Nightclub in West Warwick, RI Burns to Ground

[Guest Nevermortal]

The hair-band Great White (Once Bitten Twice Shy) was playing a show in West Warwick, RI (about 20 minutes from where I live), when Pyro set off a gigantic fucking blaze that burnt the club down to the ground.

 

Fire Engulfs West Warwick Night Club

Pyrotechnic Display Reportedly Starts Fire

 

POSTED: 11:39 p.m. EST February 20, 2003

UPDATED: 11:49 p.m. EST February 20, 2003

 

News Channel 10 reports several people were injured late Thursday when fire engulfed a night club in West Warwick.

 

The fire broke out about 11 p.m. at The Station on Cowesett Avenue and was reportedly started by pyrotechnics during a concert.

 

News Channel 10 reported a band called The Great White was performing.

 

See....it IS bad when Hair bands perform after their prime.

[Guest CoreyLazarus416]

The Great White isn't Great White. Notice the "The" in the name.

 

And if it WAS the hair band known for "Once Bitten, Twice Shy," then it would have said something along the lines of "whose hits include 'Once Bitten, Twice Shy'..."

[Guest Nevermortal]

Well, here's the official article.

 

http://www.turnto10.com/news/1995256/detail.html

 

WEST WARWICK, R.I. -- News Channel 10 reports several people were injured late Thursday when fire engulfed a night club in West Warwick.

 

The fire broke out about 11 p.m. at The Station on Cowesett Avenue at the beginning of a concert. Video from the scene showed heavy smoke coming from the buildling.

 

Some of the injured were taken to Kent Hospital. Rhode Island Hospital is also expecting to received injured patrons.

 

News Channel 10 reported a band called The Great White was performing.

 

Jack Russell, the group's lead singer, told News Channel 10's Ted Daniel the fire started just as the band was beginning its first song. Russell described the walls as being covered in some type of foam. He said he turned around to see the ceiling and walls on fire.

 

The group uses pyrotechnics in its peformances, but it was not immediately clear if that was the cause of the fire.

 

News Channel 10's Kelley McGee reported rescue workers brought victims out of the club on stretchers. Several appeared to have suffered serious burns. She said some of the less seriously injured were taken to the Cowesett Inn.

[Guest packwingfn]

Yah Its been on the news for the past couple of hours and been on MSNBC and CNN too so anyone not from Rhode Island can check it out there too, this is pretty fn serious man, the station is done

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

Where was the fire marshall? Don't the FD have to get involved whenever indoor pyros are used?

[Guest Nevermortal]

The club didn't have permits for the pyro. The band was told they did, so they went ahead.

 

39 people dead so far.

[Guest FeArHaVoC]

The Great White isn't Great White. Notice the "The" in the name.

 

And if it WAS the hair band known for "Once Bitten, Twice Shy," then it would have said something along the lines of "whose hits include 'Once Bitten, Twice Shy'..."

It is "Great White"

 

Jack Russell been talking to the Press all morning.

 

Also, the Guitarist Ty Longley is still missing.

[Guest Eyeball Kid]

It's been a bad time to be in clubs, lately, what with this and the 21 people who died in Chicago earlier this week.

[Guest converge241]

being ahair metal fan in New England ,as most know, Ive been to the Station many times..I would have been there If i had more spending money cause I saw the show listed and wanted to go

 

there are emergency exits there but i think in a panic situation everyone tries to leave the way they came in..i cant believe they didnt have sprinklers OR a license for pyro

 

39 full bodies dead

15 or so more body parts

160 at hospitals

 

the club is the one who tells bands if they can use pyro or not too bands always ask before they set it up the station lets the kiss tribute band who plays there use it all the time and other bands who have played

 

damn people are still asking me if i was there at my work because they know normally I would

 

HJY DJ "Dr Metal" is among the missing

i heard his real name but forget it something Gonzalez

[Guest JangoFett4Hire]

Providence Journal www.projo.com says 54 now confirmed dead.

 

Doctor Metal's name is/was Mike gonsalves I believe. He is still unaccounted for.

 

Just out of morbid curiosity I guess, the Dr is the overnight guy on HJY. Does anyone here listen to HJY? I know there are quite a few RI'ers on the board. What did HJY do last night when The Doctor wasn't there for his shift?

