RE: Boston Globe Online / Metro | Region / WPRI reporter's link to club stirs ethical questions

["Brian Vita" <brian_vita@cssinc.com>]

And in the midst of the finger-pointing (was the club over-crowded, was the 
insulation flammable, did the band shoot off pyrotechnics without getting 
permission), one issue remains:  the club got a waiver to NOT have 
sprinklers.  This is outrageous to me-- and it occurred long before the 
Derderian Brothers bought it.  

This is actually fairly common.  Generally if the building was
"grandfathered" and it passed code at the time of construction, they don't
force the owners to retrofit sprinklers.  Usually this is only a factor
during a substantial renovation or change of use.