Nightclub safety in WMass stronger

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - It took less than a minute for a fun night out hundreds of music lovers to become the scene of one of the deadliest fires in U.S. history.

The tour manager for the rock band Great White set off pyrotechnics at the Station nightclub in Rhode Island, sparking a massive fire in the overcrowded venue.

One hundred people died and more than two hundred more were injured after most rushed to get

Massachusetts club goers like Darren Hill say they now search for all the exits when they're in a crowd.

Hill said, "Right near the bathroom or front door so if anything happens, I know how to get out.”

It's not just awareness that has changed since the station fire, the laws have changed as well with the Massachusetts Fire Safety Act put in place in 2004.

Springfield Fire Marshal David Rivera told 22News, “The changes in the law have had a very positive effect in how we conduct inspections in the nightclubs."

All existing nightclubs with a capacity of more than 100 people and any new nightclubs with a capacity of more than 50 have to have fire sprinklers.

Pyrotechnics are now banned in the state, except under very limited circumstances.

Overall there were 34 safety changes.

Rivera explained, “For the most part here in Springfield they've adhered and instituted crowd management, where every venue has crowd management on site that inspect all the fire safety features that the building has prior to opening every night."