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The National Institute
of Standards and Technology is beginning an investigation of
the Feb. 20 fatal fire at a Rhode Island nightclub. NIST, which
is part of the Commerce Dept., announced Feb. 27 that it was
launching the probe of the fire at The Station nightclub in
West Warwick. Published reports say that 97 people died in the
fire.
NIST said it decided to
initiate the investigation after a two-day review of the site
by two of its fire researchers and discussions with other
officials at the scene.
The investigation will be carried
out under under authority NIST received in last year's National
Construction Safety Team Act. That statute puts NIST in charge
of probing building failures, whatever the cause, around the
country. It also provides the agency with subpoena power to
help it acquire the information it needs to do the probe.
The agency said it will focus
on four topics:
- conditions in the nightclub before the fire, including
the building materials, location of doors, windows and ventilation,
the building's fire protection
- reconstructing the fire's ignition and path, using computer
models
- studying the effect an installed sprinkler system would
have on survivability
- analyzing the emergency evacuation and responses by the
nightclub's occupants
The investigation could
lead to recommendations for changes in building codes or standards.
A NIST spokesman said the lead
investigator and other members of the team hadn't been selected
yet.
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