Tragedy struck amid revelry in Chicago and Rhode Island during the past two weeks, but local building codes and fire inspections aim to prevent, or at least lessen, any such tragedy in Bowling Green. Twenty-one people died in Chicagos Epitome 2 nightclub Feb. 17, piling up in a stairwell above a single exit during a stampede caused by pepper spray or mace used to break up a fight in a crowd of about 500. Just three days later, 97 died when indoor fireworks started a fast-moving blaze in the Station Concert Club in West Warwick, R.I. The clubs capacity was 300, but apparently many more were inside. Several rear exits went almost unused while people piled up and suffocated around the front doors. The reason we have building codes today was the Beverly Hills Supper Club, said Glenn T. Burns, chief building inspector for Bowling Green. A fire at the Southgate club killed 165 people out of more than 2,000 there on Memorial Day, 1977. Faulty wiring at the club probably caused the fire, and toxic fumes from burning furniture were blamed for most of the deaths. There was no fire alarm or sprinkler system. Some of the buildings eight exits were not marked. Most of the victims were found jammed together at two narrow exits. City codes were revised last year, but if a club was built under an old code and complied with it, then that pre-existing club is exempt from current requirements, Burns said. There are also requirements on the kinds of materials that can be used on the interior of club buildings. Interior furnishings cannot burn at more than a certain rate, allowing more time for people to escape. The type of construction affects how large a club can be, Burns said. If its an all-stone or concrete building, there are no limitations on size. If all-metal, it can be up to 9,500 square feet, on down to an unprotected, wood-frame building, which cant exceed 5,000 square feet. When the area vulnerable to fire is more than 5,000 square feet, Kentucky law requires sprinklers. Most clubs in Bowling Green are well under 5,000 square feet, Burns said. Other triggers for the sprinkler law are when a club can hold more than 300 people or if the main club area is on a different floor than the exit. Clubs that hold more than 300 people are required to have manual fire alarms, unless they have automatic sprinklers, Burns said. Since most local clubs have a limit of fewer than 300 people, they are not required to have sprinkler systems, he said. Total capacity of the two sections of Nellie OBryans Restaurant and Bar in the Travelodge Hotel on Scottsville Road is about 320, owner Ruthie Bale said. The 5,500-square-foot nightclub has no sprinkler system, but three large double doors and two single exits lead out of the first-floor night spot, she said. It doesnt have to have a sprinkler system because its been there so long. Nellie OBryans features live bands Wednesday through Saturday, with karaoke and a dance DJ Sunday through Tuesday. In Bales 25 years at the business, there has never been a fire in the nightclub, she said. We do not make any flaming drinks or anything like that, because were cautious, Bale said. Information about The Deuce on Morgantown Road and The Brewing Company on Park Row were not available. We issue our permits, and we do our inspections here, Burns said. And once weve deemed it passing the building code at the time it was permitted, then basically the fire department takes over jurisdiction at that point. They do annual inspections and verify that the owners havent gone in there and put some flammable materials on the walls that would be a hazard to the occupants. The fire department inspects nightclubs annually, usually in the late fall before potentially large holiday shows, said Bowling Green Assistant Fire Chief Richard Storey, who oversees fire inspections. They also respond to complaints, checking reports of overcrowding immediately. But despite a raft of minor violations, relations with local owners are usually good, and once pointed out, problems are usually corrected quickly, he said. I dont know of any nightclubs here that have serious problems, whether its exits or something else, Storey said. About two dozen businesses in Bowling Green are classed as nightclubs, Storey said. Some of those are very small, he said, and thus not likely to draw large crowds or major shows. Only a few are big enough to worry about having a packed house. We do get concerned any time a special event is coming to town that might draw a lot of people, whether its Diddle Arena or a nightclub, Storey said. When we go into any business, whether its a nightclub or anything else, the most important thing is the exits. If people cant get out, the rest doesnt matter. Especially in large buildings, some secondary exits may hardly ever be used and so get jammed or blocked, he said. Exits must be marked with a lighted exit sign, and there must be enough emergency lights run off a battery pack that people can see to leave. The fire department measures square footage and seating space to determine maximum occupancy, Storey said. If the club contains tables and chairs, it is allowed one person for each 15 square feet of floor space. Without seating, it can hold one person for every 7 square feet. Any place of public assembly must have at least two exits, he said. Inspectors look for obvious electrical problems. Quite often the electrical system will be overextended, causing fuses to blow and breakers to trip often, he said. Its not uncommon to see people, for lack of a better term, jury-rig a sign or something like that, Storey said. Club employees working special, large events are supposed to be trained to deal with evacuations, knowing how to recognize an emergency and get people outside, Storey said. Thats as simple as saying, Its time to leave, he said. To use pyrotechnics, like those that caused the Rhode Island fire, technicians must get permits through the state fire marshals office in Frankfort, Storey said. But its the local fire department that decides whether technicians have been sufficiently trained to use them, and whether they can be used in a particular location or manner. We have the final say-so as to whether you can or cannot have indoor pyrotechnics or, for that matter, outdoor. Storey checked after the Rhode Island fire, and no one locally is planning on using indoor pyrotechnics. And it would take extreme circumstances for him to allow it in Bowling Green. As far as Im concerned, fireworks belong outside, Storey said. Almost anything will burn if it gets hot enough, but manmade materials particularly give off toxic smoke, Storey said. Its almost always the smoke that kills people, Storey said. About a breath or two is all people can take before they pass out. Installing sprinklers is by far the best way to limit deaths and damage from fires, Storey said. But their effectiveness isnt much talked about because its impossible to estimate what might have happened without them. We have an number of fires in Bowling Green every year, in movie theaters, factories, hotels and even nursing homes, Storey said. But you dont hear about them, because they dont amount to anything. In the 1980s, Scottsdale, Ariz., passed a law requiring sprinklers in all new buildings, even private homes, Storey said. After more than a decade of study, the evidence is clear that fire deaths have decreased dramatically and so has damage and water use. In perhaps the most dramatic case, someone broke into a mans house in Scottsdale, doused him in gasoline and tossed in a match while the victim slept, Storey said. Normally it would have been hopeless but the mans bedroom was equipped with sprinklers. He lived. We understand theyre not free but boy, they save lives, Storey said. There has never been a multiple-fatality fire in a fully sprinkled building, where the system was properly installed and maintained. Customers who spot potential problems in clubs may call the fire department at 393-3702.