Live music will not resume at the State Theatre for at least six weeks, until a number of fire code violations are fixed – including replacing two fire escapes.
City officials toured the theater at 609 Congress Street last Tuesday to find out why the only medium-sized music venue in Portland has racked up dozens of fire-code violations over the past nine months. The State closed March 1 when the building’s owner, Grant Wilson, evicted Chris Morgan, the former nightclub owner who was managing the theater.
Before the State Theatre can reopen, whether with a new tenant or under Wilson’s management, state and city officials want fire safety systems functional and a pair of fire escapes repaired.
One city public safety official said last week’s tour was necessary to “avoid a situation like Rhode Island,” referring to the 2003 nightclub fire in West Warwick which killed 98 people. A flammable foam inside that club was the principal cause of the disaster, which is not an issue at the State.
In 2005, the State Theatre was cited for 52 code violations by the State Fire Marshal’s Office in Augusta. In February 2006, the theater received another four citations. Roughly two-thirds of those citations were for blocked emergency exits, broken or turned-off fire alarms and sprinkler systems, and insufficient emergency lighting.
Portland Fire Department records show the most citations the State received in any year between 1994 (the year of its grand reopening) and 2004 was eight in 1995, before Wilson owned the building. All of the citations since he bought the building were received while Morgan was the tenant.
The State has had two recent fire-related emergencies: In September 2005, a speaker caught fire during an Interpol concert and in June of the same year a fire alarm malfunction prompted an audience evacuation (see “Smoke ‘Em If You Got ‘Em” by Amy Martin, June 17, 2005). No one was injured in either event.
By way of comparison, a spokesman for the New Hampshire fire marshal’s office says the Music Hall in Portsmouth, which with a 900-person capacity is similar in size to the 1450-capacity State Theatre, received no more than one or two violations in each of the years 2004 and 2005.
Wilson, the State’s owner, says many of the fire code violations now troubling the venue were “operational issues” that occurred under Morgan’s watch and were his responsibility to rectify.
Morgan referred all questions to his lawyer, who vigorously denied any negligence, saying in his client's view the problems were the landlord's responsibility. Morgan is contemplating filing a lawsuit against Wilson, whose lawyer says he is ready to meet Morgan in court.
“The theater is ready for occupancy right now,” says Wilson, who maintains the city and state would allow him to reopen even before the fire escapes are replaced. “There are some issues that need to be addressed; there are some ongoing maintenance issues.”
