BOSTON (AP) -- At the site of a deadly 1942 nightclub fire, Gov. Mitt Romney signed a fire safety bill inspired by a more recent tragedy, The Station nightclub fire in Rhode Island, which killed 100 people last year.
Romney signed the legislation Tuesday at the former site of the Cocoanut Grove, the Boston nightspot where 492 people were killed in the worst nightclub fire in U.S. history.
``Sadly it often takes tragedies'' to expose inadequacies in fire safety laws, said Romney, who was surrounded by fire chiefs and lawmakers.
The law, which takes effect in 90 days, requires any club with an occupancy of 100 or more to install sprinklers within three years. It also forces clubs with an occupancy of less than a 100 to install sprinklers if it is cited for occupancy violations twice within one year.
It establishes criminal penalties for creating dangerous conditions in public assembly buildings, including blocking exits or entrances, failing to maintain fire protection systems, storing flammables or explosives, and using pyrotechnics without a permit.
The changes were inspired by the Feb. 20, 2003, fire at The Station, in West Warwick, R.I., which started when a band's pyrotechnics ignited soundproofing foam. Among the victims were 33 Massachusetts residents.
