station nightclub fire survivors list

Jim Axelrod: Did the contract specify the use of pyrotechnics? Michael Derderian: Zero. You were not approaching that area at all. Cassidy was questioned by Customs and Border Protection in 2016, three sources familiar with the probe . Even if he couldnt. Jeffrey Derderian received 500 hours of community service. Nothing lifts his despair. He wasnt charged with a crime, but his thoughts punish him. [81] In August 2016, the site was reported to have been being used as a PokeStop in Pokmon Go, to uproar from victims' families. In the aftermath, Vanner battled an addiction to crack cocaine and alcohol, which he used to cope but which cost him jobs and his drivers license. Dan McKee honored the victims, their families, and the first responders who saved many lives. Todd King, a founder of The Station Family Fund, said today the fund . 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? Her bill was $646 that month, she said. Jeff called his brother Michael who was in Florida. In the months and years that followed, Jody also learned about Tracy's heroic last moments. I will never forget that night, and I will never forget the people that were hurt by it. Warner lived next to The Station and had met the brothers. [54] Darigan remarked, "The greatest sentence that can be imposed on you has been imposed on you by yourself. [38] Derderian had begun working for WPRI on February 17, three days before the fire. Jeffrey and Michael Derderian, the owners of the Station, pleaded no contest and avoided a trial: Michael received the same sentence as Biechele and was released from prison in 2009, while Jeffrey received a sentence of 500 hours of community service. [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. [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. Jim Axelrod: When you come to, you're in a hospital room. The Derderians say that in the three years they owned the club, no one ever questioned the safety of the foam. During a concert by the rock band Great White, a pyrotechnic display ignited flammable acoustic foam in the walls and ceilings surrounding the stage. Jim Axelrod: Did you have enough time to form those complete thoughts? Jack Russell declined "48 Hours"' request for an interview. And while they weren't charged in the criminal case, survivors and victims' families sued them in civil court for not warning the Derderians the foam they sent them was flammable. I never imagined that anyone ever would be. I remember getting pushed from behind. Jim Axelrod: Do you feel, "Oh my goodness, we're in trouble?". The TIAs required automatic fire sprinklers in all existing nightclubs and similar locations that accommodate more than 100 occupants, and all new locations in the same categories. But instead, I chose to run like a common coward.. Today Phil Barr is married and a father of two little girls. [21] The flames were initially thought to be part of the act; only as the fire reached the ceiling and smoke began to bank down did people realize it was uncontrolled. S01:E03 - Station Nightclub Fire. He arrived early around 8:30 p.m. Phil Barr: There really weren't that many people around early in the night. Scott James: They only have about 60 seconds to get out of the building if they're going to live. 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. At 55, he lives with his parents and keeps to himself. We screwed up." [21] A total of 462 people were in attendance, even though the club's maximum licensed capacity was cited as 404.[2]. And that's when it starts to hit you all that you've lost. The Derderians have always maintained that they never gave the band permission to use pyrotechnics. Dan Biechele, center, at his sentencing. So, it was very quickly they were in the circle of people we should look at. Michael Derderian: They got this fax and it went on to describe the business practices of the foam company. Michael Derderian: Take this stuff down. This article was originally published on Oct. 22, 2021. Its surreal. Linda Saran: The bar got quiet because people were dying literally and all you could hear was the roar of the fire and liquor bottles exploding. if he had done that, then he would have obviously have said to us . [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. He tells her he wishes that hed tried to extinguish the fire. 