Update: The board announced a vote at around 1:45 a.m. Read the update

An emotional Frank Selbe told a city attorney and Roanoke fire officials Thursday night that if they hold to an occupancy limit of 49 people and require a fire escape or other second exit for the stately Corinthian Ballroom downtown, his wife and her co-owner will be out of business.

One option, he said, would be to abandon the circa-1911 building to decay and colonies of pigeons, a fate he said would fly in the face of concerted efforts in recent years to save and restore older buildings downtown.

In the short term, a recent ruling by the city fire marshal already has brides-to-be weeping in consternation and fathers of brides-to-be threatening lawsuits. The Corinthian Ballroom, housed on the fourth floor of what was once a Mason's hall at 109 Kirk Ave., has become a sought-after site for wedding receptions.

One wedding reception is scheduled for the first weekend in April.

In late December, Jenna Bush, the president's daughter, attended a wedding reception at the Corinthian Ballroom. Selbe noted that the U.S. Secret Service inspected the building prior to Bush's attendance and allowed her to participate.

A single complaint, filed soon after a well-attended and highly publicized Black & White Ball in January, caused fire officials to inspect the ballroom and its building. The ball drew about 400 people, according to Selbe.

A Feb. 20 inspection by the fire marshal's office concluded the building must have a second exit to the street. The office set an occupancy limit of 49 people, though neither Assistant City Attorney Steven Talevi nor Fire Marshal Dan Rakes seemed clear Thursday whether that limit applied only to the ballroom or to the entire building.

The inspection also mandated a certificate of occupancy for the building, something never required of the Masons, who owned the building until 2002 and held numerous functions there, including wedding receptions. That year, caterer Victoria Longley and longtime property manager Gary Peck purchased the building, drawn in large part by the beauty of the Corinthian Ballroom.

On Thursday, in a rare hearing, the city's Fire Board of Appeals heard hours of testimony and argument from experts, lawyers and fire officials. Longley and Peck, doing business as 109 Kirk Associates LLC, along with attorney Brett Marston, repeatedly noted that a 2004 fire inspection of the building found not a single violation of fire code.

They argued also that state laws suggest the building cannot be held to more stringent fire and building codes adopted in recent years.

Longley and Peck said they would never have bought the building in 2002 if they believed a fire escape or second exit would be required.

During a long day of contention, everyone seemed to agree about one point -- that the Corinthian Ballroom is a remarkably beautiful space in the heart of downtown.

As 10 p.m. approached, 12 hours after the hearing began, the board was just beginning to wade through testimony from Roanoke Fire Chief David Hoback, with Fire Marshal Dan Rakes standing by. The five-member appeals board includes two retired firefighters and at least one volunteer firefighter.

Hoback said the building itself, constructed with steel and reinforced concrete, did not concern him. But he cited a number of other problems he said could create potentially deadly conditions for patrons of the Corinthian Ballroom and the smaller event space provided by the Fairfax Room below.

The stairwell, said Hoback, which offers the only means of exiting the building, would also serve as a conduit for fire, smoke and fumes from a fire below. The elevator shaft would serve the same role, he said. Inspectors found no fire alarm system and not a single smoke detector in the building, he said.

Carpets could burn and emit toxic fumes, as could combustible materials stored and sold by a florist, Florabella, that leases the building's first two floors, Hoback said.

He and other fire officials expressed concern about a single, 34-inch-wide door and a wide staircase that provide the only way in or out of the expansive ballroom. The door and its position adjacent to a stairwell could result in a fatal "pinch point" for panicked guests beset by smoke, flames or fumes, said Hoback.

Selbe, an officer for 109 Kirk Associates but not an owner, said Longley and Peck have offered to widen the door from the ballroom and to take other measures to make the building safer. But a fire escape or second exit routed internally would cost more than the partnership could afford, he said.

Marston called witnesses who included architect Byron Dickson to testify that the building itself is essentially invulnerable to fire.

"The building's fireproof," said Dickson.

Dickson and others argued that city officials must be flexible with historic buildings downtown or they will not be renovated and restored. If Longley and Peck lose their appeal to the fire board, they plan to plead their case Monday afternoon before Judge Jonathan Apgar in circuit court.

Brides, grooms and parents will be waiting for a release from limbo.

Selbe said he is deeply concerned about the prospect of legal liability created by the forced canceling of dozens of wedding receptions.

Talevi countered that Selbe ought to consider the potential liability of piles of bodies left after a fire or panic-driven stampede.

That observation provoked a strenuous objection from Marston, who characterized Talevi's statement as "inflammatory."