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CNN Saturday Morning News
Interview With Tru
Aired February 22, 2003 - 09:03 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JONATHAN KARL, CNN ANCHOR: How can you keep a night out on the town from becoming a nightmare? Our Mike Brooks joins us in Atlanta with some advice on ways to protect yourself at a crowded nightclub or concert -- Mike.
MIKE BROOKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Jonathan.
We're here at the Jaipur nightclub in the Buckhead section of Atlanta. And earlier, we looked at some of the things on the dance floor, in the dance area. We're up here on the deck just outside of the VIP lounge.
And with my fire department background, one of the things that I really enjoy, and (UNINTELLIGIBLE) kind of excited about, I've never seen before, is this exit light that's on the outside deck. And to the left of the exit light, as you go down onto the parking lot, they also have emergency lighting to make sure, if it's nighttime and the electricity goes off and there's no lights in the parking lot, that the patrons get out of here safely.
We're joined by Tru, who is the owner of the nightclub. Thanks for joining us this morning, Tru.
TRU, OWNER, JAIPUR NIGHT CLUB: Thank you.
BROOKS: Now, this club, it's open for a short time. What is the maximum capacity of this whole club? We're in the VIP lounge now, but what is the maximum capacity of this club?
TRU: Full capacity, along with the deck, is about 1,700.
BROOKS: Seventeen hundred people. So that's a lot of folks. Now, you just recently opened up. And this building, there was a club here before?
TRU: Yes.
BROOKS: When you opened up, did you make some changes, you know, safety-wise?
TRU: A few. You know, as far as adding sprinklers and alarms and the lighting for the exits.
BROOKS: So they made you -- so by code, Atlanta code, Georgia code, you upgraded it, even though there was already some existing safety features here already. TRU: Oh, it's strict, but it's needed.
BROOKS: I noticed inside the doors, we were coming in, you've got exit lights, you've got a fire extinguisher to handle A, B, and C fires, common combustibles, wood, paper, flammable liquids, electrical fires, those kind of things, and 14 sprinklers just within this VIP lounge.
TRU: I think that helps.
BROOKS: I think that would help a great deal also. Now, we talked to some other fire chiefs and the International Association of Fire Chiefs. They're trying to get legislation to upgrade a lot of clubs around the country. Here in Atlanta -- and also the inspection process. Here in Atlanta, there are two fire inspectors for all of the clubs in Atlanta. When is the last time this club was inspected?
TRU: About six weeks ago.
BROOKS: And how did you all do?
TRU: We came out on top.
BROOKS: Came out on top?
TRU: Came out on top.
BROOKS: That's -- And what are the things -- when they come out, do they come out during business hours, do they come out when the crowds are here, when the club is open? When do they come out?
TRU: Mostly, you know, during the business hours, but we have a nice rapport with them. They come during the day.
BROOKS: Any other business owners around here, have you heard any complaints about fire inspections anywhere else in the city?
TRU: No. It's nice.
BROOKS: So here in Atlanta, and especially at the Club Jaipur, at the Jaipur nightclub here in Buckhead, they have all the safety features in place, and hopefully it will make their patrons feel a little bit safer, Jonathan.
KARL: All right, Mike Brooks with some early-morning nightclub duty. Thank you very much, Mike.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired February 22, 2003 - 09:03 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JONATHAN KARL, CNN ANCHOR: How can you keep a night out on the town from becoming a nightmare? Our Mike Brooks joins us in Atlanta with some advice on ways to protect yourself at a crowded nightclub or concert -- Mike.
MIKE BROOKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Jonathan.
We're here at the Jaipur nightclub in the Buckhead section of Atlanta. And earlier, we looked at some of the things on the dance floor, in the dance area. We're up here on the deck just outside of the VIP lounge.
And with my fire department background, one of the things that I really enjoy, and (UNINTELLIGIBLE) kind of excited about, I've never seen before, is this exit light that's on the outside deck. And to the left of the exit light, as you go down onto the parking lot, they also have emergency lighting to make sure, if it's nighttime and the electricity goes off and there's no lights in the parking lot, that the patrons get out of here safely.
We're joined by Tru, who is the owner of the nightclub. Thanks for joining us this morning, Tru.
TRU, OWNER, JAIPUR NIGHT CLUB: Thank you.
BROOKS: Now, this club, it's open for a short time. What is the maximum capacity of this whole club? We're in the VIP lounge now, but what is the maximum capacity of this club?
TRU: Full capacity, along with the deck, is about 1,700.
BROOKS: Seventeen hundred people. So that's a lot of folks. Now, you just recently opened up. And this building, there was a club here before?
TRU: Yes.
BROOKS: When you opened up, did you make some changes, you know, safety-wise?
TRU: A few. You know, as far as adding sprinklers and alarms and the lighting for the exits.
BROOKS: So they made you -- so by code, Atlanta code, Georgia code, you upgraded it, even though there was already some existing safety features here already. TRU: Oh, it's strict, but it's needed.
BROOKS: I noticed inside the doors, we were coming in, you've got exit lights, you've got a fire extinguisher to handle A, B, and C fires, common combustibles, wood, paper, flammable liquids, electrical fires, those kind of things, and 14 sprinklers just within this VIP lounge.
TRU: I think that helps.
BROOKS: I think that would help a great deal also. Now, we talked to some other fire chiefs and the International Association of Fire Chiefs. They're trying to get legislation to upgrade a lot of clubs around the country. Here in Atlanta -- and also the inspection process. Here in Atlanta, there are two fire inspectors for all of the clubs in Atlanta. When is the last time this club was inspected?
TRU: About six weeks ago.
BROOKS: And how did you all do?
TRU: We came out on top.
BROOKS: Came out on top?
TRU: Came out on top.
BROOKS: That's -- And what are the things -- when they come out, do they come out during business hours, do they come out when the crowds are here, when the club is open? When do they come out?
TRU: Mostly, you know, during the business hours, but we have a nice rapport with them. They come during the day.
BROOKS: Any other business owners around here, have you heard any complaints about fire inspections anywhere else in the city?
TRU: No. It's nice.
BROOKS: So here in Atlanta, and especially at the Club Jaipur, at the Jaipur nightclub here in Buckhead, they have all the safety features in place, and hopefully it will make their patrons feel a little bit safer, Jonathan.
KARL: All right, Mike Brooks with some early-morning nightclub duty. Thank you very much, Mike.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
