RI club fire leads to new Mass. law

EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) - In the wake of the Station Nightclub fire in Rhode Island, Massachusetts fire officials have imposed a new safety measure for nightclubs and bars in that state.

Fire Marshal Stephen Coan tells Eyewitness News the Board of Fire Prevention voted Thursday to require establishments that hold more than 100 people to have so-called "crowd managers."

The crowd manager would be required to pass a training and certification program that teaches how to check sprinklers, handle evacuations and oversee basic safety procedures.

Officials are planning to put the regulations into effect in 2011.

The Station Nightclub fire killed 100 people and injured 200 others in February of 2003 when pyrotechnics set off by the band Great White ignited foam being used for soundproofing.