Fine Line Music Cafe set afire by band's pyrotechnics

Star Tribune ^ | 2-18-2003 | David Chanen

[Palladin]

The sprinkler system activated and all the patrons were out of the club before the Fire Department arrived, said fire spokeswoman Kristi Rollwagen

The patrons here were extremely lucky that sprinklers were installed and in working order. Unlike Providence.

[supercat]

One for instance, making explosives in any form requires an BATF license.

So will the BATF knock down your door for possessing non-dairy creamer (many brands, if sprinkled over a candle flame, are quite spectacular; Coffee Mate doesn't work well, though)?

There are standards for what constitutes a "destructive device". A quantity of flashpowder in a flashpot generally does not. Of course, there are other regulations regarding the construction and use of pyrotechnics, but your statement about the BATF is overbroad.

[supercat]

The patrons here were extremely lucky that sprinklers were installed and in working order. Unlike Providence.

Even if the building did not have working sprinklers, most buildings are constructed of materials that meet certain flammability standards. I don't know if you've seen the Rhode Island footage, but the stage backing went up like a firework (ironically, the fact that it went up so fast may have caused some people to have mistaken it briefly for some sort of pyrotechnic). I doubt that the Fine Line Music Cafe was build of such stuff.