Michael received a harsher sentence than Jeff due to a greater involvement in the buying and installation of the foam. Survivors and friends of survivors active in the effort to turn the nightclub site in West Warwick into a memorial park recount the emotional journeys that brought them from 2003 to 2018. In many communities, the crucial task of inspecting buildings in search of potentially life-threatening fire hazards falls to just one person. It was the. The Station nightclub in West Warwick burned down Feb. 20, 2003, during a concert by rock band Great White, leaving 100 people dead and more than 200 injured. I can only pray that they understand that I would do anything to undo what happened that night and give them back their loved ones. Today she is president of the Station Fire Memorial Foundation, the group that oversaw the construction of the memorial park. It is the second most-devastating fire disaster in the history of Brazilsurpassed only by the Niteri circus fire of December 1961, which killed 503 people in Niteri, and the deadliest nightclub fire since the . New fire-safety regulations became law in July, requiring sprinklers in more Rhode Island businesses and banning pyro almost everywhere, but some business owners in the state have balked, citing the cost of improvements. Greatly. and suppliers. At the time that the fire began there were reportedly over 440 occupants in the club. "I needed for that day to come," she said. Nine friends didn't. Prosecutor Randall White urged a sentence of ten years. He tells her he wishes that he'd tried to extinguish the fire. The band Great White was set to perform at 11pm on February 20, 2003 and the fans came in droves to see them. "I figured I was on my own at that point.". Do Not Sell My Personal Information. "In my head, I didn't even belong with them because I walked out without a scratch.". He sees a court-ordered therapist, who has told him he has depression and PTSD. Everyone carries baggage and I think at some point you figure out how to pack it and carry it with you, she said. He lost his fingers and ears as well as the sight in his left eye, along with much of his nose tissue. Gina Russo has no clear memory of how, with her hair on fire, she got out of the Station nightclub the night of Feb. 20, 2003. While many say they will never get over it, they have found a way to get along with it. One hundred. It was criminal, he says. The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time That vantage point was lost after one chopper got so low it blew open body bags containing victims' remains. On Feb. 20, 2003, The Station nightclub in West Warwick, Rhode Island, burst into flames when pyrotechnics from the rock band landed on flammable foam installed as soundproofing. It started as part of the fundraising basketball games she organized at the school. This fire completely destroyed the building and resulted in 100 fatalities and over 200 injuries, becoming the fourth deadliest nightclub fire in U.S. history. Nearly 500 people died at The Cocoanut Grove that night in the United States' most deadly nightclub disaster. It took about five years to come to terms with that, she said. When it was announced that the 1980s rock act Great White would be headlining an evening of retro rock music at The Station, fans turned out in force. "There was nothing heroic about what I did.". There are survivors who have no ears, eyes, nose, hair, she said. In urban areas, high turnover means that fire marshals rarely stick around long enough to learn all the nuances of the code. The fire left her with burns over 40 percent of her body, it incinerated her hair. Help us to give the victims the only gift within our . The second was the time from that night until the dedication of the memorial last spring. Station fire, 15 years later: Survivors tell their stories: While many say they will never get over it, they have found a way to get along with it. "It's just one of those things that's ingrained in you.". This week marks 20 years since the horrific Station nightclub fire in West Warwick, Rhode Island, which killed 100 people and left 230 injured. So that was huge.". Here is kelly's obituary, which names her husband scott as a guy who worked in the station. Barylick points to several instances shortly before the fire in which clubs withheld permission for pyrotechnics and Great White did not use it. Theyre depressed, guilt-ridden and angry, and to most Americans outside the small, insular state of Rhode Island, theyre invisible, forgotten casualties of a forgotten brand of rock & roll. Woman cries during a memorial service for victims of the 2003 fire at the Station Nightclub in West Warwick, RI on May 21, 2017. How he went from being a man with a job he loved and friends, to someone struggling with sobriety and guilt, suffering flashbacks at fire alarms and smoke-like fog. 00:50. The index finger on my left hand was an open wound, which didnt heal properly and ended up contracting. Skin grafts make them itch, like junkies attacking their scabs if their fingers work at all. He is now seven years sober from cocaine, although alcohol is a more pestering problem, he says. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Brothers Michael and Jeffery Derderian, who owned The Station nightclub, for using highly flammable polyurethane foam as soundproofing on the walls of the club and for letting 462 people into a building, bringing it over capacity. and our Meanwhile, Ms. Fisher and Ms. Eagan are brainstorming about how to draw more support. The group came under attack for accepting about $100,000 from Great White early on, with some survivors and relatives of the dead calling it blood money. But that help has all but disappeared, even though many of the injured face more surgeries, cannot resume full-time work, and struggle to afford heating oil and other basics. She has limited use of her right arm. 