Few closures come from more fire inspections

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- CAV, a sophisticated eatery, for years added ambiance to its 19th-century building with tabletop oil lamps, Christmas lights and antique rugs that dangled from the ceiling.

Those touches had passed fire inspections before, CAV's owner says, but on Monday they were among the violations that led officials to shut the restaurant down.

Under orders from Gov. Don Carcieri, fire inspectors in Rhode Island are sweeping through hundreds of clubs and restaurants to check for particularly egregious violations after a nightclub fire killed 99 people and injured more than 180 on Feb. 20.

CAV reopened Friday after getting rid of the potentially flammable decor, but about a dozen nightclubs, bars and restaurants remained shuttered by inspectors or closed voluntarily to fix violations.

The pace of the inspections is faster than the more comprehensive work fire officials normally do, but inspectors say the fire at The Station nightclub has not made them tougher on business owners.

Some proprietors disagreed, including CAV owner Sylvia Moubayed, who said offending items such as her oil lamps had been there for years.

Carcieri has ordered fire inspectors to quickly examine just over 800 midsize clubs and restaurants, focusing on venues with alcohol or entertainment licenses. More than a third of them had been visited by the end of last week.

"This is a serious and sincere effort by the governor to ensure that more lives are not lost," Carcieri spokesman Jeff Neal said.

Violations inspectors have found include blocked exits, faulty wiring, missing fire extinguishers and, in the case of an East Providence tavern, a fire exit that led to a fenced-in lot.

More common were minor infractions -- anything from broken exit signs to low batteries in emergency lights. In those cases, owners generally are given 48 hours to correct the problem.

In buildings built before 1976, which do not fall under today's codes, inspectors still can only recommend modern requirements such as sprinklers, East Providence fire chief Gerald Bessette said.

But he added that there are other fire safety changes older buildings are required to make, such as putting flame-resistant coating on wood paneling.

Local fire departments are trying to do a thorough job with small staffs, usually consisting of two or three inspectors, fire chiefs say. Besides this latest sweep, they also have to keep up with their regular school and home inspections.

"It's just juggling another ball up in the air right now," Delgado said.

Inspectors are having to work longer hours, but fire officials say the quality of their inspections is not suffering.

"There's only so much you can do and only so much time you can spend doing them," said James T. Condon, Pawtucket's fire chief. "I'm sure they're looking at everything and I'm sure they were vigilant in the past and I'm sure they'll be just as vigilant this time."