The Station nightclub fire
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The Station nightclub fire on February 20, 2003 was the fourth deadliest nightclub fire in U.S. history, killing 100 people and injuring more than 200. Ninety-six perished on the night of the fire, and 4 died later from their injuries at local hospitals. The Station was a nightclub in West Warwick, Kent County, Rhode Island. It followed a Chicago nightclub stampede that killed 21 partygoers.
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The fire
The fire started when pyrotechnics set off by Great White, the rock band playing that night, lit flammable soundproofing foam behind the stage. The flames were first thought to be part of the act; only as the fire reached the ceiling and smoke began to billow did people realize it was uncontrolled. The ensuing stampede in the inferno led to the numerous deaths among the patrons, who numbered somewhat more than 404, the highest of three conflicting official capacity limits.
The pyrotechnics were gerbs, cylindrical devices intended to produce a controlled spray of sparks. Gerbs are considered appropriate for indoor use before a nearby audience when proper precautions are observed. Due to age and size, the Station was not required to have a sprinkler system and it was not equipped with one.
The beginnings of the fire were caught on videotape by cameraman Brian Butler for WPRI-TV of Providence, for a planned piece on nightclub safety being reported by Jeff Derderian, a WPRI news reporter who is also a part-owner of The Station. The report had been inspired by the Chicago nightclub stampede that had claimed 21 lives only four days earlier.
Thousands of mourners attended a memorial service on February 24 to remember those lost in the fire. Following the tragedy, Governor Donald Carcieri declared a moratorium on pyrotechnic displays at venues that hold fewer than 300 people.
It was the deadliest fire in the United States since the 1977 Southgate, Kentucky Beverly Hills Supper Club fire that claimed 165 lives. The worst nightclub fire was November 28, 1942 in Boston, Massachusetts at the Cocoanut Grove, where 492 died after paper decorations caught fire.
Investigation
Investigators focused on the foam material which had been installed behind the stage. The foam was of a kind intended for use in packaging and product display and not for soundtreating buildings, and would not have been treated with fire-retardant materials. Witnesses to the fire have reported that once ignited, flames spread across the foam at approximately one foot per second. Through attorneys, club owners said they did not give permission to the band to use pyrotechnics. Band members have claimed they had permission.
In the early days after the fire, there was considerable effort to assign and avoid blame on the part of the band, the nightclub owners, the manufacturers and distributors of the foam material and pyrotechnics, and the concert promoters.
On December 9 2003, the two owners of the nightclub, Jeffrey A. and Michael A. Derderian, and Daniel M. Biechele, the band's former road manager, were charged with 200 counts of involuntary manslaughter — two per death. All three pleaded not guilty to the charges. The Derderians also were fined $1.07 million for failing to carry workers' compensation insurance for their employees, four of whom died in the blaze.
Investigators from the National Institute of Standards and Technology are expected to release their final report sometime in 2005.
External links
News articles
- Nightclub owners, band's tour manager charged in deadly fire (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2003/12/09/state1514EST0085.DTL), Associated Press, December 9, 2003
- Nightclub Fire Death Toll Rises to 100 (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,86008,00.html), Associated Press, May 5, 2003
- Inferno Horror at the Fire Station (http://hammernews.com/nightclub.htm), Hammernews, February 21-March 14, 2003
- Governor: Examinations Of Nightclub Victims Complete (http://www.turnto10.com/news/1999123/detail.html), WJAR-TV Rhode Island, February 24, 2003
- 96 Dead in Fire Ignited at Rhode Island Club (http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/22/national/22WARW.html), The New York Times, February 23, 2003
- R.I. Nightclub Fire Kills 96 (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A45142-2003Feb21.html), Washington Post, February 22, 2003
- Club, band dispute permission to use fireworks (http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/Northeast/02/21/nightclub.pyro/), CNN, February 22, 2003
Other links
- Layout of The Station (http://www.boston.com/news/daily/22/station.htm) - Boston Globe
- Great White performance rider (http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/greatwhite1.html), The Smoking Gun, which makes no reference to planned pyrotechnic displays
- Kentucky Supper Club Fire 1977 (http://www.cincypost.com/bhfire/) Cincinnati Post
- National Fire Protection Association web page on the fire (http://www.nfpa.org/Research/FireInvestigation/RIslandFire/RIFire.asp), includes links to nightclub safety tips, information on safe use of pyrotechnics, and other relevant information.