Remembering the 100 victims of the Station Nightclub fire 18 years Dan McKee honored the victims, their families, and the first responders who saved many lives. You were not approaching that area at all. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Linda Saran: Yes. We couldn't make it. But the night of the fire it was up to help cut down the noise. Great White was part of the lawsuit. Obviously the nightclub was not in compliance, and there never should have been pyrotechnics, but there's no evidence the bouncers blocked people from . On May 20, 2003, nondenominational services began to be held at the site of the fire for a number of months. [39], At the scene of the fire, Butler gave this account of the tragedy:[41]. And I said my hands won't work. Unlike many of the patrons there, this was Barr's first time at the club. This trial was scheduled to start May 1, 2006, but Biechele, against his lawyers' advice,[52] pleaded guilty to 100 counts of involuntary manslaughter on February 7, 2006, in what he said was an effort to "bring peace, I want this to be over with."[52]. Jim Axelrod: To people who feel that the two of you have never said we own this what do you say? I will never forget that night, and I will never forget the people that were hurt by it. Regardless, Lynch points out the Derderians still chose to take a plea deal instead of going to trial. Petrarca was sitting near the bar that night in 2003, about five feet from a door, when the fire broke out. But even more than walking, Phil wanted to return to swimming. Seconds later, flames appeared on the back wall. Survivor Phil Barr arrived to The Station early the night of the concert. Tracy King died saving many others the night of the fire. I ran across the room and I ran face-first into the wall. The Guest List: Documentary about The Station nightclub fire will Vanner spoke about how his life derailed after 11:07 p.m. on Feb. 20, 2003. [4] The nightclub was purchased by brothers Michael and Jeffrey Derderian in March 2000. When January comes each year, she starts a lesson, delicately, talking about The Station and how there was a fire there. CBS Boston Rhode Island Gov. some bleeding I could notice in my throat. [79], The site of the fire was cleared, and a multitude of crosses were placed as memorials, left by loved ones of the deceased. Station fire, 15 years later: Survivors tell their stories These TIAs were subsequently incorporated into the 2006 edition of NFPA 101, along with additional exit requirements for new nightclub occupancies. Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick Lynch opened an investigation and convened a grand jury to determine if anyone should face criminal charges. Phil Barr: You know just have a beer, see a concert. [102] It is left for each state or local jurisdiction to legally enact and enforce the current code changes. DEE SNIDER Defends GREAT WHITE Over Deadly Concert Fire: 'They Would That night is not a coherent memory for her, she said, but a sequence of moments when she was hyper-focused on finding her friends or helping those around her. Lynch also points out that the exits were a safety issue. This is a massive part of my life. Michael Derderian: Zero. Do you understand that anger? Michael spent 33 months in prison, while Jeff had to do 500 hours of community service. The Station was a nightclub that was located on the corner of Cowesett Avenue and Kulas Road in West Warwick, Rhode Island. The loss is still fresh for her cousins, she said, even 15 years later. So many ways this could have been avoided, Matthew Hoffman, an East Greenwich, R.I. resident, told WPRI. Patrick Lynch: I can't remember, honestly. Linda Saran: My hospital roommate, he and I took turns driving the respiratory therapist crazy in some ways it's almost like being in war together. "We wanted the full story to come out, not just some of it, and for people who want to come to their own conclusion on what happened that night," says Jeff Derderian. It all started around 11 p.m. when the rock band Jack Russell's Great White took the stage and the group's tour manager, Daniel Biechele, set off four large fireworks called gerbs. But I should have at least tried.. [54] Darigan remarked, "The greatest sentence that can be imposed on you has been imposed on you by yourself. Also outside was club owner Jeff Derderian. To satisfy noise complaints from neighbors, the brothers had installed foam along the club's walls and ceilings. Phil Barr fought to breathe on his own. Vanner has no excuses. So, I actually got a really good sense of the layout of the venue. In 2003, 100 people died and over 200 were injured at a rock concert in West Warwick, Rhode Island. [31], Four employees of the Station were killed in the fire. I couldn't hear noise. He tells her he wishes that hed tried to extinguish the fire. That exit door would soon be engulfed in flames. The night of the fire Jeff Derderian gave a statement to the local police and another one to an investigator with the Attorney General's Office. Jim Axelrod: I want to ask you about Phil Barr. [4] No occupants were in the building during the 1972 fire, but the interior was significantly damaged. In the other rooms, the smoke hadn't gotten to them, the flame wasn't that bad, they didn't think anything of it. My parents taught us a lot, a lot of things. Its just one of those things thats ingrained in you.. The Station nightclub fire: What happened, how many died, who was [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. It's like a surge of bodies. Within six minutes, the entire building was engulfed in flames. Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. They were friends. Club owners Jeffrey and Michael Derderian reached a settlement of $813,000 with survivors and victims' families in September 2008. Even if he died trying. 