Posted on 03/11/2003 1:22:27 PM PST by TLBSHOW
Investigators Examine Club's Exits
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The state fire marshal's office has taken four doors from the rubble of the Feb. 20 nightclub fire that killed 99 people and injured more than 180.
According to search warrants filed by police, three of the doors are metal and one is wood. The state fire marshal did not return repeated calls Monday.
Whether the exits may have contributed to the catastrophe is still under investigation.
Fire and town officials are also trying to determine whether the club was above capacity the night of the blaze.
Officials and witnesses said many people were trampled as they tried to push their way to the front door when fire ripped through The Station in West Warwick. The fire was started by the pyrotechnics of the rock band Great White.
There were four exits from the club: the front door, a door near the stage, one in the kitchen and another near the bar, according to building plans filed with the town.
I think that the answer to that is pretty obvious, considering that 2 of the exits were behind the bar and access to them was semi-obstructed.
Fire Marshall inspections are usually conducted by the local fire department (an even smaller unit) adhering to state guidelines. I don't think the size of the state has anything to do with it. Honesty and diligence of the inspector is more the point.
Disasters tend to be due to the normal social acceptance of clear dangers and the harassment of the clear-sighted folks who notice it. They -- the mean and ignorant herd -- get away with it because most of the time the universe is merciful.
"Hey -- we'd never have a rock concert anywhere if we listened to askholes like you. We have a better safety record than NASCAR! Go climb back under your rock. No one likes you!" -- typical of the mindset of the social levelers who enforce the herd mentality while the herd heads over the clift.
Yet ... I am too harsh on people in general here. Each and every person can resist that "let the good times roll" leveling impulse that, if acted on, causes us to meanly hit on an honest messenger who bears bad news. And each and every person will get soulful benefits in so doing, in each case when done. And in general, the cohesive and social group (as distinct from the random mob), is nigh always right in final assesment of its situtation, dangers and remedies -- that includes the common rigtheous mocking of the chronic pessimist, the persistant scoffer, the wimp who professes "abandon hope", and all types who are found looking for the worst in things.
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