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News that a state fire safety law coming into effect on December 1st is putting the War Room out of business has caused fears of a great club die off on Capitol Hill. But CHS has learned that those worries appear to be unfounded — or, at least, it won’t be fire laws alone that kill off clubs on Capitol Hill. Of the 69 clubs across the city identified by the Seattle Fire Department as likely to be affected by the state safety requirements, only six have not added the sprinkler systems, modified their floorplans or communicated a plan to do so as the December 1st deadline approaches, SFD spokesperson Dana Vander Houwen told CHS.

“It’s been a four-year process,” Vander Houwen said. “We’ve been working with businesses that fell into categories. Some installed sprinklers. Some modified floor plans to have different squarefootage for dancing. Some have made decision to close.”

While Vander Houwen was not able to provide the list of businesses the SFD has been working with, she was able to look up the status for specific clubs that CHS asked about. As for Neighbours, the grandaddy of Capitol Hill danceclubs, they have a plan in motion. Even though they will miss the date for the start of the law, Vander Houwen told us the owners of Neighbours have provided a plan that will make the club compliant. “If they have intent, we’ll work with them to make sure they stay open,” Vander Houwen said.

That’s a path the War Room wasn’t willing to go down. “We honestly feel like we made a difference in the city with the War Room,” owner Marcus Lalario said in a statement about his decision to close the club. “But, with so many issues still facing nightlife, we’re ready to move on. The liquor tax increase, mounting pressures from the City and State helped us make the decision.”

A new sprinkler system would have cost the club about $60,000 to install. They also could have reconfigured their business to reduce dance space — but then they wouldn’t really be the War Room any more, no? And a key factor in this for a club like the War Room is they don’t own the building, only the business — any improvements would be an investment in a $1.2 million asset owned by a company called Four G’s Enterprises.

The War Room’s owners, by the way, won’t be leaving the Capitol Hill scene any time soon. Lalario is a big time player in the area’s business scene. The Seattle Times sums it nicely:

He owns Captain Black’s, a Capitol Hill restaurant/bar; he’s an investor in The Saint, another Capitol Hill restaurant/bar; and he’s part owner of Molly Moon’s ice-cream shops in Capitol Hill and Wallingford.

He recently started a distillery, Batch 206, and will soon open a hamburger restaurant on Capitol Hill, Lil’ Woody’s, a joint venture with former employees of Crémant and Harvest Vine.

The safety law was passed by the state legislature in 2005 following extensive media coverage of a fire in a club in Rhode Island. The original deadline of December 1, 2007 was extended to give state businesses more time to plan for the investments required to meet the sprinkler requirements — or to make other business plans. The War Room opened in the space in 2005.

So how many other Capitol Hill venues are in a tough spot because of the new law? In addition to the War Room, there are five more clubs across the city that have yet to work out a plan for compliance, according to SFD. Neighbours, we now know, isn’t one of those. Who else is closing down on Capitol Hill — if anybody — remains a mystery.

Meanwhile, you can send the War Room off in style along with Seattle’s new political elite at this Sunday night bash.