Students may find longer lines outside clubs and emptier dance floors around the city as the D.C. Fire Marshal steps up building code inspections. Officials have cited several local nightclubs for fire and safety violations in the last few weeks, after catastrophes resulted in more than 100 deaths at nightclubs in Chicago and Rhode Island.

Captain Richard Fleming of the D.C. Fire Marshal’s office said nightclubs have been given violations for blocked exits, poorly-lit exit signs, faulty fire extinguishers and exceeding maximum capacity.

“These violations constitute a life-threatening danger,” Fleming said. “We have the managers fix the problems immediately, and don’t leave until they do.”

Fleming said inspections would increase at nightclubs that have been cited for violations.

“We plan to do more inspections during the day when the club’s not occupied so we can inspect things better,” Fleming said. “At night we come back when people are in the club to make sure the owners are complying with the building code.”

Fleming said fire marshals try to inspect each nightclub on a yearly basis, noting that marshals are responsible for inspecting more than 30,000 buildings in the District.

On Feb. 21, 21 people died and more than 50 were injured after a stampede in a Chicago nightclub. That same week, 96 people died and more than 100 were injured in a nightclub fire in West Warwick, R.I. In both instances, the nightclubs had exceeded maximum capacity and violated the building code. Fleming declined to talk about specific nightclubs, but several nightclub owners interviewed said their clubs had been cited for violations.

Brian Duggan, owner of Madam’s Organ, a bar and nightclub in Adams Morgan, said his establishment received a violation Feb. 22 for a flip-up bar that blocked a rear exit. Duggan said that part of the bar was removed “literally within an hour.”

He said government officials ordered the club to close that night but permitted it to reopen the next day upon further inspection of the establishment.

Ghana Caf?, a nightclub in Northwest Washington, was cited Feb. 23 for an improperly mounted fire extinguisher and having flammable material in close proximity to a water heater, said Anthony Opare, the club’s owner. Opare said two fire marshals had visited the club last year and didn’t mention the fire extinguisher or the flammable material.

“They’re panicking,” Opare said. “It’s an overreaction, and it doesn’t show much professionalism on their part.”

Fleming dismissed charges that the fire department’s actions are soley a reaction to the recent tragedies.

“We recognize that the public is taking note all of a sudden, but it’s not like we just started doing this,” said Fleming, referring to the inspections.

Mayor Anthony Williams met with nightclub owners and government officials last week to discuss safety.

Tony Bullok, director of communications for Mayor Williams, said the recent tragedies have caused the mayor to call for a series of rigorous inspections.

“The mayor wants – and to a large part I think it’s been achieved – to make sure these facilities are currently in compliance with the D.C. (building) code,” Bullok said.

Bullok said nightclub owners should always keep safety in mind when planning events.

“Little things that don’t seem important at the time, like a salad bar blocking an exit or a dead-bolted door, could be a life and death situation if there’s a fire or some other incident,” Bullok said.

Bullok said that despite a few complaints, owners have complied with inspections.

GW students expressed concern about overcrowding at nightclubs.

“You don’t think about it when you’re going to a club, but once you get in there, it’s so crowded you have to think how you’d get out of there if you needed to,” said freshman Megan Norwood, who went to Club Daedalus on Thursday night.

“It was crowded and hot, and it was hard to move around,” she said.

Other students said the recent events would foster awareness of nightclub safety.

“Even though these things happen pretty infrequently, a lot more sensitivity and care will be given to the issue,” said freshman Adam Colicchio, dressed in club attire before leaving for Platinum. “There will be a lot more concerned people, which is a reason to feel more safe.”

Fleming said the city hasn’t witnessed a nightclub catastrophe since 1977, when nine people were killed in a fire at Cinema Follies, a gay nightclub in Southeast Washington.