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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God bless their souls and may they be at peace now. My prayers to their family and friends to find comfort in their grief.

Maggie

I feel that just before such an event/show takes place a spokesperson should announce where all fire exits and extingushers are, something like they do on airplanes before the flight take off. This would alert everyone as to how to get out if a fire or other emergancy takes place.

Lyn, Norwood, Ma 02062

How about posting a detail officer inside a club, at least the presence of either a firefighter or police officer may make either a club owner or a band think twice about pulling a fast one that could cause such a tragedy. What is the price of safety worth, $1.00 from the door to cover a weekend detail ? May all who died rest in peace.

Rich , Quincy

In the wake of these terrible tragedies I hope that all club owners take a look at the safety procedures they have in place. I would suggest that flamable materials be replaced with flame retardent ones, fire extinguishers should be accessible and sprinkler systems in working order at all times. It amazes me that in this day and age with all the technological advances we have made that these tragedies still happen. I would ask that all club owners take a look at their establishments and ask themselves if they would be confident that their loved ones would survive such a disaster.

Jessica, Quincy

It seems that in the event of fire detection devices being set off or power failure there should be an alternate resource that lights the doorways/exits with. Not you typical exit signs but something that eminates a noise and extra bright light.

rick, norfolk, ma

I read page after page of calls for more inspections, more enforecement, and the like--but wonder what will all of you do the next time you're asked to pay taxes to support this effort. Remember this tragedy the next time you're tempted to vote down a municipal tax increase or override--how do you think this stuff gets paid for?

irene, Boston

Whatever was covering the walls and ceilings that burned so fast should be banned from any place that holds that many people. If the building could be engulfed in flames in 3 minutes as they are saying, it had to be something that burned really fast. The fire wouldn't have had a chance to spread if the ceiling were fireproof.

Marlene, Medford

The two tragic incidents involving nightclubs which have occurred in the past week are undoubtedly both shocking and painfully revealing, though they shouldn't have been entirely unexpected. Safety codes are continually violated in clubs all across New England. I have been to many different places where similar incidents could have happened. Local authorities and club owners need to be held accountable for their irresponsibility. In addition, let's not forget to lay some blame on our federal government which has unnecessarily created a "climate of fear" surrounding the citizens of the entire country due to the September 11th attacks. Frequent warnings of potential terrorist attacks are only issued in order to reduce liability and to drum up support for our forthcoming war with Iraq. After being bombarded by the mass media with the horrible images from 9/11/2001 and scared to death by our own government, it's no wonder that people are unable to deal with crisis situations in public places. Artificially induced widespread panic is almost as much to blame for the severity of these tragic incidents as negligent club owners.

Karl, Boston

Why not have spinkler systems in clubs, it could save lives. Club owners should be liable for safety, and unfortuately these owners didn't think that was important.

Walter & Audrey, Millis, MA

I just can't believe this actually happened 20 min from my house. It is so easy to think, "being trapped in a blazing fire could never happen to me" but even though I wasn't there last night, I have been there a few times before to see different bands and the ceilings are too low and the place is rather small for those kinds of special effects. Going forward, this should teach anyone who enters any facility that will have a large "crowd" of people, just look around to see that if something were to happen, how many fire exits are there and how would you get out?

Sheri, Attleboro, MA