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. Ive still got some openings in my skull, but theyre closing enough to where I can start reconstructive surgery., The Station Fire: One Year Later, Page 1 of 3. What band was playing at The Station and what their role was, Why it's important to Rhode Island and the lasting changes that were made, What to know about the Station Fire Memorial Park, Firemen, doctors and journalists: For everyone who was involved that night, the memories still haunt them, Survivors of that deadly fire tell their tale. firefighter pleads guilty to 3 counts of manslaughter, is sentenced to probation, LODD: Mich. firefighter dies after coming into contact with power line, NYPD: Burglar climbs through window of FDNY firehouse, fights with 2 firefighters, Open the tools menu in your browser. . Station Fire Memorial Foundation rejects donation from Great White singer: The lead singer of the band whose fireworks touched off the Station nightclub fire that killed 100 people was forced to search for a new charity to be the recipient of money to be raised at a benefit concert in California. Vanner wonders whether he could have saved them. According to Boston.com, Since being sent to prison, Michael Derderian has been disciplined for breaking the rules at his work release job and in prison. All rights reserved. On December 4, 2003 a grand jury voted 200 indictments against Biechele and both Derderians. 2023 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC. Im so sorry.. body, even if he can't seem to melt her Page 8/187. She had a cellphone that was working and handed it off to anyone who needed to call home and let their family know they were safe. People come here to cry. In the days after the tragedy, the Derderians and Great White disputed whether the band had permission for pyrotechnics. Rhode Island Honors 'The Station' Nightclub Fire Victims 20 Years Later NECN. In firefighters' hearts, the disaster isn't over: How long can a memory feel like a live wire arcing against your heart? The gunman killed 49 people and wounded at least 50 before Orlando police . The sparks ignited foam soundproofing that lined the club's walls. What he calls a fellowship has endured. It had to end, for me and it ended in the most beautiful way.. 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. The plea agreement meant Judge Francis J. Darigan Jr. could sentence Biechele to a maximum of ten years imprisonment or as little as probation with community service. Turn on push notifications and don't miss anything! . "I had the fire extinguisher in my hand," Vanner said. It took about five years to come to terms with that, she said. According to the Report of the Technical Investigation of the incident, the fire was . The fire spread quickly along the ceiling area over the dance floor. Some of the most grievously injured still work hard to get better, or close to what they were physically and emotionally before the fire. "They all came so every single one of those hundred students held up a white rose and they represented one of the 100 [who died]. Joe Kinan was badly burned in the deadly Station Nightclub fire in Rhode Island that left 100 dead and 230 injured in February 2003 . Shrieks filled the air as people raced to leave the inferno. There is only ONE bouncer in the world that positively worked at the station that night, and had a wife named Kelly that died after the fact. A true hero would have gone for it, Vanner said. It was the worst fire in Rhode Island's history. He probably wasn't drinking, and was recently aware of the dangers involved in being in a packed club like that. Trials were averted through plea bargains and monetary settlements, though neither brother paid a penny of his own money toward the $176 million that went to the victims and their families. West Warwick police officer Mark Knott radioed headquarters: Stampede.. Like many in a small state where news travels fast, the Providence-based lawyer had already heard about the previous night's fire at the Station nightclub in West Warwick, R.I.he knew about the pyrotechnics gone terribly wrong, the flaming wall of soundproofing, and the deadly . Biechele and Michael Derderian were sentenced to four years in prison, though each was let out early. That night, 492 people died. The Station Nightclub was a popular heavy metal nightclub in West Warwick, RI built in 1946 and grandfathered out of the 1976 fire sprinkler law. Last year, he was charged with striking a woman for whom he was a caretaker. Station owners silent as fire's 10th anniversary nears: The Derderian brothers, who purchased the West Warwick, R.I., nightclub in 2000 with hopes of making it a thriving business, still draw anger, and resentment from victims, and their families. 100 people were killed. Warner, who worked for American Foam, suggested they use polyurethane foam for sound insulation.. Her bill was $646 that month, she said. Brothers and owners of The Station. Gina Russo has no clear memory of how, with her hair on fire, she got out of the Station nightclub the night of Feb. 20, 2003. Six months after the fire the state had already started passing updated fire safety regulations in the fall out of the fire, Governor Carcieri signed into law the Comprehensive Fire Safety Act of 2003, a major rewrite of the states fire-safety code. White commented, Biecheles failure to get a permit in Rhode Island was not an unwitting, innocuous oversight but a deliberate, intentional decision not to abide by Rhode Island law., Biecheles attorney, Thomas G. Briody, noted that Biechele pled guilty despite his lawyers advice. Rescue workers, firefighters and police officers pull bodies from the burned-out remains of The Station, a nightclub in West Warwick, R.I. February 21st, 2003 Susan Watts/NY Daily News Archive/Getty Keep me up to date! The Station fire:A Timeline of the tragedy, More:Should PTSD qualify for injured-on-duty status? Immediately, the FAA declared the site a "no-fly" zone. Anyone can read what you share. 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. Judge Darigan asked Biechele if he wanted to say anything before the court passed sentence. She took a photograph of the stone of a man who died and sent it to his daughter in California. 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. On the evening of November 28, 1942, a massive fire broke out in a popular Boston nightclub known as the Cocoanut Grove. 