFPA
codes, just not the mandatory sprinkler one.
The 2006 NFPA code mandates all establishments that hold more than
100 people to install a sprinkler system, even if they were built long ago and
not making any changes to their structure anytime soon.
Ò[The new code] put the mandate in, it doesnÕt wait for
rehabilitation,Ó Solomon said.
Rusty Schreiner, Alpha Fire administrator, said that sprinkler
systems definitely make a big difference.
ÒSprinklers make our jobs so much easier, they are our friends,
they are everyoneÕs friends,Ó Schreiner said.
Some State College bars that donÕt have sprinklers set up, said
that they donÕt see any big problems with not having it.
Zach Penrod, manager at Bar Bleu, 114 S. Garner St., said if the
borough was to require sprinklers, they would install a system at Bar Bleu but
for now he sees no need.
ÒItÕs a cement room so I donÕt see any fires breaking out there,Ó
Penrod said.
But even those bars that have the required fire-safety instruments
installed in their establishment arenÕt completely safe.
Other factors such as occupancy levels and not blocking exits are
eminent when dealing with large crowds, said Paul Wertheimer, director of Crowd
Management Strategies, a crowd-consulting firm based in Los Angeles.
Wertheimer said Crowd Management thoroughly researched the Chicago
and Rhode Island incidents to try to help other nightclubs and bars prevent
such tragedies from happening again. He believes that the two tragedies could
have been prevented.
ÒFirst and foremost donÕt overcrowd, donÕt block exits, have a
trained staff that knows how to evacuate people in a safe manner,Ó he said.
Local officials agree that too many people at a bar is not a good
combination.
ÒWhen thereÕs a large crowd of young people with too much to
drink, itÕs always a concern,Ó State College Police Sgt. Dana Leonard said.
However, Wertheimer said that bar owners and managers should plan
accordingly for any event, knowing that a large amount of people will be under
the influence of alcohol at their establishment.
Tony Sapia, owner of TonyÕs Big Easy, 129 S. Pugh St., said he
would rather have people wait in line to get into his bar than have it be
really crowded inside.
ÒSome bars feel, the more people the better, but we think itÕs
better to give people space to be able to talk and dance and have a good time,Ó
Sapia said.
He added that having space is needed to control any problems that
may arise.
Scott Lucchesi, owner of The Phyrst, 111 E. Beaver Ave., said he
has a hand-counter at the door and when his bar hits the maximum occupancy
levels, itÕs all Òone in, one out.Ó
He added that because sometimes it can get crowded as soon as
there is any problem, all the bouncers get whoever is causing the problem out.
ÒWe just tell them they gotta go, that seems to be the best way,Ó
he said.
Wertheimer said that any bar that actually cares about its
customers will take safety preventions, including installing sprinklers. He
added that sprinklers are the best investment an establishment can make.
Ò[Sprinkler systems] are like what, $50- $60,000? That is probably
what the bar ownerÕs Mercedes or BMW costs,Ó he said.
In order to prevent tragedies, a whole community needs to work
together, from the code officers being on schedule with inspections to the bar
owners handling things right to the fire department being ready to respond.
Schreiner said that because there is such a large student
population in State College, they are trained to deal with any bar or nightclub
incident, whether it is a bad odor or a large fire.
He added that for the most part all bar managers, employees and
patrons have been very cooperative whenever the fire department has shown up in
the middle of everyoneÕs partying.
Wertheimer said he wishes club and bar owners would also be
cooperative with advice on how to have a safer establishment.
ÒItÕs a broad problem É they say ÔdonÕt tell us how to run our
business, weÕve been doing this x number of years,ÕÓ he said.
According to various reports, both The Station and E-2 nightclub
owners had not fixed the code violations they had previously been cited for.
The two owners of ChicagoÕs E-2 nightclub, along with two other people, are currently on trial for involuntary manslaughter because Òthey did not do anything to change the dangerous crowd conditions that regularly existed at the club,Ó according to the State AttorneyÕs Office.
One of the Station nightclub owners was sentenced to four years in prison and his brother and co-owner was given a suspended sentence and three years probation, according to reports from the Providence Journal. They were both originally charged with 200 counts of involuntary manslaughter.
ÒThis tells you how much a bar really cares about you. Not the two-for-one drinks or free nachos but what they are doing for your safety,Ó Wertheimer said.
Solomon said most states donÕt start making the necessary changes
to their codes and laws until a few years after a tragedy or event and only now
are they starting to see significant changes.
ÒWe tend to see states say Ôoh well that happened up thereÕ but
they know they should change so they wait around four or five years,Ó Solomon
said.
Currently about 50 percent of downtown bars have sprinkler
systems. To stay safe, Kauffman advises club and bar-goers to be aware of their
surroundings as soon as they walk in.
ÒWhen you go into a facility, know two ways out. On your way to
the bathroom look for an exit,Ó he said.
Wertheimer said preventing a nightclub disaster is easy and could
be done tomorrow if bar owners would abide by all the code mandates.
ÒThe problem is not the club-goers, itÕs the environment,Ó he said.