Fort Wayne nightclub closed because of safety concerns

FORT WAYNE -- A Fort Wayne nightclub that caters to the under-21 crowd has been closed because of safety concerns.\nThe Neptune Dance Club on the city's north side must be brought up to building codes before it can re-open, said Roger Clark, an assistant Allen County building commissioner.\nMarcus Beachem, the club's owner, said he was surprised to be shut down Wednesday because the Fire Department inspected the building Friday and gave him 30 days to resolve an occupancy permit and electrical problems.\n"We're trying to comply," he told The Journal Gazette. "But there's so many codes."\nClark issued the order closing the club Wednesday, citing structural problems and an incorrect occupancy license. The club had built platforms that were not solid, Clark said.\nThe closed nightclub does not serve alcohol and is only open Friday and Saturday nights.\n"The way I see it, if nothing had happened in Rhode Island or Chicago they wouldn't be doing this," Beachem said.\nLast week, 97 people died in a fire at a West Warwick, R.I., nightclub. Less than a week before, 26 people died in a stampede at a Chicago club.\nFire inspectors have been checking all Fort Wayne nightclubs for code violations that could lead to similar disasters, city officials said. The clubs are normally inspected once a year but were all checked in the past week.