100 people were. Firefighter and RI state Rep. talks trauma. A fast-moving fire engulfed the club in five and a half minutes, as 230 people were injured and another 132 escaped uninjured. It requires sprinklers in every nightclub serving more than 150 people. Copyright 2023 Within. THE STATION NIGHTCLUB FIRE 3 The station nightclub has been identified as one of the worst fire cases to have happened in the United States. One year after the fire killed 100 people and injured nearly 200 at the Station, a nightclub in the broken-down mill town of West Warwick, emotions remain raw all across the state. Diagram showing the location of victims. The survivors are still waiting for their lawsuit against the Station owners and dozens of other defendants, the largest civil tort case in Rhode Island history, to play out in federal court. "It would have been my legacy," Vanner said. "As we're 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?'" Cookie Notice Send us a tip using our anonymous form. They also feel forgotten. The Top 25 Music DVDs Worth Rewatching The charge is pending. The noxious smell triggered panic. Town fire inspector Denis P. Larocque, for not noticing the foam during an inspection a few months before the fire. The fire started at the West Warwick club when a manager for the band Great White set off pyrotechnics for the band's show. The first was her life before Feb. 20, 2003. The loss is still fresh for her cousins, she said, even 15 years later. His camera caught excited, beer drinking, smiling heavy-metal fans. This is a massive part of my life. apparently he was there from a local news station filming a piece on nightclub safety hazards. Nothing lifts his despair. The fire left her with burns over 40 percent of her body, it incinerated her hair. Fused by pain, Station fire survivors, loved ones mark 18th anniversary: Theyre all here. Select the option or tab named Internet Options (Internet Explorer), Options (Firefox), Preferences (Safari) or Settings (Chrome). Recommended Stories Fox News Hundreds of uninvited Texas teens. She endured more than 50 operations. One hundred people died, and hundreds more suffered. The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time Shed read Russos book, about how the fire left her a bald chick, and it convinced her to go back out into the world. But as he watched on television in 2021 theformer club owners,brothers Jeffrey and Michael Derderian,on their whitewash tour of the truthgo unchallenged by the reporter and producers of "48 Hours," he felt that agitation rising up in him again. She said she spent years after that in pain and anger. She finallywent home, on June 13th, 113 days after the Great White concert. Her father won't visit the memorial, and it took her years to be able to drive down Cowesett Avenue, she said. 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. John Barylick in Killer Show points out that there is reason to believe the Derderians gave permission since the club had a history of pyrotechnics in shows. "At the opening of the park I had 100 students from my school come, and I had to explain it all so I gave them their learning experience," she said of last May's dedication of the park on the site of the Station nightclub. Lexipol. "But instead, I chose to run like a common coward.". Many believe the circumstances of their misfortune that they were blue-collar folks gathered in a scruffy club to hear Great White, a has-been hair metal band from the 80s also help explain the lack of interest. In the stampede, 21 people were killed. Jeff was sentenced to three years probation and 500 hours of community service. WEST WARWICK, R.I. Savagely burned in the fire that incinerated the Station nightclub here five years ago next Wednesday, Linda Fisher has endured a dozen surgeries to salvage her arms, her hands, her face. According to an arrest report, Jackson had paid money to get into a nightclub in the 3600 block of South 7th Street Road on April 9, 2021. She'd read Russo's book, about how the fire left her "a bald chick," and it convinced her to go back out into the world. CNN further stated, Rhode Island fire marshal Jesse Owens said a licensed pyrotechnician must apply for a permit to use fireworks during a performance. No one with Great White had applied for the permit and Biechele had no pyrotechnician license. The 2003 nightclub fire in Rhode Island was the fourth deadliest nightclub fire in U.S. history Feb 20, 2023 It took less than 5 minutes for fire to engulf The Station nightclub,. He lost his work-release job and was transferred from minimum to medium security.. Im all for moving on, said Mr. Williams, 37, who spent 10 weeks in a coma and says he now sees as if looking through sunglasses with Vaseline on them. Fifteen years after that deadly night, the rubble cleared away, The Station Fire Memorial Park opened as a place for victims, family and friends to come and remember. The Derderians are on a 'white-wash tour' in 2021 about The Station fire, says father who lost son: Over the yearsDave Kanehas had to find a place to storehisoutrage overlosing his18-year-oldson, Nicholas, in The Station nightclub firein 2003. The first time I went to counseling, I made the therapist cry, Del Sesto said. 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. The Scene. 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. That effort raised about $10,000 over seven years to help pay for the construction of the memorial park. White reminded the judge that Biechele had not gotten the legally required permit to light pyrotechnics. But not by Jody King. The sum total of all settlements was slightly over $176 million. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. "Everyone carries baggage and I think at some point you figure out how to pack it and carry it with you," she said. So far, tickets are selling poorly for a concert to benefit the Station Family Fund, planned for Feb. 25 in Providence. All Rights reserved. She wrote a book, meets with burn victims, talks to fire departments and fire safety groups across the country. It couldn't continue another 10, 15 years, it couldn't. 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