Local bar and club managers are confident their establishments will not be the locations for fatal events such as the ones that occurred in Chicago and West Warwick, R.I., last week.

"We try to work safety into the entertainment," said Bill Rock, the general manager at Players Nite Club, 112 W. College Ave. "People feel more comfortable if they feel safe."

Rock said the nightclub is inspected three or four times a year and trains staff to stay calm and instruct people in the event of an emergency.

Emergency lights, a sprinkler system throughout the entire building, and designated plans for doormen to follow in emergencies are some of the things Hal McCullough, owner of Café 210 West, 210 W. College Ave., stressed in describing the safety of his bar. He said the doormen are well prepared and experienced with emergency situations.

"We've had some different kinds of emergencies," McCullough said. "There have been a few where we needed to evacuate people in a calm, cautious manner, and others where we had to use a fair amount of haste."

In Chicago, a stampede after an employee used pepper spray killed 21 people at a nightclub last Monday. A pyrotechnics display is being blamed for the West Warwick fire that killed 96 people Thursday night.

McCullough said Café 210 West does not allow pyrotechnics because of safety concerns.

"[Pyrotechnics] is something that would not be allowed here in any way, shape or form," McCullough said. "It's too dangerous to play with."

Kevin Franklin, general manager of The Gingerbread Man, 130 Hiester St., said his establishment follows occupancy limits and has an alarm system that is directly connected to the fire department.

"[The Gingerbread Man] is a little more open than some bars here," Franklin said. "There are a couple bars in town I don't feel comfortable in because there's not a real easy exit."

Franklin said The Gingerbread Man has a sprinkler system in the kitchen, but not in the restaurant and bar area because "most fires start in the kitchen, not anywhere else."

While bar and club owners and managers say their establishments are safe, some patrons say they are uneasy.

"There's a lot of overfilling," said Chris Cowan (senior-chemical engineering). "Bars around here get ridiculously packed."

Cowan said the high concentration of students of legal drinking age in the handful of bars in town can be a threat to safety because of the bars' layouts.

"The bars at home have exits on every wall that you can see," Cowan said. "Here it's like it's just the front door, and you could be fighting a huge crowd to get out."

Not everyone feels unsafe in local bars.

"Usually when I go I feel safe," said Jennifer Glynn (senior-communication science and disorders). "It gets crowded, but it's never been that jam-packed that I wouldn't get out if I had to."

Still, the recent events have brought a stronger focus on safety in bars and clubs to the area.

"It was an extreme thing, and it's really sad," Franklin said. "It makes me a little more conscious about what I do here."