Local reaction to fatal night club fire

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - This past weekend’s nightclub fire in the country of Brazil left 231 concert goers dead, and is raising new questions about seating capacity, fire escapes and public safety in concert venues.

Even Terre Haute Fire Chief Jeff Fisher is paying careful attention to the catastrophic event that, according to many, was perfectly preventable.

Fisher said locally, all businesses are inspected and given a fire permit at opening time; then, annual fire inspections follow, he said.

All Indiana fire laws, commonly called codes, are drawn up by the State fire marshal’s office. Enforcement depends on local authorities, like the Terre Haute fire department.

Chief Fisher said he has four, full-time members of his IPI Division: IPI stands for Investigation, Prevention and Intervention.

Pyrotechnics, the alleged cause of the international weekend fire at a nightclub called Kiss, are regulated by a higher authority:  the State fire marshal’s office.

“We had a couple concerts last year where they had pyrotechnics at Hulman Center,” Chief Fisher recalled. “We have people on standby; we have an engine crew that is on the floor with extinguishers, just in case something would happen.”

Fisher said it’s his policy to take enforcement even a step further, when it comes to big-ticket concerts at ISU’s Hulman Center.

“I am at those events also, because I want to make sure my guys are safe, too. [We’re] going to make sure the public is safe; we want to make sure the bands are safe, and everyone goes home at the end of the night,” said Fisher.