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Unit VIII Case Study
- 1. Unit VIII CaseStudy Unit VIII Case Study Station Nightclub Fire NIST Investigation Nick Magoteaux Columbia Southern University FIR 2302, Principals of Fire and Emergency Services Safety and Survival Professor C. Carey July 8, 2015
- 2. Unit VIII CaseStudy The Scenario: A fire occurred on the night of Feb. 20, 2003, in The Station nightclub at 211 Cowesett Avenue, West Warwick, Rhode Island. A band that was on the platform that night, during its performance, used pyrotechnics that ignited polyurethane foam insulation lining the walls and ceiling of the platform. The fire spread quickly along the walls and ceiling area over the dance floor. Smoke was visible in the exit doorways in a little more than one minute, and flames were observed breaking through a portion of the roof in less than five minutes. Egress from the nightclub, which was not equipped with sprinklers, was hampered by crowding at the main entrance to the building. One hundred people lost their lives in the fire. Major issues: The fire inspector failed to perform his due diligence before he approved the polyurethane foam insulation for use. The use of pyrotechnics should not have been allowed by the fire inspector with the untested foam insulation lining the walls. The building was possibly overcrowded the night of the show. Fire inspections of the business were done, but no re-inspections were done to ensure violations had been corrected. Exits were not properly lit and some exits were blocked. Potential solutions: The fire inspector should have done his research on the polyurethane foam insulation before allowing it to be used in the nightclub. If the inspector did not have the knowledge base to enforce that code, he should have called in assistance from the state fire marshal. The use of pyrotechnics should be banned from use in small nightclub spaces. The fire department should have had an inspector at the club the night of the show to ensure overcrowding would not be an issue. Re-inspections should be done to ensure that the violations noted are corrected. If an inspector would have been there on that night and re-inspections were performed, exit lighting and blocked exits would not have been an issue. Recommendations: “The use of untreated polyurethane foam was and continues to be a violation of NFPA and International Code Council (ICC) model codes as well as the regulations in use in Rhode Island at the time of the fire” (Tidwell, 2012). The fire inspector should have been knowledgeable enough to know that the polyurethane foam insulation was in violation of Rhode Island fire code. If he wasn’t knowledgeable enough to know this, he should have reached out to a more knowledgeable source to help him preform the inspection. Personally, as a fire prevention manager, I call the state fire marshal frequently for advice and guidance on any issue I am not clear on. The fire prevention bureau knew this concert was going to be larger in size and could have had an inspector on hand to count people to ensure that occupancy capacity was not being violated. “Reinspection of buildings should also include periodic inspection” (Robertson, 2010, p. 71).
- 3. Unit VIII CaseStudy References Tidwell, J. (2012). The Station Nightclub Fire: Revisiting the Lessons. Retrieved from http://www.fireengineering.com/articles/print/volume-165/issue-1/features/station-nightclub-fire- revisiting-lessons-full.html Robertson, J. C. (2010). Introduction to fire prevention (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.