Sprinklers Man 65

For Jason Denton, there is particular significance in being a part of the sprinkler installation team for Machester 65. Jay had tickets to the Station the night of the fire – luckily, he got delayed and missed the tragic show. It makes working on the sprinkler system for a West Warwick music venue especially poignant.

“You know, there are things the codes require, and then there are more things you can do. This owner really went above and beyond. You can see why he would want to – both for safety, and because of the historical significance of being the first live music venue to open in West Warwick in at least 10 years.”

Ten years ago, of course, is when the tragic fire claimed 100 lives at the Station nightclub in West Warwick. The shadow of that event has blanketed venues throughout the state. On the one hand, it’s resulted in much greater fire code care and enforcement throughout the state. But the associations from that night are still particularly strong for those in West Warwick.

The owner has exceeded requirements in many ways – for example, the code requires sprinkler heads every 14 feet. He brought them in closer, and asked for extra heads. That costs more – nobody ever asks for that,” says Denton, who works at Rhode Island Fire Protection Systems, where he recently attained his Masters license for RI and Massachusetts. He’s been working in the field for 21 years – but the events of 10 years ago gave him a heightened awareness of importance of his career.

“It’s not like we’re firemen – we don’t do the dangerous part or run into burning buildings. But if something like that does happen, our trade helps them do their job and save lives.” The standards are understandably higher for West Warwick. “The fire department was all over the place on this job, leaving no stone unturned. No one wants anything like that nightmare on their hands.”