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EspañolTHE STATION NIGHTCLUB FIRE
The Station's logo
The fire
Screenshot of the Butler video, showing the beginnings of the fire
The pyrotechnics were gerbs, cylindrical devices intended to produce a controlled spray of sparks. Gerbs are labeled using two numbers: one for how far the sparks fly and one for how long the effect lasts. Biechele was fond of using 15 by 15's, which spray sparks 15 feet for 15 seconds. Three of that same caliber, at 45-degree angles, with the middle one pointing straight up, were the kind used that night. Gerbs are considered appropriate for indoor use before a nearby audience when proper precautions are observed.
An NIST investigation of the fire, using computer simulations and a mock-up of the stage area and dance floor, concluded that a sprinkler system would have successfully contained the fire enough to give everyone time to get out safely. However, due to its age (built in the late 1930s) and size (4,484 square feet (404 m²)), the Station was believed by many to be exempt from sprinkler system requirements. In actuality, it had undergone an occupancy change when it was converted from a restaurant to a nightclub. This change dissolved its exemption from the law, a fact that West Warwick fire inspectors never noticed. On the night in question, the Station was legally required to have a sprinkler system, but did not.
Also the blueprints show that the entryway to the nightclub had a ramp which blocked off a straight exitway through the door. When exiting the building, one would have to exit either right or left because the building was constructed to lead two entry ways with the handrail running parallel with the building.
The events that occurred during the fire were caught on videotape by cameraman Brian Butler for WPRI-TV of Providence, and the beginning of it was released to national news stations. Later, the video would circulate via file sharing online. He was there, ironically, for a planned piece on nightclub safety being reported by Jeffrey Derderian, a WPRI news reporter who is also a part-owner of The Station. WPRI-TV would be cited for an ethics violation for having a reporter do a report concerning his own property. The report had been inspired by the Chicago nightclub stampede that had claimed 21 lives only four days earlier. At the scene of the fire, Butler gave this understandably-agitated account of the tragedy:[1]
Brian Butler recounting the rapidity of the fire
Thousands of mourners attended a memorial service at St. Gregory the Great Church in Warwick on February 24 2003, 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.
Make-shift memorial at the location of the Station night club
Great White continued to tour, saying a prayer for the friends and families touched by that fateful night at the beginning of each concert. The band said they would never play the song "Desert Moon" live again. "I don't think I could ever sing that song again," said lead singer and founder Jack Russell.[2] Guitarist, Mark Kendall stated, "We haven't played that song. Things that bring back memories of that night we try to stay away from. And that song reminds us of that night. We haven't played it since then and probably never will."[3] The band also refuses to use pyrotechnics since the tragedy.
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 at the Cocoanut Grove, where 492 died after paper decorations caught fire. The Rhythm Night Club Fire in Natchez, Mississippi, claimed the lives of approximately 209 persons during a dance in 1940. The Station fire exceeded the death toll of 87 in the March 25, 1990, Happyland Fire in the Bronx, New York City.
Investigation
Biechele at the time of his booking, December 9, 2003
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, Jeffrey A. and Michael A. Derderian, the two owners of The Station nightclub, and Daniel M. Biechele, Great White'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.
On November 14, 2005, lawyers for the Derderians requested all charges be dropped against their clients, alleging a grand jury was never made aware of a fax vital to the case. The fax, sent anonymously to prosecutors by American Foam Corp. salesman Barry Warner, told of his company's policy of withholding from customers the hazards of its foam products, including flammability.
Criminal trial
The first criminal trial was to be against Great White's then tour manager 'Daniel Michael Biechele' (pron. "BEE-clee"), 29, from Orlando, Florida. This trial was expected to start May 1, 2006, but Biechele (against his lawyers' advice)[4] pleaded guilty to 100 counts of involuntary manslaughter on February 7, 2006 in an effort to "bring peace, I want this to be over with."4 Under the plea agreement reached with prosecutors, he could have served up to 10 years in prison.
Biechele sentencing
★ On May 10, 2006, State Prosecutor, Randall White, asked the court to sentence Biechele to 10 years in prison, the maximum allowed under the plea bargain, citing the massive loss of life in The Station fire and the need to send a message.4
★ Speaking to the public for the first time during his trial, Biechele looked to be truly remorseful during his sentencing. Choking back tears, he made this statement to the court and to the families of the victims:
Biechele's statement to the court:
Biechele, giving his tearful apology
★ As the thirty-minute sentencing progressed, Biechele accepted responsibility for his crime.
