Last week, inspectors discovered two Short North bars contained the same foam that fueled the fatal fire at a Rhode Island nightclub.
High Five, located at 1227 N. High St., and Little Brothers, located at 1100 N. High St., were ordered, by fire inspectors, to remove the highly flammable foam rubber that was being used for soundproofing.
At High Five, the foam was being used in the ceiling and in the walls behind the stage.
“They gave me 24 hours to get rid of it. So I did,” said Diana Blankenship, owner of High Five.
Blankenship said she had someone come in to readjust the acoustics of the room for the following night’s show, and the sound was perfect without the foam.
“It sounded great. You couldn’t tell the difference,” Blankenship said. “We’re not going to replace the foam with anything.”
No one objected to the foam during the three years it was used in High Five, Blankenship said.
“No one knew the dangers of it,” she said. “I don’t even think the fire department knew.”
Although High Five does not allow fireworks or pyrotechnic displays of any kind, Blankenship praised the fire department for the services it is providing to avert further tragedies.
“The fire department and inspectors are doing an excellent job of finding this foam in the clubs,” Blankenship said. “In due time they’ll have it out of every club in the city of Columbus.”
Capt. Steve Saltsman, fire investigation supervisor, is in charge of the 24-hour inspectors who inspect the clubs during business hours.
“These inspectors work year-round,” Saltsman said. “Right now we’ve put extra people out to step up this effort. We don’t want what happened there (Rhode Island) happening here.”
Saltsman said they plan on re-inspecting every nightclub in Columbus over the next two weeks.
“First we are focusing on places that typically bring in large or moving crowds,” Saltsman said. “Eventually, they’ll all be inspected.”
In addition to regular inspection tasks of checking for overcrowding, blocked exits, locked doors and fire extinguishers, inspectors’ main concern is the foam.
“Something we’re doing that we don’t normally do is field-testing the foam,” said Battalion Chief Mike Fultz, spokesman for the Columbus Division of Fire. “We take the foam outside and light it on fire to see if it goes up in flames.”
Fultz said the foam at Little Brothers was field-tested and found to be very flammable.
“They couldn’t get it out in time for the event that night,” Fultz said. “The inspector told them they could still hold the event, but there was no smoking allowed.”
Saltsman said inspectors spot-checked Little Brothers that night, and owners complied with the directive. An inspector went by the following day, and the foam was then removed.
The owner of Little Brothers was unable to be reached for comment.
“The appropriate safety precautions were taken,” Saltsman said. “We just wanted to verify our position. Nothing’s more important than safety.”
Both Fultz and Saltsman thanked business owners for being so compliant.
“All the building owners are being very cooperative,” Fultz said.
“Everyone has cooperated with the requests,” Saltsman said. “They’re trying to run a business. They don’t want to put their patrons in danger.”
Blankenship said they have never had a single violation at High Five and she always tries to maintain safety in the club. She also said it is the patrons’ responsibility to be aware of fire hazards at a club.
“As a patron, you always have to be prepared,” Blankenship said. “The first thing you should do at a nightclub is look for the exit signs and then for fire extinguishers. That way you’ll have more than a fair chance to get out.”
The soundproofing foam in the West Warwick, R.I., nightclub The Station was part of what fueled the Feb. 20 fire that killed 98 people.
