In the wake of last night's fatal fire at a Rhode Island nightclub and a stampede earlier this week at a Chicago venue, safety measures at clubs nationwide will likely be reevaluated. What measures should be taken in Boston to ensure the safety of its nightspots? What lessons can be learned -- by venue owners and concertgoers alike -- in terms of safety at clubs? .

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Is it really that we need to enforce stricter laws, or more that laws are not being followed? Take last night's tragedy for example--if you are that club owner, you are responsible for a certain care for the club patrons--to me, that means that I need to know all the details if I'm going to have a band/show play at my club. How can the club come back now and claim they weren't aware of pyrotechnics? Puh-lease. And honestly, you can enact the laws, but bottom line is people need to make money--and so if club owners break a law and get a slap on the wrist (pay a fine-e.g., Chicago), it's probably not going to be a really big deal to them. It is outrageous, even after the recent tragedies, to contemplate the notion that cities will start shutting down clubs that continue to ignore laws--bad for city economy too. I think it's nice to say that we will enact and enforce laws, but I really don't think much will change in the future.

jennifer, brookline

Whenever me and my girlfriends go out to a good club there is always too many people. I understand that this is a hotspot and everyone wants in but when your being pushed and shoved and can barely move its just not fun or safe. I definitely think that the maximum capacity should be lowered for several clubs and we should make sure that it is enforced. Rather than letting people stand in line to get in it should be first come first serve and the door man should let in the capacity # and tell everyone left to go somewhere else. The important part is enforcing it! I think that people should be made more aware that filling a club to capacity or above is a fire hazard and then maybe we wouldn't try so hard to get into the clubs that have the lines down the street and the people cramped inside like sardines.

Nicole , Waltham

You'd think in the 21st century we'd be able to equip these venues to prevent what happened.....Tell that to over 200 families....I hope Great White really thinks long and hard about this....You sneak in this crappy pyro and look at what you have done.....Lives were lost because you needed to make the show....To mimick their lyrics, my my my once bitten youre fried baby.....My hearts go out to the families who lost loved ones and to those injured...May those who are hurt recover quickly and those who perished, may you be in a better place...God bless

Chris, Boston

The Rhode Island fire might have claimed less victims if there were sprinkler systems, emergency lighting, and flame-retardant materials. We learned this from the 1942 Cocoanut Grove fire. In any case, MASS PANIC could be reduced if there were more safety precautions. Any wood-framed building that can hold 300 people needed the added protection of sprinklers and lighting. Review the city codes and make sure places adhere to those codes.

tom , leominster

Now 85+ lives are lost and the game of pass-the-buck begins anew, which is disgraceful. Nobody playing 300-person clubs should be using pyrotechnics anyway. What the hell??! My high school auditorium seated 750 people- in comparison, think of how small the Station was! The band, their management and their **set designers** should be ashamed of themselves- these venues are too small for fireworks displays! Can you imagine these things being set off at TT's or the Middle East in Cambridge, for example? As for someone else's message stating that all clubs should be shut down because they're just places where kids go to get high on ecstacy and whatnot and cause mayhem- most of the people killed at this club were probably in their 30's and 40's- this is an OLD BAND. This was not an accident that happenned because of youthful stupidity, this was caused by greed, horrible judgement, and the vanity of a band that needed to jazz up their act with a flaming reminder of their big-haired heyday. I'm going to directly quote someone's earlier message below- they sum up my opinion exactly. The quote: One of the earlier articles this morning quoted the lighting guy at the Station who said something to the effect that the band's road manager was the one setting up the pyrotechnics and that the lighting guy got nervous. Why didn't he immediately call one of the owners? Whay wasn't there someone from the club there to supervise the load-in and sound check? And the Derderians' statement says that one of them was there at the time of the fire and helped people get out. Well, didn't HE of all people notice that things were set up on stage that shouldn't have been there? And what was the band thinking when they saw the small setup? Where was the common sense? weren't they afraid they might get burned with falling embers? There was an interview as well with the owner of the NJ club where Great White played a couple of nights ago, where they pulled the same thing, pyrotechnics without permission. Why didn't it occur to this bar owner to perhaps call The Station and give them a heads up? As far as I'm concerned, EVERYONE responsible for putting on the show is to blame.

Kaydee, Camb

CLUB SHOULD MAKE SURE ALL EXIT DOORS ARE WELL LIGHTED SO THEY CAN SEE THIE SIGNS ABOVE THE DOOR WAY. ALSO, THEY SHOULD LIMIT THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THE CLUBS LET IN

NUNES, MASS

I think they need to prosecute people like Jesse Jackson that try to keep these clubs open when they should have been shut down.

Karl , Hingham

Senseless.

Danno, Worcester

All the bands have contracts written & signed by club owners. If all those clubs are saying that they did not know, then pyrotechnics shouldn't be in the contracts for us to find out if they are telling the truth. Pretty black & white to me?? Sounds like this band just did what it wanted. The managers said they tried to stop it but they dont' know what the equipment looks like (pyrotechnics) compared to speaker equip. so I can see if the manager didnt' know until it happened. AND sometimes when you try & stop something when its already started with a big crowd - they become mad and cause riots. Im sure the manager ws in a no-win situation.

Sophie, Boston, ma

State and local authorities have to allocate resources for the constant enforcement of fire codes and other public safety regulations. At least every Friday and Saturday night, there ought to be fire marshals, liquor enforcement agents, etc., going to as many clubs and bars as possible, and exercising their enforcement mandate. I was a doorman in Portland's Old Port where I've seen such oversight. I'm now a doorman in Boston, and I see no regulatory enforcement whatsoever.

Joe, Boston