After more than 230 people were killed in a Brazilian nightclub fire over the weekend, bars, clubs and entertainment venues throughout Northeast Pennsylvania are reviewing their safety precautions and emergency procedures.
Although emergencies, especially fires, are a concern, local facilities have a series of safeguards and procedures in place that would minimize the risk of a large-scale fire, directors and owners said.
John Cardoni, facility and technical director at the Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple, said every floor is fire-sealed from its adjacent floors. Even gaps like pipe chaseways are "fire-stopped and sealed," and have been since 2002, when the facility underwent a renovation financed with grant money.
As the building is constructed entirely of steel encased in concrete for fire proofing, red clay tiles, limestone and slate, it does not make use of flammable insulation materials like those blamed with exacerbating the fire in Brazil.
When the building was built in the 1930s, Mr. Cardoni said, two eight-inch thick fire curtains constructed of steel frames wrapped in fire-proof materials were installed on either side of the stage in the auditorium.
If there were a fire on the stage, the 8,000-pound fire curtain on the ballroom side and the 10,000-pound curtain on the stage side would lower from above the stage and seal it off, Mr. Cardoni said.
"The idea when this building was built, because most theater fires started on stages because of special effects, high-temperature light bulbs, canvassing drying up ⦠(was) if you can contain the fire on stage you can protect the people," Mr. Cardoni said.
The air ducts in the building also have heat and smoke detectors that would trigger mechanics that seal off any areas with smoke or exorbitant heat once they are detected. That signal also would trigger the facility's alarm system, which automatically alerts the city fire department.
The building also is equipped with sprinklers, several of which were added during the 2002 renovations to cover areas that had previously not had the equipment.
In addition to annual building inspections performed for "insurances purposes and our own peace of mind," Mr. Cardoni said the building's staff is trained on fire detection and prevention and is periodically updated.
The same precautions are taken at entertainment facilities throughout the region.
Ron Kamionka, owner of the Hardware Bar, the Susquehanna Ale House and O'Sullivan's in downtown Wilkes-Barre and Mulligan's in Scranton, does not believe his clubs are vulnerable to a fire like the Brazil inferno.
Mr. Kamionka said the industry took more measures to prevent fires after the Station nightclub fire in Rhode Island in 2003, the fourth-deadliest nightclub fire in American history. The fire killed 100 people and injured about 230 after the band Great White used pyrotechnics that ignited flammable sound insulation foam in the walls and ceilings surrounding the stage.
The ceilings in Mr. Kamionka's clubs do not contain foam or other flammable material and the bands and acts performing at his clubs do not use pyrotechnics, flares or anything flammable, he said. His clubs also have sprinkler systems and double the amount of exit doors required, he said. There are eight sets of double doors in the Hardware Bar and Susquehanna Ale House, four sets of doors in O'Sullivan's and 11 in Mulligan's in Scranton.
Staff are trained to respond to fires and if there is one, the music automatically shuts off and customers can see warning lights, Mr. Kamionka said. He doesn't know of any municipalities in any states that allow the use of the acoustic foam insulation on the ceiling that was used in the Kiss nightclub in Brazil, he said.
"At the end of the day, we're here to make money and we want people to have a good time, but we have to make sure they get in and out of our clubs safely," Mr. Kamionka said. "Cities and townships' codes all changed after the Rhode Island fire. If there was one thing positive about the fire is there were lessons learned. We took a serious look at what they were doing and made adjustments in behavior and laws. Everyone took that fire extremely seriously."
Contact the writers: domalley@timesshamrock.com, @domalleyTT on Twitter; dallabaugh@citizensvoice.com