The night of the fire, hundreds of people gathered at The Station to see Great White, an 80s band now with some new members lead by singer Jack Russell and known mainly for their hit "Once Bitten, Twice Shy. Linda Saran was a regular at The Station. Susan Nicol. Her father wont visit the memorial, and it took her years to be able to drive down Cowesett Avenue, she said. During a concert by the rock band Great White, a pyrotechnic display ignited flammable acoustic foam in the walls and ceilings surrounding the stage. The Station was a nightclub that was located on the corner of Cowesett Avenue and Kulas Road in West Warwick, Rhode Island. Gina Russo of Cranston, R.I. is a survivor of the Station nightclub fire and president of The Station Fire Memorial Foundation. [94] Kendall's version of the band holds the copyright for the Great White name. That's all I can keep seeing in my head. Based upon its work, Tentative Interim Amendments (TIAs) were issued for the national standard "Life Safety Code" (NFPA 101), in July 2003. Tracy King liked to entertain people with his unique talent. He trusted the owners. Jeff Derderian, seated right, says, "You know a day doesn't go by that we don't think about it in some way, shape or form.". He had an unlikely friend rooting for him. When Laroque testified before the grand jury he claimed he never saw the foam. You see on your left the horseshoe-shaped bar. The Station Nightclub Fire - University of Cincinnati pdf To summarize the reports, specifically about how people exited, the vast majority of people attempted to exit the way they came in. [76] Another memorial was later that night the West Warwick Civic Center. "We never knew the whole story because the trial never happened, so everything really never came out," says Jody King, whose brother worked at The Station as a bouncer. The answer is no. [85] By April 2016, $1.65 million of the $2 million fundraising goal had been achieved and construction of the Station Fire Memorial Park had commenced. The morning after the fire, the lead singer of Great White, Jack Russell, claimed the brothers had given the band permission to set off the fireworks. It couldnt continue another 10, 15 years, it couldnt. As were going down the stairs to get into the comedy club, in the heart of Times Square, the first thought that goes through my mind: I come back and look and go: Are there two exits down there? she said. So many ways this could have been avoided, Matthew Hoffman, an East Greenwich, R.I. resident, told WPRI. That's when I turned back. [2] Larocque later told the Rhode Island State Police that he had not spotted the polyurethane foam during the November 2002 inspection because he was upset after finding an illegal inward swinging door that he had previously asked to be removed from the building. They promoted the event. Stephen Sweet, a Quincy firefighter who lost his cousin Shawn Sweet in the fire, came to play the bagpipes at a memorial ceremony Monday, WCVB reported. [2], Prior to being converted into a nightclub and concert venue, the Station building had been used as a restaurant and tavern. Phil Barr: I don't like to talk about it, but I remember feeling weight on top of me, and I'm pretty sure I crawled out from under another person to pull myself up. Jim Axelrod: Mr. Warner's fax wasn't presented to the grand jury, correct? It was late on Feb. 20, 2003, when the cold winter night erupted in flames. fine against Station Nightclub owners upheld", "Station nightclub fire survivor tells how she's moved on in new book", "The Station fire took emotional toll on survivors, study finds", "Tentative $30 million deal in R. I. nightclub fire", "TV station that assigned reporter to cover his own nightclub raises ethical issue", "Station Video Spurs Lawsuit - Pollstar News", "Nightclub owner resigns from WPRI television", "Report of the Technical Investigation of The Station Nightclub Fire: Appendices (NIST NCSTAR 2), Volume 2", "Grand Jury Convened to Probe Deadly R.I. Scott James: They are what they call 15x15. Today Phil Barr is married and a father of two little girls. Petrarca was sitting near the bar that night in 2003, about five feet from a door, when the fire broke out. The Station Fire: 100 victims in photos The Station Fire: 100 victims in photos 98 PHOTOS More Stories Has fire prevention in RI improved since The Station fire? WEST WARWICK, R.I. (WJAR) Gina Russo, who survived The Station nightclub fire in West Warwick in 2003, spoke with NBC 10's Mario