Fall River hall uninspected

FALL RIVER -- The meeting hall consumed by a fast-moving blaze that killed four women had never been inspected by city fire and building officials because it was listed as a private residence, authorities said.

Without inspections, fire officials were never able to force the hall's owners to install swing-out doors enabling easy escape or other safety measures.

Several fire survivors said the meeting hall's doors would not open during the fire, forcing them to smash through windows to escape. Theresa Silva , 48, said she fled through a kitchen window after a side exit failed to open.

Several city officials interviewed yesterday said they were surprised that the meeting hall escaped inspection because it was a well-known Portuguese community gathering spot. A sign with the club's name hung in front of the building, and police details occasionally provided security at events there.

By state law, the meeting hall should have been classified as a public space by city building inspectors, which would have enabled fire inspectors to recommend appropriate safety measures, fire and city officials said.

At a minimum, the meeting hall would be required to have swing-out doors, said fire officials. It may also have been required to install push bars on the doors for easy opening. But inspections never took place.

``In the absence of a liquor license or any other business license, there was nothing to trigger an inspection by the Fire Department," said Fall River Fire Chief David Thiboutot . ``We don't have any way to know about every unlicensed, unregulated activity in this city."

Joseph Biszko , the city's chief building inspector, said it was the responsibility of the meeting hall's owners to call city inspectors.

``They never called us," he said. ``They should have let me know. . . . I've never been there."

With ethnic social clubs common around Massachusetts, state Fire Marshal Stephen Coan yesterday initiated a statewide effort to reach out to the clubs so authorities can ``work with them to ensure they meet the applicable building and fire codes and to educate them on the inherent danger of flammable decorations and candles."

Coan said the meeting hall on County Street was ``known to the Fall River authorities as a residential structure."

``There is no requirement to inspect residential buildings," he said. ``The presence of that social club there was not licensed."

Kevin Blythe , Fall River's assistant fire marshal, said public-use buildings with an occupancy limit of 50 or fewer people are required to install swing-out doors. Those with 50 to 100 people need push-bar doors, and those that can hold more than 100 people and have liquor licenses must install sprinklers. A building's maximum capacity, based on square footage, is determined during a building inspection.

Because a building inspection never occurred at the County Street meeting hall, Blythe said it is unclear what its capacity was. Reported crowds at the meeting hall vary from a dozen or less to up to 100 for special occasions, residents said.

Biszko said his department inspects places of assembly such as bars, restaurants, and other social clubs on an annual basis.

The meeting hall was owned by Recreation Association Nossa Senhora Da Luz Inc. , a nonprofit group, according to papers filed with the secretary of state. The most recent building permit for a kitchen and roof construction at the building -- issued on Jan. 6, 2000 -- describes it as a residential three-family building.

The group's acting president, Manuel Costa , said several Portuguese social clubs use the meeting hall. He said he was not aware of the need to report the establishment to city building inspectors, and that it had operated for two decades without incident. ``We comply with the codes," he said.

Councilman Joseph Camara said city inspectors should have approached the meeting hall owners, because it was common knowledge among city officials that the converted apartment was a location for social clubs.

``I would certainly think the fire inspectors were aware of what that building was being used for," he said. ``It's well known throughout the community. It has a lot of tradition. Mayors and politicians have gone there for years."

Camara estimated there were ``a few dozen, maybe 30 to 40 social clubs throughout the city."

The social club meeting when the fire broke out was the St. John Holy Ghost Association. Bristol District Attorney Paul F. Walsh Jr. called the group ``an informal social club" that had never sought any city licensing or approval. Community activists said the clubs are ubiquitous in the state's Portuguese community.

``A lot of them emerged out of immigrant self-help organizations or are affiliated with a church," said Corinn Williams , executive director of the Community Economic Development Center in New Bedford, home of the largest Portuguese population in the state. ``Over the years they become places where people congregate."

On Wednesday night, tragedy hit the 30 people who had gathered at about 7:30 p.m. to celebrate the Feast of the Holy Ghost, a religious holiday for many Portuguese immigrants.

Some of the meeting hall's walls were covered with crepe paper. A single candle started the blaze. Some of the women tried to smother the fire with their purses, authorities said. Others tried to stamp it out. They tried to use the lone fire extinguisher.

``I think people got confused; they couldn't even figure out how to use it," said Costa, who is close friends with several survivors. ``It all happened so fast."

Silva, one of the survivors, tried to escape through a side door, but she could not get it open.

``The smoke was unbelievable," she said. ``It was so dark you couldn't see two feet in front of you. Everyone started panicking, it was like a tidal wave of flames. It just burned so fast."

With the fire devouring the oxygen in the meeting hall, Silva ran into the kitchen.

``I put my hand out the window and just started screaming," she said. ``I thought: `I don't care if my feet get on fire. I just want to get my head out to breathe.' "

Silva yesterday was in good condition at the Rhode Island Hospital with second-degree burns to her arms, hands, face, ears, and the back of her neck.

When the doors and windows eventually were opened, oxygen rushed in, feeding the fire, said Coan, who has seen the devastation. Journalists, however, were not allowed to tour the burned-out structure. There were two front doors and a side entrance to the building, all of which opened inward.

``The building became untenable in a very, very short period of time," said Coan.

In addition to Silva, nine others were injured, three seriously, including a child. Most of the injured have been released.

Before the fire, said another survivor, Michelle Pacheco , 24, the meeting hall was filled with festive color: large sheets of white paper, white paper roses, and small white lights adorned the back wall of the hall. Blue paper covered the ceiling. A big paper rose bush with seven branches was the centerpiece of the decorations standing at the front of the hall. On the floor near the bush approximately a dozen slender white candles fixed in wooden blocks and placed in a rectangular tray filled with water had been lit.

``The whole place was really beautiful," Pacheco said. ``everyone was looking at it saying how wonderful it was."

But the fire turned it into a scene of terror.

``I carried my niece out, and my mom and dad made it out," she said. People screamed in English and Portuguese ``Help!" and ``Let us out!" Pacheco said.

Yesterday, with the meeting hall a ruin, Pacheco said of her family's survival: ``We were really blessed."

Brian Ballou of the Globe staff and Globe correspondent Yuxing Zheng contributed to this report.