[Guest Kinetic]

Over sixty people confirmed dead so far. There are so many questions after something like this happens. Could it have been avoided? Were pyrotechnics really necessary in a small club show? Who's to be held accountable? But the biggest question in my mind is this: How did Great White draw over sixty people on a Thursday night in 2003?

[Guest converge241]

The station was a hair metal haven

they drew packed houses all the time for shows like this..its like bizarro World

 

I never understood why they let any bands use pyro either i remarked as such actually during one show there.. i never noticed that they didnt have sprinklers either..i did note where the emergency exits were though one near the bathrooms and one near the pool tables

[Guest JangoFett4Hire]

Kinetic- there were close to 300 peeps checking out the near Zeppelin offerings of Great White.

[Guest converge241]

There are 38 fire victims at Rhode Island Hospital in Providence, doctors said at a news conference. Fourteen of those patients are in critical condition and 24 are in serious condition. The most seriously injured victims have burns over 40 to 50 percent of their bodies, doctors said. Dozens of other victims are at various hospitals in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, according to reports.

[Guest JangoFett4Hire]

This is such a tragic story, especially in light of the incident in Chicago that left 21 people dead. Who do you think will be held liable? Already the finger pointing has begun between the band and their management, and the club owners. Converge, you said that indoor pyrotechnics were common at the station?

[Guest converge241]

yes Kiss cover bands a local band i saw once used minor (well compared to the great white ones) at least

[Guest JangoFett4Hire]

Has anyone seen the footage from WPRI in Providence? You can actually see the ceiling behind the far right side of the stage get swallowed by flames.

 

It's so surreal, The station was this hole in the wall place that specialized in hair metal shows, just kind of a joke or something, and it's on the front page of newspapers and websites from RI to Miami to NY to SF. A very sad day indeed.

[Guest JangoFett4Hire]

Baby's On Fire

(Kendall, Russell, Niven, Lardie, Montana)

 

Learnt me to rock an' I learnt me t'roll

Ya gotta use it baby t'keep your soul

Go down to town, get some reaction

Gotta go down cos I need a distraction

 

I've been tryin' it on with everyone in sight

She's been waitin' so long for me t'come tonight

 

Baby's on fire and I'm burnin' up

Sparks bin flyin' an' she can't get enough

Can't get enough but she's got what it takes

Baby's on fire and I got the shakes

 

There ain't no cure and there ain't no time

You gotta have it and have it fine

Don't say a word about her affections

I'm gonna come from another direction

 

She's been tryin' it on with everyone in sight

I've been waitin' so long for her t'come tonight

 

Baby's on fire and I'm burnin' up

Sparks bin flyin' an' I can't get enough

Can't get enough but she's got what i! t takes

Baby's on fire and I got the shakes

[Guest JangoFett4Hire]

from WLNE ABC 6's website...

 

(West Warwick, Rhode Island-AP) -- West Warwick police chief Peter Brousseau said there would -- quote -- "most definitely" -- be charges against the owners of a nightclub where at least 60 were killed in a fire last night.

 

He said police and prosecutors are focusing on a rock band's apparently unlicensed pyrotechnic display, which is believed to have started the blaze. Brousseau said the lack of a pyrotechnics permit was a key part of the tragedy.

 

Investigators from the Rhode Island District Attorney's office are also investigating.

 

Jack Russell, lead singer of the band Great White, said club managers told him the display was fine. He said the band has used the pyrotechnics countless times, and described the sparks as low heat, adding he could put his arm in it.

 

The club is owned by WPRI reporter Jeff Derderian and his brother.

[Guest swan]

http://www.wpri.com/artman/publish/newwpri...eo/cubfire1.wmv

[Guest converge241]

"The station was this hole in the wall place that specialized in hair metal shows, just kind of a joke or something, "

 

yes it was. specializing in hair metal and cover bands..all the "metal eds" of the world (which includes me)

[Guest JangoFett4Hire]

NEWARK, N.J. -- The owner of a well-known New Jersey rock 'n' roll club said the band Great White failed to tell him they would use pyrotechnics for a concert there a week before a deadly blaze at the band's Rhode Island show.