Hilario on the morning of the 20th anniversary of the. [101], The Derderian brothers conducted their first television interview about the fire in 2021 for 48 Hours. One guy did crawl out. And a quarter of those people didn't get to go home ever," says survivor Linda Saran, who was severely burned in the fire at The Station nightclub. And people stood and watched it, and some people backed off. Joshua Sanders, MS, IAAI-CFI on LinkedIn: ATF_NCETR on Twitter And he says you can. [58], On September 19, 2007, the Rhode Island Parole Board announced that Biechele would be released in March 2008. She paused, her eyes tearing. It's like a surge of bodies. Jody King says his brother enjoyed working for the Derderians. As the crowd bottlenecked at the clubs entrance, thick black smoke poured out of the building and over their heads. Jim Axelrod: Who's responsible for that foam going up on the wall? But I should have at least tried.. There was nothing heroic about what I did.. "Literally laid there and said, 'God please just take care of my family,' because I knew I was going to die,'" survivor Linda Saran recalls. you could not see your hand in front of your face. [tears up, shaking his head]. It had to be two minutes tops before the whole place was black smoke. 2003 deadly fire at a rock concert in West Warwick, Rhode Island, USA, Great White, Jack Russell, and Mark Kendall, National Institute of Standards and Technology, "The Station nightclub fire 10 years later: Healing continues as West Warwick, Rhode Island, takes next step in recovery", "The Station Fire: Timeline of a tragedy", "Station tragedy leads to tougher fire code", "Report of the Technical Investigation of The Station Nightclub Fire (NIST NCSTAR 2), Volume 1", "Beyond grief: Trying to make sense out of the Station tragedy", "Tragedy Catches Up to a Metal Band Past Its Prime", "Great White Fireworks Set Off a Controversy", "The Station nightclub fire: What happened and who's to blame for disaster that killed 100? ", Scott James: They had their moments. And Paul Vanner didnt like what he saw. [18][19] Gonsalves was the host of the WHJY program The Metal Zone, at the time the longest-running heavy metal radio program in the United States. It justit was so fast. It was crowded, and it was getting bad. Biechele pleaded guilty to 100 counts of misdemeanor manslaughter, and Michael and Jeff Derderian pleaded no contest. Linda Saran: That's when you make a decision. [26] The Cowesett Inn restaurant across the street from the Station acted as an ad-hoc burn triage and command center for first responders. I could have missed my daughter's high school graduation, the birth of her children. And I stood up. Jim Axelrod: When you come to, you're in a hospital room. [4] No occupants were in the building during the 1972 fire, but the interior was significantly damaged. I'm so sorry for what I have done, and I don't want to cause anyone any more pain. [79], The site of the fire was cleared, and a multitude of crosses were placed as memorials, left by loved ones of the deceased. Petrarca remembers one of the most beautiful moments shes had. In Memoriam: Victims of the Station Nightclub Fire - WPRI.com [63] Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch objected strenuously to the plea bargain, saying that both brothers should have received jail time and that Michael Derderian should have received more time than Biechele. Linda Saran still places much of it on the Derderian brothers. [9] In 2008, American Foam agreed to pay $6.3 million to the families of the victims of the fire. 'We've been trying to move forward': Station nightclub fire survivor on Almost immediately the finger pointing started. [49] In 2013, Kendall told The Providence Journal that he maintained amicable contact with some survivors, victims' families, and the Station Fire Memorial Foundation. Jeff Derderian: We feel a sense of guilt about what happened in the sense that you carry the guilt of knowing that these people aren't here anymore, and these people are hurt for the rest of their life. Tracy died never giving up. We have an exit through the kitchen. [38] Derderian had begun working for WPRI on February 17, three days before the fire. Father of youngest Station nightclub fire victim questions why owners The Station nightclub fire would become one of the deadliest fires in a club in U.S. history. Survivors of The Station nightclub fire struggle with guilt 20 years Its just one of those things thats ingrained in you.. [98], 