Rep. Joseph A. Trillo was surprised that he was able to get 19 co-sponsors for a bill introduced last week that would repeal amendments to the Rhode Island fire safety code adopted by the General Assembly in 2003 in response to The Station nightclub fire.
And several members of the R.I. House of Representatives he approached who didn’t sign on as co-sponsors said they would support the bill, said Trillo, R-Warwick.
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“I think they’re all hearing from their constituents.” The new fire codes are a touchy subject for many small-business owners, town administrators, nonprofits and especially nightclub owners, who would not be affected by the repealed amendments.
Trillo’s bill, H-6142, would make the Comprehensive Fire Safety Act of 2003 applicable only to nightclubs.
The issue, for many, boils down to cost. The new code often requires the installation of fire sprinklers and alarms, which can cost tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
“It’s out of control right now, and it needs to stop,” Trillo said. “What we’re doing is destroying the state economically.”
Though the General Assembly recently appointed Trillo and Rep. Peter T. Ginaitt, D-Warwick, who has said he would oppose the repeal of the amendments, to a special commission to study the ramifications of the fire safety code, Trillo said that only shows “they’re looking at the topic.”
He believes more aggressive steps need to be taken – and he’s not alone.
“The new fire code has put a huge burden on small businesses across the state and I hear complaints regularly,” said Grafton “Cap” Willey, principal of the Providence-based accounting and consulting firm Tofias PC and chairman of the National Small Business Association.
“It is another case where Rhode Island government has put another roadblock in our ability to be competitive in a global economy,” Willey added.
He said no one can deny The Station nightclub fire was a tremendous tragedy for the state, but that the legislative response was more emotional than practical. “We try to kill the mosquito with a bazooka,” Willey said.
As a result, Rhode Island municipalities are suffering as well, said Cumberland Mayor Daniel J. McKee, who this year is heading a coalition of several towns that are going to collectively ask the General Assembly to “review all mandates.”
McKee called Trillo’s bill “a good starting point to build off” in the conversation about the new fire codes.
“We would support a move that would create the apples and oranges argument,” he said. “Every building in the state is compared to a nightclub. But a school building is not like a nightclub.”
As it stands, Cumberland is looking at an $8 million price tag for fire safety upgrades to its schools – a direct result of the new fire code. It will have a “serious impact” on the town in terms of managing its budget, McKee said. And that ultimately will translate into the cost being transferred to the taxpayers through hikes in property tax rates.
“In the end, it’s the property tax that is going to pay for these mandates,” McKee said. T
rillo also points to the U.S. Fire Administration’s ranking of Rhode Island as the fourth-safest state in the country in 2004, with 4.6 fire deaths per million people. The U.S. average that year was 12.4 deaths.
Though the ranking was based on data collected in 2004 – after the new fire code was enacted – Trillo said it could still be a testament to the fact the Rhode Island was safe before, because the new code was just beginning to be implemented then.
But regardless of how Trillo interprets the statistics, Providence Fire Chief George Farrell said he’s not in favor of just going back and repealing the amendments to the fire safety code.
“The code itself is an excellent code,” Farrell said. “It’s not home grown … we adopted the [National Fire Protection Association’s] national fire code … which we were already using for new construction and change of use in buildings.”
Farrell said he and other fire safety leaders are looking forward to having an open discussion about the fire codes when Trillo’s bill is heard, and if the law were changed, “that’s what we’d enforce.”
But, he added, “As the state fire marshal, my position will always be to advocate for strong fire and life safety codes. … I supported it then, and I continue to support it today.”
