Miami Quarterly

Issue date: 10/19/09 Section: Opinion

After one Uptown bar received two citations for being over capacity and watched six of its employees put in handcuffs in a single night, Oxford’s newly instated fire chief John Detherage is ready to put his foot down and make sure this year is different.

Let's start from the beginning: Saturday night of Miami University's bicentennial commencement, May 15, 2009.

Recent graduates pile into CJ's notorious "Champagne Jam" to celebrate the most important accomplishment to date of their lives.

After working at the bar for four years, for Miami 2009 alum Dan Brower, the event culminates his and many other students' four years spent at school. "It's tradition," he says. "It's the place to go on graduation night."

 The air is full of what all students will experience sooner or later - the bittersweet feeling of leaving a place they've come to call home, mixed with the excitement of heading out into the real world (even if that means getting an apartment with all of your fraternity brothers in Wrigleyville).

Enjoying one last night in their beloved Oxford, new graduates boisterously reminisce on the great times spent at Miami when in walks the new fire chief at about 11 p.m. The bar is noticeably 100 people over capacity and gets its first citation of the night.

People get back to what they're doing, enjoying the freedom of finally being done with all four years, when just an hour and a half later the fire chief returns, this time with roughly 15 policemen by his side. Upon seeing the place even more packed during his second arrival and knowing the bar did, in fact, obtain a clicker device specifically to count its number of occupants, he gives the bar its second citation. All six CJ's employees working at the bar are put into handcuffs for violating the fire code.

Talk about a party crasher.

After four years of working at CJ's, this was the first time Brower had seen the fire chief in the bar.

This single incident set the stage for a tighter fire policy enforcement for the 2009-10 academic year.

"Last year was probably more of an education period," Detherage says. "Just getting out, getting to know people, letting them know I'm serious, that I'm going to come back."

One of Detherage's first recommendations to the bars to try and avoid overcapacity problems was to invest in a clicker device, used to count the number of occupants going in and out of the bar throughout the night. Most managers complied with his suggestion, but problems relating to fire codes have still arisen this year.

As forewarned, Detherage indeed went back. When Skipper's Pub was caught overcapacity on one of the first weekend nights of the new school year, the fire chief emptied occupants out until the place was back at a safe, legal capacity.

However, even more serious actions can and may be taken. An Oxford ordinance allows the fire chief to write a civil citation for a fire code violation (like bars being overcapacity), which includes a fine of $500, giving Detherage the power to punish bar owners where it hurts most - their wallets.

To add to the controversy, managers aren't the only ones who need to worry. In many cases, doormen (including student employees) can face fines as well.

Andrew Amarantos, co-owner of Skipper's, says the new stricter enforcement of capacity causes "doormen to be on their toes a lot more" because of the increased liability.

Detherage outlines the specifics of the matter by stating if a doorman is standing there with a clicker that reads 200, for example, and the bar has a capacity of 150, the one responsible for counting the number of occupants is clearly the identified offender and will be given a citation - including a fine - on the spot.

Amarantos later went on to justify the fire chief's actions, saying Detherage is just doing what's in the "best interest of public safety," no matter how unpopular those actions may be.

Other local bar managers have noticed the change in authority as well, including Clark Benson, manager of The Balcony.

"(Detherage) didn't seem mad," Clark says. "He's just letting people know he's going to take his job pretty seriously and wants people to be safe."

The changing of the guard at the Oxford Fire Department since summer 2008 marks the first time many Uptown establishments have dealt with strictly enforced fire safety laws. One bartender says the fire chief's new enforcement policies are "stepping on the toes of bar owners that have been around for years."

Still, despite many students, employees and managers' displeasure with the recent level of strict regulations Uptown, the fire chief is holding strong.

"My intent isn't to cite people," Detherage says. "My intent is to make sure the businesses are safe."

Senior Andy Borgia, a three-year employee at CJ's, agrees. "He gets a bad rap, but he just has the job nobody wants," Borgia says.

Detherage says he often patrols Uptown on weekend nights, generally with two police officers, to check if things are safe and in order. He tries to hit all of the bars to make sure none of them feel singled out, though an employee at one particular bar claims the fire chief stops by three to four nights a week.

Other fire safety problems have also come up as recent issues. Blue Room, for example, needed to replace all its candles with electric ones. Apparently, the fire chief didn't think the mix of fire and alcohol was a very good idea. The setup at CJ's was also rearranged as the bar needed to invest in new lights and an arm bar exit on the back door, all in the name of safety.

Despite the controversy, the fire chief insists he has Miami students' best interest at heart, explaining he doesn't want a tragedy like ones that have occurred recently at universities, clubs and concerts across the nation to hit home here in Oxford.

"I just don't want to be responsible for anybody getting hurt," Detherage says.

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