BOSTON (AP) -- After listening to the emotional testimony of people who lost loved ones in the Rhode Island nightclub fire, a panel of lawmakers voted to require sprinklers and ban pyrotechnics in Massachusetts nightclubs.
``These kids would have been alive if there were sprinklers,'' said Al Gray, who lost his 22-year-old son, Derek, in the Feb. 20 fire that killed 99 people. ``Please mandate sprinklers in these clubs. We need this.''
The joint Public Safety Committee on Thursday sent the legislation to the full House. If approved, all nightclubs and dance halls in Massachusetts would have until July 2004 to install sprinkler systems. Only arena-sized venues and traditional theaters would be allowed to use pyrotechnics.
Rhode Island is exploring similar legislation.
Investigators say the fire at The Station was sparked by pyrotechnics ignited by the 1980s heavy metal band Great White. The nightclub didn't have to install sprinklers because buildings constructed before 1976 were exempted.
A bill failed during Massachusetts' last legislative session that would have required sprinklers in commercial buildings. It was prompted by an office fire in 2000 that killed five people.
Under existing law, sprinklers are required when a newly constructed building is over 7,500 square feet. When a building is expanded, sprinklers are required in the addition if the new construction exceeds 7,500 square feet.
Industry experts say installing sprinklers could cost club owners, landlords and commercial real estate companies millions of dollars.
Relatives of victims of the Rhode Island fire, however, said cost should not be a factor.
``These are the buildings that need the most work,'' said James Gahan, whose 21-year-old son Jimmy, died in the blaze. ``The answer is painfully simple _ sprinklers, sprinklers, sprinklers.''
