Hot spots cool to new state law

To continue offering live music or dancing, some Spokane nightclubs must install fire sprinklers – to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars – or shrink their dance floors because of a new state law.

Spokane fire-prevention officials say the sprinklers will make the businesses safer and help prevent costly damages. But business owners contend the law, passed in the wake of a 2003 fire that killed 100 guests at a Rhode Island club, could strain their finances and put a damper on live music.

Twenty-six businesses, including downtown bars and restaurants, must install sprinklers by December 2009, or show they’re exempt from the requirements, according to the Spokane Fire Department. Affected businesses include music venues popular with teens and young adults, such as The Blvd, Empyrean Coffee House and the Big Dipper.

“Unfortunately, what I anticipate is a complete almost wiping-out in entertainment as far as live music or even karaoke” in city bars, said Spokane City Council member Bob Apple, a former bar owner. “It will pretty much end it.”

Sprinklers might cost about $2 to $3 a square foot, and they “enhance safety immeasurably,” said Dave Kokot, fire protection engineer. Analysis of the deadly fire at The Station in Rhode Island indicated sprinklers could have controlled the blaze and allowed people to escape, he said. To avoid installing sprinklers, most targeted establishments that don’t center on music have said they would shrink their dance floors or change their business models, said Fire Marshal Lisa Jones.

For nonprofit-run CenterStage and Ella’s Supper Club on West First Avenue, installing sprinklers would “probably mean having to cease operations unless we could find underwriting,” said Leslie Ann Grove, CenterStage’s executive director. The entire 15,000-square-foot building that CenterStage leases would require sprinklers, Kokot said, and it’s unclear who would have to bear that cost.

“We’re always very close to the edge financially,” Grove said. “So something that is undoubtedly going to be this large could really drastically affect our ability to continue.”

An initial 2005 law required nightclubs to install sprinklers by December 2007. But under pressure from clubs and restaurants, state legislators last year extended the deadline. They also changed the definition of nightclubs – doubling the number of Spokane businesses that could be affected.

The new law calls for sprinklers in bars and restaurants that fit more than 50 people and have open dance floors or concert-viewing areas measuring more than 350 square feet. The law excludes banquet halls, theaters with fixed seating and lodge halls.

Some clubs, such as the Big Easy concert house, already have sprinklers. Other owners plan to pony up or make changes.

Installing sprinklers at Irv’s, an approximately 6,000-square-foot bar on Sprague Avenue that offers dancing and karaoke, could cost $30,000 to $40,000 by contractors’ estimates, said David, a general manager who declined to give his last name. The business already has plans drawn up to scale back its dance floor if necessary, he said.

The Empyrean, which hosts all-ages shows, will continue offering live music but will need to make adjustments, said co-owner Michelle Riddle.

Steve Spickard, president of Big Dipper owner Select Realty, hopes an uproar will prevent enforcement. Barring that, “We’ll just have to come to the numbers and see what it costs,” he said.

Bar Bluz at the Bend will request an exemption. Its dance floor measures 344 square feet, coming in just under the 350-square-foot limit, said general manager Don Parkins. Buying sprinklers for the entire building, which also houses Uncle D’s Comedy Underground, would cost an estimated $130,000, he said.

“We just really got lucky,” Parkins said.

Most bars lease space, Apple said, and they may be required to pay for upgrades even though building owners benefit in the long term. Tenants or building owners can apply for a property-tax exemption to compensate for increased property values attributed to sprinklers.

Businesspeople worry that exempt groups, such as churches and service organizations that lease space for events, might present unfair competition because they don’t have to pay for upgrades. They also are concerned about water damage from sprinklers.

“If we’re going to have a law, we need to enforce it universally,” said Apple, former owner of Hillyard bar The Comet, which had hosted live shows.

Fire officials interviewed for this story could not recall a nightclub fire in Spokane, although they pointed out blazes at several restaurants.

“We’ve been fortunate. We haven’t had any other major incidents,” Kokot said.

Clubs that don’t comply could face fines or forced closure by fire officials. Businesses have until April 30 to provide blueprints showing they’re exempt.