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. But it's fun. According to Lynch, under Rhode Island law, the fire marshal could not be criminally charged unless there was evidence of bad faith or malice. They all later accepted plea deals. [78], On the twentieth anniversary of the fire on February 20, 2023, Rhode Island governor Dan McKee ordered flags in Rhode Island lowered to half-staff for the day and the Rhode Island State House to be illuminated in memory of the 100 victims. One hundred people died, and hundreds more suffered. Tracy King liked to entertain people with his unique talent. Taking her students to the memorial park and telling them what it means were ways of building that memory, she said. [33] One survivor claimed that a bouncer blocked a side door as attendees attempted to escape the building, stating the door was only to be used by the band. Tracy King died saving many others the night of the fire. Eighteen years later, there is no consensus among survivors when it comes to blame. and I tripped over what I assume was a bar stool. Jim Axelrod: Over the course of the investigation, what did you learn about the way the brothers ran their business? And if we could change it, we would. The biggest question was, why had the fire spread so quickly? [tears up, shaking his head]. When January comes each year, she starts a lesson, delicately, talking about The Station and how there was a fire there. I said to myself, we gotta go. 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? They said a critical piece of evidence was never presented to the grand jury. Linda Saran: They have said they were sorry. Michael Derderian: I don't know about that. Jason Hahn. Almost immediately the finger pointing started. Even if he died trying. Dont take life for granted and I miss her every day She was my world and now shes my angel.. my dad was in the room. It took about five years to come to terms with that, she said. I went around back. On February 20, 2003, in West Warwick, Rhode Island, the fourth deadliest nightclub fire in United States history occurred in The Station nightclub. So many ways this could have been avoided, Matthew Hoffman, an East Greenwich, R.I. resident, told WPRI. We talk about fire safety a bit, I dont get too, too far into it.. They would want to talk, she said, and they wouldnt freak. Her father has seven brothers, Pimentel said, and she was especially close to Carlos. The fire started shortly after Great White began performing their opening number, "Desert Moon". At the time of the fire, he had just started a new job closer to home in Providence at the local CBS station. The Station nightclub owners Michael, left, and Jeffrey Derderian, right, pleaded no contest to 100 counts of misdemeanor manslaughter and agreed to a deal. More than 460 fans had crowded into the wooden, single-story, 4,480 -square-foot nightclub known as The Station in West Warwick, R.I., to enjoy a Thursday night show on Feb. 20, 2003. : In 2021, 48 Hours described the total civil payments to the victims and families as $176 million. Vanner has no excuses. [89] Kendall said in 2005, "We haven't played that song. Jody King: Nine different families have come up to me and said "thank you for having a great brother. Jeff Derderian: Why is it OK that the fire marshal is allowed to miss something or make a mistake and what he did was just an oops, but what we did was criminal? [22] Biechele used four gerbs that were set to spray sparks 15 feet (4.6m) for fifteen seconds. He trusted in his friends. 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. Russo said that the memorial serves a valuable purpose today for those who knew victims. The fire was now out of control; it had spread along the foam that lined the walls and ceiling intended to dampen sound. there are other people who should be responsible. 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? [26] The Cowesett Inn restaurant across the street from the Station acted as an ad-hoc burn triage and command center for first responders. 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]. He don't know. Dan McKee stopped by the memorial on the 20th anniversary of the fire Monday. He trusted the owners. I figured I was on my own at that point.. Jim Axelrod: To people who feel that the two of you have never said we own this what do you say? Within weeks, the National Fire Protection Association committee met to regulate code for "assembly occupancies." My parents taught us a lot, a lot of things. Lourdes Aguiar is the senior producer. He was worried about his brother Tracy who worked there as a bouncer. He is now seven years sober from cocaine, although alcohol is a more pestering problem, he says. [44] The NIST report was released on March 3, 2005 and was made available in two parts on June 30, 2005. The Station nightclub in West Warwick, R.I., was on fire . Scott James has written a book about the tragedy called "Trial by Fire.". [90] Russell planned to donate the proceeds to the Station Fire Memorial Foundation, but the organization asked to be disassociated from the concert, citing the animosity still felt by many of the survivors and surviving families. A surgery to correct a childhood ailment with his ears left him able to balance objects on his chin. [59], Biechele's parole and probation expired in March 2011. [94] Kendall's version of Great White was to perform at the Mohegan Sun casino in Uncasville, Connecticut alongside Stryper and Steven Adler on