★ Superior Court Judge Francis J. Darigan sentenced Biechele to 15 years in prison, with four to serve and 11 years suspended, plus three years probation, for his role in setting off the nightclub fire.[5]
★ Darigan remarked, "The greatest sentence that can be imposed on you has been imposed on you by yourself."
★ With good behavior, Biechele will be eligible for parole in September, 2007.
★ Judge Darigan considered that and deemed him highly unlikely to re-offend, which were among the mitigating factors that led to his decision to impose such a sentence.
★ The sentence drew mixed reactions in the courtroom. Many of the families believed that the punishment was just; he was going to have time to repent for what he had done. Many after the trial were hysterical, still desiring justice for their dead loved ones.5
Biechele's parole supported by families of victims
On September 4, 2007, families of victims of the Station nightclub fire, which killed 100 people on Rhode Island in 2003, have expressed their support for the parole of Great White band manager Daniel Biechele, currently 16 months into a four year jail sentence for his role in the disaster.
Leland Hoisington, whose 28-year-old daughter Abbie was killed in the fire, told reporters "I think they should not even bother with a hearing _ just let Biechele out... I just don't find him as guilty of anything." The state parole board received approximately 20 letters, the majority of which expressed their sympathy and support for Daniel, some going as far as describing him as a "scapegoat" of limited responsibility.
Board chairwoman Lisa Holley told journalists of her surprise at the forgiving 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,".
A letter written by Dave Kane and Joanne O'Neill, parents of youngest victim Nicholas O'Neill, released their letter to the board to reporters. "In the period following this tragedy, it was Mr. Biechele, alone, who stood up and admitted responsibility for his part in this horrible event... "He apologized to the families of the victims and made no attempt to mitigate his guilt," it said.
Others pointed out that he sent a handwritten letter to the families of each of the hundred victims and that he has a work release position in a local charity.
Biechele's parole hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, September 19, 2007.
Nightclub owners trial
As jury selection was happening in the second criminal trial of nightclub owners Jeffrey and Michael Derderian, the Derderians struck a plea bargain with prosecutors that would see Michael Derderian serve four years in a minimum security prison, and Jeffrey Derderian's 10 year sentence would be suspended in return for 500 hours of community service.
This outraged the families of the victims of the nightclub fire, stating that justice had not been done in the case. They were also outraged to hear the news from reporters instead of Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick Lynch, who was attempting to reach families to tell them that a plea deal had been reached.
The Station Fire Memorial Foundation
In June 2003 the Station Fire Memorial Foundation was founded by family members and friends of the victims. Their stated purpose was to procure the land where the Station stood in order to build and maintain a memorial site; fund-raising is expected to be long-term.
External links
News articles
★ Inferno Horror at the Fire Station, ''Hammernews'', February 21-March 14, 2003
★ Nightclub owners, band's tour manager charged in deadly fire, Associated Press, December 9, 2003
★ Governor: Examinations Of Nightclub Victims Complete, WJAR-TV Rhode Island, February 24, 2003
★ 96 Dead in Fire Ignited at Rhode Island Club, ''The New York Times'', February 23, 2003
★ R.I. Nightclub Fire Kills 96, ''Washington Post'', February 22, 2003
★ Club, band dispute permission to use fireworks, CNN, February 22, 2003
★ 1st Criminal Trial WJAR, 2005-12-12
★ Guilty Plea WJAR, 2006-01-31
★ Video of entire event - [1]
Other links
★ Station Fire Memorial Foundation The Station Fire Memorial Foundation site. Includes a full list of the victims.
★ Great White performance rider, ''The Smoking Gun''.
★ Continuing detailed coverage by the ''Providence Journal'' Including: an investigation of the town's fire, police, and building inspection processes; the National Institute of Standards and Technology report on the fire; a report of the emergency response to the fire; dangers of polyurethane foam in furniture, mattresses, pillows, and carpet padding; profiles of the club's owners; and the indictment and civil complaint documents. Free registration required.
★ National Fire Protection Association web page ''Nightclubs/assembly occupancies'' Includes a report on the fire, links to nightclub safety tips, information on safe use of pyrotechnics, and other relevant information.
★ [2] The story of the fire's youngest victim, Nick O'Neill
References
1. Nightclub Fire Kills 39 People Brian Butler
2. Great White: Performing again is the right thing Mark Arsenault
3. After the fire: Great White, survivors live with the horror of Rhode Island tragedy Scott Mervis
4. Prosecutor wants 10 years for Biechele Steve Peoples
5. Biechele gets 4 years to serve Jack Perry
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