 

"We just did them and we did not have any advance notice," said Domenic Santana, owner of the Stone Pony, the storied Asbury Park nightclub. "Our stage manager didn't even know it until it was done. My sound man freaked out because of the heat and everything, and they jeopardized the health and the safety of our patrons."

 

"It could have been the St. Valentine's Day massacre," Santana said.

[Guest converge241]

from the amount of shows ive seen i side with the band that they did say ..i think its just one of those things thats a formality cause bands do alter their stage sets and shows and what not depending on what they can and cant do

ive seen many articles too where band members would say "weel we coudnt do the whole show because of safety regulations and the like"

club owners who have let his happen when they shouldnt have will all play a game of CYA saying "oh we didnt know" .. even just common sense wise these owners would have to know i mean im pretty sure you cant just sneak this equipment in

[Guest Edwin MacPhisto]

I'm not sure if any sort of criminal charges can come out of this, but this is going to make one hell of a civil suit one way or another.

 

I would have perhaps laid down my life for Poison or Whitesnake, but not a band that had only one power-metal hit. You need at least two or three to taste my blood.

[Guest Nevermortal]

I'm not sure if any sort of criminal charges can come out of this, but this is going to make one hell of a civil suit one way or another.

 

I would have perhaps laid down my life for Poison or Whitesnake, but not a band that had only one power-metal hit. You need at least two or three to taste my blood.

Hair, not power metal.

 

Great White doesn't discuss enough dragons to be called Power Metal.

[Guest JangoFett4Hire]

Statement from owners of The Station

 

2/21/03

 

 

Statement released by Kathleen M. Hagerty, a lawyer representing the owners of The Station Concert Club:

 

Last night's fire and loss of life at The Station is an absolute tragedy which cannot be described by words. The owners of the club, Michael and Jeffrey Derderian, are devastated and in shock over these events, which have claimed the lives of so many, including their friends. Their prayers and deep felt sympathy go out to those who lost their lives, their families and to those who were injured.

 

Jeffrey Derderian was in the club at the time the fire broke out, and assisted in helping to evacuate the building during the fast-moving fire. Mr. Derderian was interviewed by state and local authorities last night on the scene and provided all information as requested. Michael and Jeffrey Derderian have owned The Station since March 2000.

 

At no time, did either owner have prior knowledge that pyrotechnics were going to be used by the band Great White. No permission was ever requested by the band or its agents to use pyrotechnics at The Station, and no permission was ever given.

 

As a sidebar: Jeff Derderian is a reporter for WPRI in Providence, the station that is responsible for the video footage from inside The Station.

[Guest Zack Malibu]

HJY DJ "Dr Metal" is among the missing

i heard his real name but forget it something Gonzalez

I'm a Rhode Islander, and I've frequented The Station many times, as a friend of mine is in an 80's rock type of band. Luckily, none of my friends were at the event last night, however one of the guys here at work is friends with Dr. Metal and his brother, so he is understandably upset right now.

 

EDIT:Scratch that. I thought the owner was missing. The previous post confirms he is not.

[Guest converge241]

someone needs to ask the owner why they let bands use it all the time

 

but then they would probably say

 

"we are outraged that this band , that band, and the others use it many times at our club"

 

maybe someone should contact the providence pheonix newspaper for their archives

 

many ads for that sation have stuff like

 

"Kiss tribute band ALIVE this saturday at the station! all your kiss favorites! full stage show ! ***full pyro***!"

 

all in huge letters at the top of their ad trumpeting it.. actually maybe some South mass/RI peeps can pick up a current prov phoenix and see if theres anything like that

[Guest Downhome]

This is horrible, I've been following this story since it happened. I saw it when they said there were no deaths, I saw it when they said there were 10-15, and I'm watching now as they say there will be well over 65 dead once it's all said and done.

 

Someone will have hell to pay, and if you ask me, someone deserves it.

[Guest Downhome]

Ugh, I just heard the lead singer say that when it happened, he tried to put it out with his bottled water.

 

Yeah, that will work against a blazing inferno.

 

Where were the sprinkler system, fire extinguishers, etc...?