March 25, 2023, but the venue indefinitely postponed the concert on March 2, citing its proximity to the twentieth anniversary of the fire. On May 10, 2006, State Prosecutor Randall White asked that Biechele be sentenced to ten years in prison, the maximum allowed under the plea bargain, citing the massive loss of life in the fire and the need to send a message. [99] 41 and a film based on O'Neill's play They Walk Among Us were aired by Rhode Island PBS in February 2013 in conjunction with the tenth anniversary of the fire. [9], The foam was sold to the Derderians by American Foam. Witnesses of the nearly mile-wide tornado recount how they managed to survive. I went over, put my hands against the glass, and I started kicking at that window and it wouldn't break. [11] For the 2003 tour, the band was billed as "Jack Russell's Great White". I couldn't hear noise. As of September 2008, at least $115 million in settlement agreements had been paid, or offered, to the victims or their families by various defendants. Linda Saran: Yes. The roof was caving in, walls were caving in, body after body in front of me. Jim Axelrod: The fire spread so quickly because rather than fire-retardant sound foam, on the wall of the club was highly flammable packing foam. When I turned around, some people were already trying to leave, and others were just sitting there going, "Yeah, that's great!" [32] In April 2003, The Derderians were fined $1.07 million for failing to carry workers' compensation insurance for their employees. True to his words, Barr fought to breathe on his own. Her fianc, Alfred Freddy Crisostomi, did not. [12] The rest of the lineup included guitarist Ty Longley, who died in the fire, bass guitarist Dave Felice, and drummer Eric Powers. Stay up to date with everything Boston. About 40 seconds after the song began, Great White stopped the show and all but one member of the band escaped through the stage door exit. It looked like a ladder of those black jelly bracelets from the 80s hanging in rings around my wrists. She paused, her eyes tearing. Phil Barr: You know just have a beer, see a concert. After 15 years of it being a dominant part of her everyday life, she said she is ready for it to be a part of her past. He apologized to the families of the victims and made no attempt to mitigate his guilt," the letter said. It was completely preventable. And I turned around, I said, "Get out, get out, get to the door, get to the door!" The February 25 concert at the Dunkin' Donuts Center was broadcast Sunday night on VH1 and VH1 Classic. "[63] He added that the difference in the brothers' sentences reflected their respective involvement with the purchase and installation of the flammable foam. And they're quick to point out the club was inspected by their insurance company, and multiple times by the local Fire Marshal Denis Laroque. Christina Pimentel wasnt at the Station 15 years ago but she remembers the fire that killed 100 people because one of them was her uncle, Carlos Pimentel Sr. Gina Russo, who was in The Station on Feb. 20, 2003, barely made it out. Linda Saran and her friend Deb were in the atrium, huddled together under a table. "[23] Within 40 seconds of the ignition, Great White had stopped playing and left the stage and the venue's fire alarm began to sound, but it was not connected to local fire department. On May 20, 2003, nondenominational services began to be held at the site of the fire for a number of months. [89] "I don't think I could ever sing that song again," said Russell. The first was her life before Feb. 20, 2003. Jim Axelrod: And then it just got engulfed in flames? At the time of The Station fire, older clubs in Rhode Island weren't required to install sprinklers. Russell 's bandmate Ty Longley (guitar) was one of the people who perished in The Station blaze, which became the fourth deadliest fire in U.S. history. So, before I knew it, this finger was contractured down in this position and the rest of them were all bent backwards because the skin had tightened up.". Jody King: Hopped out of bed, grabbed my clothes, grabbed my keys, hopped in the car and took off. ", "We are now at 65, and that may be higher ", Jeff Derderian: "Can you come in? Linda will forever wear the scars of that horrible night. The answer is no. Michael Derderian: We say that they we're sorry for all of it. Scott James: And the nightclub operator there was so angry when he saw what had happened in Rhode Island, he went public, and he even made public the contract that he had with Great White that showed there was no evidence of fireworks that were going to be part of the show. Lying on the floor not far from the horseshoe bar, Barr lost consciousness. For more information on your department or district joining the SAVE program click here or contact the California Fire Foundation at save@cpf.org or (916) 641-1707.

10 Facts About The Beast From The East, Articles S