Spokane once lived with the reputation that its streets rolled up at 6 p.m. People in their early 20s didn’t flee “Spokaloo” just because of the lack of job opportunities. They fled, too, because of the dismal nightlife. Young people don’t complain as much these days. More and more nightclubs are opening in the region, offering venues for live music, dancing and partying way past 6 p.m.

This surge in Spokane’s nightlife was one of the reasons Washington state Rep. Timm Ormsby, D-Spokane, co-sponsored a bill requiring nightclubs to install fire suppression sprinklers. The 2003 fire at the Station in West Warwick, R.I., awakened state legislators to the need for automatic ceiling sprinkler systems in establishments where drinking, dancing, live music and big crowds come together.

One hundred people died in the Station fire, and 200 more were injured. A band’s pyrotechnics ignited acoustic foam on the walls and the nightclub was ablaze within minutes.

Parents have always worried about young adults and their late-night partying; the Rhode Island fire added an additional concern. As Ormsby pointed out, adults don’t want their young adult children walking into firetraps. He believes the legislation was a “responsible reaction to something we would not want to have happen.”

Washington’s bill passed in 2005, with a compliance date in 2007. But the legislation was subsequently reworked to better define what constitutes a nightclub, and the deadline for compliance was extended because legislators listened to business concerns about the difficulty of installing the pricey systems within a short time frame.

But the new deadline is firm: Dec. 1, 2009.

More than two dozen businesses in Spokane will be required to install those sprinklers or face closure. Some owners worry that the price of installation will force them out of business.

Safety regulations rarely come cheap for businesses. But fires destroy businesses and communities, and the ultimate emotional and financial cost is beyond calculation. The Rhode Island Providence Journal is still investigating and reporting on the aftermath of the Station fire. Victims’ families feel bitter over perceived slap-on-the-wrist sentences for club owners. Some who survived live with permanent injuries, such as scarred lungs. In February, plans were unveiled for a memorial park where the nightclub once stood.

It is the duty of elected leaders to look out for public welfare, while balancing the sometimes conflicting needs of businesses and institutions. The Legislature passed sound safety legislation in 2005 and then reworked it to make it more responsive to business concerns. The deadline to install automatic sprinkler systems was extended. It’s now time to put this life-saving plan into action.