Fire records in Providence (RI) show that many bars and nightclubs in the city haven’t had required fire inspections in years — and some didn’t have sprinkler systems — despite a nightclub fire that killed 100 people a decade ago, reports The Associated Press.
Records for 60 Providence clubs and bars going back 10 years show that most of the last fire inspections came in 2005 or earlier, according to a monthslong review by WJAR-TV. The records showed that eight nightclubs lacked fire sprinklers.
A state law changed after the 2003 fire at The Station nightclub in West Warwick requires yearly inspections of clubs and bars.
Some inspection reports from last year showed violations including clogged fire devices, blocked stairwells and fire alarms ripped open and silenced, WJAR found. There was no indication inspectors had returned to see if the violations had been addressed.
Public Safety Commissioner Steven Pare, who was appointed in 2011 by Mayor Angel Taveras, acknowledged that the fire inspections are years out of date and called the violations dangerous. He blamed previous leadership and an outdated record-keeping system that is now being overhauled.
“There’s no excuse, but we didn’t have the leadership, we didn’t have the infrastructure,” Pare told the station. “We’re building that.”
He said full inspections of nightclubs and bars will be done this year.
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