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on September 05, 2013 at 5:13 PM, updated September 06, 2013 at 10:49 AM
Fire-suppression sprinklers are so common, and so necessary, in public buildings that most of us take them for granted. Yet, due to grandfather clauses in previous sprinkler ordinances, some of Portland's most vulnerable buildings are among the least likely to be equipped with sprinklers.
Commissioner Dan Saltzman, who assumed oversight of Portland Fire & Rescue earlier this year, introduced an ordinance at Wednesday afternoon's city council meeting that would address that inconsistency and make Portland a safer place.
As currently proposed, the ordinance would require existing nightclubs with capacity for more than 100 patrons to be equipped with an automatic sprinkler system. Sprinklers have been required in newly built nightclubs of that size since 2006. Portland was among cities and states across the nation to ratchet up nightclub fire codes after a 2003 nightclub fire in West Warwick, R.I., killed 100 people. (New Portland clubs with capacity of more than 300 already were required to have sprinklers.)
The latest example of what can happen when hundreds of people cram into dark clubs without sprinklers came earlier this year in Brazil. On Jan. 27, a fire broke out at a nightclub in the university town of Santa Maria. More than 230 partygoers were killed, most of them from crushing or asphyxiation.
Nightclubs by their nature mix a potent fire cocktail. Crowded dance floors, dark environments, loud music and alcohol make communication difficult and clearing a room quickly almost impossible. But it's relatively easy to defuse the danger. The National Fire Protection Association has no record of a fire causing more than two deaths in a building fully equipped with a properly operating sprinkler system.
Saltzman's proposal is a necessary, perhaps overdue, next step to ensure public safety. Washington passed a state law with provisions similar to the proposed Portland ordinance in 2005.
Saltzman told The Oregonian editorial board last month that he learned about the absence of sprinklers in some clubs after Mayor Charlie Hales assigned the fire bureau to him in June, and he decided that the issue needed immediate attention to avoid catastrophe. "Let's prevent it from happening, rather than convening the city council the day after a tragedy and passing this ordinance," Saltzman told the council Wednesday.
No one spoke in opposition to the proposal at the meeting, and a formal vote is scheduled for Sept. 11. Meanwhile, the council and the fire bureau need to attend to a few details to make sure that a well-intentioned ordinance doesn't have unintended consequences.
Foremost, the fire and water bureaus, and any other city departments that might become involved, need to make it as easy as possible for business owners to comply with the new regulations. The fire bureau expects the ordinance to affect fewer than 20 nightclubs. That's a small enough number to allow the city to be flexible and respond quickly when reviewing permits and conducting inspections.
Businesses with club capacity of 200 or more will have until Dec. 31, 2014, to comply. Those with occupancies of 101-199 will have until Dec. 31, 2015. Saltzman said businesses making a good-faith effort to complete required upgrades can appeal for more time.
The bureaus should be lenient in granting appeals. Costs will vary based on size and condition of venues, but they will be significant. Many, if not most, businesses likely will need to arrange financing, a process that could take weeks if not months. Purchasing supplies and/or hiring contractors, completing the work and passing inspection could take another five to six months.
Make no mistake, the city is asking a lot of these businesses at a time when the economy is still mending. But the risks are too great to wait.
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