Tragedy at a Night Club

By Delores Gempel Lekowski Author of The Hurting Angels

One burn casualty is one too many. When a tragedy of the magnitude of the recent Rhode Island nightclub fire happens, it reaches the very depths of our vulnerability. As a burn survivor, I feel an overwhelming grief for the tragic loss and injuries that the State of Rhode Island has suffered. As a crusader for fire safety and burn prevention, I am questioning how this could have happened in spite of the efforts of so many of us to educate and bring awareness to fire prevention.

There are no simple answers, but there are lots of questions -- and they all revolve around the issue of people taking responsibility.

Were the owners of The Station nightclub aware of the dangerous flammability of the foam put on their walls for sound acoustics (firefighters call it solid gasoline)? And, if they were, would they still have used it? Would the band have used pyrotechnics if they had known of the hazard? If little hallways and rooms hadnt obscured the exits, would more lives have been saved? The news reports indicate that the nightclub had passed a fire inspection just two months before the fatal incident, but had no permit for pyrotechnics and was not required to have sprinklers because it was built before 1976. Were the code inspectors as diligent as they could have been? How could a building code have permitted such conditions to persist in a place of public assembly?

Many of these questions will no doubt be addressed by the legal system in the weeks and months to come. The National Association of State Fire Marshals has encouraged the US Congress to make a formal inquiry into the adequacy of the building codes as a result of the Rhode Island incident. Meanwhile, we are right to wonder: Where else are such tragedies waiting to happen?

Just because the law does not mandate a sprinkler system, should the nightclub owners have taken extra caution and installed one anyway? It seems to me that if you are enjoying the monetary reward of a successful business, you owe it to your customers to ensure their personal safety. As an owner, you should want to do this -- law or no law.

What about our responsibility for our own safety and that of our families? As citizens, we can no longer casually assume that if things go wrong, others will be responsible for our safety. We have to be aware of our surroundings, and we have to mentally map out our escape routes and defense mechanisms. Take note of where the exits are. Look around: how many tables and other barriers stand between you and your escape route? If you dont feel comfortable with the layout, move; position yourself with your personal safety in mind. Remember that most people will try to exit the way they entered; can you leave by an exit that might be less crowded in an emergency? Also, remember that you wont be able to see in a smoke-filled room; public fire educators teach people to crawl below smoke to safety.

The events of last week have forced us to realize how vulnerable we all are and how quickly things can - and do -- get out of control. We practice fire escape routes in our homes, and these are familiar surroundings. It only makes sense, then, to do the same thing when we are in unfamiliar surroundings. We must take control of our own well-being and make adjustments to our surroundings for the sake of our own safety.

Life is a learning process. The reality of that fateful Thursday night in Rhode Island is a lesson we never want to repeat. Many ordinary objects can become sources of ignition, and we will never live in a 100% fireproof world. As fire and life safety advocates, we need to push for manufacturers, building owners, retailers, fire inspectors and code-making officials to do the right thing to create a safer world. But, in the end, we also need to encourage everyone to continually practice and be aware of their own personal safety. Lives may depend on it.