41, a documentary about Nicholas O'Neill, the youngest victim of the fire, was screened at Rhode Island theaters in 2008. Investigators eventually discovered the fax was sent by Barry Warner, a former employee at American Foam the company that had sent the Derderians the packing foam made of flammable polyurethane. [51], Victims' families have also cited overcrowding in the venue as a cause for the causalities during the fire. [2] The final tally by The Providence Journal of people inside the Station during the fire totaled 462. Her father has seven brothers, Pimentel said, and she was especially close to Carlos. Jeff Derderian: You know a day doesn't go by that we don't think about it in some way, shape or form. They go for 15 seconds and they go 15 feet into the air. In the end, the survivors and victims' families settled for a total of $176 million. But that night, leading the cameraman around was bouncer Tracy King, a dedicated husband and father of three young boys. [25] Fire departments in Warwick, Coventry, and Cranston rendered mutual aid to the fire site. For the Derderians, the "full story" begins with the issue of permission. In 2008, the band agreed to pay $1. We couldn't make it. As a result of this and other similar incidents, fire chiefs, fire marshals and inspectors require trained crowd managers to comply with the International Fire Code, NFPA-101 Life Safety Code, NFPA-1 Fire Code and many local ordinances that address safety in public-assembly occupancies. That happened in 2001. [34], Providence Phoenix columnist Ian Donnis wrote of the effect that the fire had on the close-knit Rhode Island community, "The loss of so much life would represent a tragedy anywhere, but it struck especially hard in Rhode Island, the nation's smallest state, where no place is more than an hour away by car and the fire claimed one tenth of one percent of the state's population. [97] Russell raised about $180 from the concert, but the Memorial Foundation refused the donation, a decision supported by Kendall. Scott James has written a book about the tragedy called "Trial by Fire.". [7][8] They were best known for their 1989 cover of Ian Hunter's "Once Bitten, Twice Shy", which reached the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100. It took a while, she said, but she thinks she had found the way to move on from it but to keep it with her as well. It was liquid fire," says former Attorney General Patrick Lynch, who investigated the disaster. [84] In September 2012, the owner of the land, Ray Villanova, donated the site to the SFMF. "Why me?" 20 years later, Station nightclub fire survivors talk guilt The tour manager for the rock band Great White pleaded guilty to 100 counts of misdemeanor manslaughter and was sentenced to four years in prison. John Barylick is an attorney who represented victims in numerous wrongful death and personal injury cases arising from the Station nightclub fire. [86][87] The memorial dedication ceremony took place on May 21, 2017. And it was ugly. At first, there was no panic. These days, she uses her job as a teacher at John F. Deering Middle School to make it so those who didnt suffer so directly will remember it too. The company paid a hefty settlement and they weren't the only ones. The charge is pending. CBS Boston Rhode Island Gov. The Station nightclub fire: What happened, how many died, who was [4] In 1985, it was converted to a pub, which closed sometime in the late 1980s, and a nightclub was opened in its place in 1991. Its irrelevant.. Like, "get away from the building." Obviously the nightclub was not in compliance, and there never should have been pyrotechnics, but there's no evidence the bouncers blocked people from . Access remains open to the public, and memorial services are held each February 20. The Derderians bought the club as an investment. Linda Saran: I could have missed it all. DANIEL BIECHELE [at sentencing hearing in tears]: I don't know that I will ever forgive myself for what happened that night. "I literally baked alive," says Linda Barr. " But with last springs dedication of the memorial on the old nightclub site, Del Sesto said she thinks she has found a way not to forget, but to live with the memories. it was happening so fast, fast, fast, fast. I just don't find him as guilty of anything. [29] The initial death toll was 96 people; Four more individuals died in the hospital in the weeks following, bringing the toll to 100.
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