NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Fire inspectors prompted by the deadly nightclub fire in Rhode Island found more than 400 violations in an unprecedented sweep of bars, nightclubs and restaurants in the days leading to Mardi Gras.
Officials shut down one uptown New Orleans bar Tuesday night because of overcrowding and other violations, and ordered several overcrowded French Quarter bars to remove some customers, Fire Chief Charles Parent said.
Parent said the Fire Department assigned extra inspectors and firefighters to inspect every ``place of assembly'' in the city during the two-week Carnival season that ended at midnight Tuesday.
The department, which had never before performed so many inspections so quickly, conducted the sweep after a fire killed 98 people Feb. 20 at a club in West Warwick, R.I.
``Everybody was extra conscious because of Rhode Island. We wanted everyone to feel safe,'' Parent said.
Firefighters found 433 violations _ most for overcrowding but some for blocked exits or broken fire extinguishers, Parent said. He said he did not know how many businesses were involved.
Carnival's parades and celebrations attract an estimated 1 million visitors ever year to New Orleans every year.
Many business owners said they were disappointed with this year's turnout, although city hotels reported occupancy rates of about 90 percent and Mayor Ray Nagin said other businesses said they saw more visitors than in past years.
For years, New Orleans has measured its Mardi Gras business by the amount of garbage revelers leave on the streets, but Nagin said he is tossing the tradition this year because it encourages littering.
The city collected a record 2,274 tons of trash after last year's Mardi Gras, compared to 1,520 tons in 2001.
