Nightclub Owners Do The Safety Dance

After last week, some people will most likely think twice before they set foot in a crowded dance hall. But a man who runs a club near Washington, D.C. says no one should ever get hurt--if nightclub owners do their jobs.

CBS News Correspondent Tracy Smith asked Jay Nedry if a band could have set up a pyrotechnics display on stage without his knowing about it, His reply: It would be like someone coming into your office and setting up an igloo on the floor. Tough to overlook.

At Jaxx Nightclub outside Washington, D.C. Friday night, the first act had time to spare. They were supposed to be opening for Great White, the band whose pyrotechnics turned a Rhode Island club into an inferno.

"Tonight would have been the 16th time Great White would have played here," said Nedry.

But even if Great White had gone on as planned, Nedry said the tragedy wouldn't have happened at his club.

"I've never had a problem with them. When they called last week to advance the date, they asked if they could use pyrotechnics, and I said, 'No, you have to get a permit. We don't allow it in the club and a permit is almost impossible to get anyway.' So they said, 'No problem.' I've never had a problem with that," Nedry said.

Still, after last Thursday's nightmare scenario, there's a new sense of urgency about safety.

Though Nedry said he hasn't had a fight in more than five years and never has had a fire, he still is going to make changes.

"We're going to be very proactive, just like you're on an airplane, giving you the same speech everybody's heard a thousand times," he said

And he wasn't kidding. Onstage, he now gives instructions to customers showing where the fire exits are located.

But for all the precautions, safety is still an issue, if only because most clubgoers are more concerned with getting into a club than getting out.

After a couple of drinks, most people are not thinking about safety, said club patron Kristyn Anderson. "You don't really notice what's going on around you if it's good, bad or otherwise," she said.

For her, the tragedy in Rhode Island prompted sympathy and not much else.

"I don't think it's going to change my approach at all. I'm going to go, I'm going to do, I'm going to be, and hope for the best," she said.

But if his patrons are unconcerned, the tragedy in Rhode Island has Nedry more worried than ever as he tries to preclude the unthinkable.

"I have insurance. But how am I going to sleep at night if people died here because of something I did -- or more importantly, something I didn't do?" he asked. "I can only speak for myself. I'm a big boy and can be responsible for my actions. I don't want anything that I've done here to impact negatively on anybody at any time or for any reason especially if it's something avoidable," he added.