Briefs

Massachusetts seeks tighter sprinkler regs BOSTON - More than a year after 100 people were killed in a deadly nightclub fire in neighboring Rhode Island, Massachusetts lawmakers are moving forward with legislation that would strengthen sprinkler requirements, increase inspector training and create strict penalties for violators. The legislation would require sprinklers in all nightclubs with an occupancy of 50 or more, provide discounted loans and insurance rate incentives for nightclub owners and set up training and enforcement standards. A joint Public Safety Committee held a hearing in late February to discuss legislation that was written by a 31-member task force Gov. Mitt Romney established after the Rhode Island fire. At press time, a revised version of that legislation was before the state House of Representatives. Louisiana adopts NFPA codes BATON ROUGE, La. - Louisiana has adopted the most recent editions of two National Fire Protection Association codes - NFPA 1, Uniform Fire Code and NFPA 101, Life Safety Code. Code enforcers in the state have participated in an NFPA training program that covered the codes’ requirements and how they can best be used. The NFPA provides free training and associated code books available to government code enforcement officials. Virginia task force offers safety recommendations RICHMOND, Va. - A task force in Virginia has recommended stronger enforcement and tougher fire safety rules for nightclubs and other public assembly buildings a year after the deadly Warwick, R.I., nightclub fire. The task force did not ban the use of fireworks indoors. It also did not recommend retrofitting nightclubs with sprinkler systems. It did, however, recommend that at least one person with pyrotechnics experience be on-site when they are used.