by Neil W. McCabe

Two members of the city’s Beacon Hill delegation announced Aug 4. the most radical fire safety legislation since the Coconut Grove holocaust was ready for the governor’s signature.

“We have never had a multi-death fire in a building equipped with sprinkler,” said State Sen. Jarrett T. Barrios, D-Somerville, who was joined by State Rep. Timothy J. Toomey Jr., D-Somerville.

The press conference was held in the State House’s ornate Senate Reading Room, which is adjoined to the Senate Chamber.

The new legislation would require bars and nightclubs with a capacity more than 100 patrons to instill sprinkler systems, Barrios said.

The bill will also end the grandfathering of existing establishments, which were once exempt from changes in state fire code, he said.

Barrios said restaurants and movie theaters were not included in the bill, because the focus was on venues where patrons are typically crammed in.

Drawing on lessons learned from the 2003 West Warwick, R.I. nightclub fire, the bills bans the use of all pyrotechnics in any establishment in the state, he said.

Speaking after Barrios, Toomey thanked the other legislators present and the fire service community for their support and guidance as the bill made its was to final passage.

Toomey also thanked a private citizen who had contributed mightily to the fire safety code overhaul, Albert L. Gray of Dracut.

Gray, a fire safety professional, lost his son, Derek, in the Rhode Island fire, and traveled all over the state to attend every single hearing on the proposed legislation, Toomey said.

“This benefits everyone—it is the right thing to do—having sprinklers in Fire Safety 101,” said Gray, who is now a fire and life safety official with the MBTA. He worked for many years in a similar capacity for Polaroid.

Gray said he was personally disgusted during the hearings when business owners would cry about having to put a $4 light bulb in an emergency exit. “They should be in another business.”

The bill will be phased in, so that affected establishments will have to be in compliance as a condition of having their liquor licenses renewed, Barrios.

The bill will also require bars and restaurants train their employees to use fire extinguishers and have formal crowd managers assigned to be responsible for crowd capacity, he said.