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. When King arrived, he saw the devastating scene. The charge is pending. Jody King: I spent the next five or six hours going back and forth in the parking lot talking to firemen, asking firemen, "can you please pull the sheets back for me? At the scene, Jody King was desperate for information about his brother, and began to fear the worst. About The Guest List And I hear [moves her arms to the side with a whoosh] and out Deb went. I couldn't hear screaming anymore. That effort raised about $10,000 over seven years to help pay for the construction of the memorial park. [89] Kendall said in 2005, "We haven't played that song. This is the time to leave. Phil Barr awoke after three weeks in a medically induced coma and was told his lungs had been badly damaged. The following day the brothers responded at a press conference: JEFF DERDERIAN: No permission was ever requested by the band or any of its agents to use pyrotechnics at The Station, and no permission was ever given. It was completely preventable. Two years after the fire at The Station nightclub, the Derderians learned about a piece of evidence they say is important that was never presented to the grand jury: an eight-page fax sent to the Attorney General's Office anonymously just months after the fire entitled "The Fire. Jim Axelrod: The brothers say," wait a minute, we ordered sound foam. The brothers have always maintained that they never gave the band permission to use pyrotechnics. WEST WARWICK, R.I. The owners of The Station nightclub say their decision to finally speak publicly about the deadly fire there nearly . [14] In the aftermath of the fire, Great White and the owners of the Station disputed whether the band were allowed to use the pyrotechnic display during their concert. [11] For the 2003 tour, the band was billed as "Jack Russell's Great White". 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.". One of the angles Lynch investigated was the Derderian brothers. And then the main exit that hallway where everyone came through. Jim Axelrod: When you come to, you're in a hospital room. [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. [tears up] And the roof and just everything just fast, too fast. So, I would think that the pyrotechnic provision would be in there just like we need to have, you know, 12 M&Ms, I mean, you know, and they need to be brown. [49][50], Lynch told 48 Hours that his investigation found that the fire spread quickly due to the foam the Derderians had installed in the Station's walls and ceilings as a response to noise complaints. Sparks from the gerbs ignited the insulation foam, and flames were visible on the wall above the stage within nine seconds of their ignition. It couldnt continue another 10, 15 years, it couldnt. Dont take life for granted and I miss her every day She was my world and now shes my angel.. We screwed up." Patrick Lynch: while troubling, concerning, maddening it doesn't mean that somebody should be charged or can be. Linda will forever wear the scars of that horrible night. 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. [21] Twenty seconds after the pyrotechnics ended, the band stopped playing and lead singer Jack Russell calmly remarked into the microphone, "Wow that's not good. Kat Teurfs is the associate producer. The crime scene evidence that convicted Alex Murdaugh, How a tragic boating crash is connected to the family of Alex Murdaugh, Five deaths with a connection to Alex Murdaugh's family investigated, Husband of woman murdered with an ax convicted 40 years after her death. The club was not equipped with sprinklers, according to the NIST, and crowding at the buildings main entrance made it difficult for people to escape. JACK RUSSELL [news interview]: We never do anything without asking permission first. I know how this tragedy has devastated me, but I can only begin to understand what the people who lost loved ones have endured. [94] Kendall's version of the band holds the copyright for the Great White name. He owned his own construction company, and he was often in the backyard with his sons, improving the landscape or building two ponds that he filled with koi fish. . "[91], Two years to the day after the fire, band members Russell and Kendall, along with Great White's attorney, Ed McPherson, appeared on CNN's Larry King Live with three survivors of the fire and the father of Longley, to discuss how their lives had changed since the incident. Editor's Note: This story was originally published on Monday, Feb. 19, 2018. Jeff Derderian: There's so many things that factor into the decision to do that. Linda Saran: I said, "you know what? Greatly., Things that bother people you sit there and you shake your head and you go, if this is the worst thing that happens to me today, this month, this year, this decade, I mean, at that point its one of those things. People say they just feel peaceful, Russo told the Globe. 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. But instead, I chose to run like a common coward.. The trunk bears the names of the fire victims. Access remains open to the public, and memorial services are held each February 20. DANIEL BIECHELE [at sentencing hearing in tears]: I don't know that I will ever forgive myself for what happened that night. Michael Derderian: I don't know about that. [12] Great White's popularity had waned in the decade prior to the Station fire, and they had been performing on a touring circuit of small clubs with capacities of up to 500 people. Station Nightclub Tragedy Revisited Five Years Later | Firehouse [35], The fire, from its inception, was caught on videotape by cameraman Brian Butler for WPRI-TV of Providence, and the beginning of that tape was released to national news stations. [61], In January 2008, the Parole Board decided to grant Michael Derderian an early release; he was scheduled to be released from prison in September 2009, but was granted his release in June 2009 for good behavior.[64]. WEST WARWICK, R.I. The Station nightclub fire, where 100 people died and hundreds more were hurt, will never be forgotten by those who were there or lost loved ones that February night.. VIEW ALL PHOTOS. Biechele was released from prison on March 19, 2008. Jody King: When he walked into a room, if there wasn't a smile he'd start balancing stuff to get you uplifted and smiling. [9], Thousands of mourners attended an interfaith memorial service at St. Gregory the Great Church in Warwick on February 24, 2003, to remember those lost in the fire. He is now seven years sober from cocaine, although alcohol is a more pestering problem, he says. It just so happens that we're . Parole board chairwoman Lisa Holley told journalists of her surprise at the forgiving attitude of the families, saying, "I think the most overwhelming part of it for me was the depth of forgiveness of many of these families that have sustained such a loss. 'We've been trying to move forward': Station nightclub fire survivor on But Jeff Derderian, who was helping out at the bar, says he and an employee tried to get to the stage with a fire extinguisher. But what they received was highly flammable packing foam. They go for 15 seconds and they go 15 feet into the air. I refused to accept that as the outcome. View All 100 Memorials for the The Station Nightclub Fire Site. Witnesses of the nearly mile-wide tornado recount how they managed to survive. But when Warner was called before the grand jury, he was not asked about the allegations he made in the fax.
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