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. 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.
In Memoriam: Victims of the Station Nightclub Fire - WPRI.com [9] Jeffrey Derderian said the door was also installed due to noise, and they had removed it as asked, but sometimes re-installed it if the venue was going to be loud that night, and it was used by the band to escape the building during the fire. It fuels you. Jim Axelrod: The brothers say," wait a minute, we ordered sound foam. Jim Axelrod: Did either of you know anything about running a nightclub? 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. 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.. I look at my scars every day. Michael and Jeff Derderian pleaded no contest to 100 counts of misdemeanor manslaughter and agreed to a deal. [4] Another restaurant opened in the building in 1974. I needed for that day to come, she said. it was also on fire. They all say I never would have stopped it, and I probably wouldnt have. I've been after this bike for over 4 years and I finally got the call!
Survivors of The Station nightclub fire struggle with guilt 20 years Jim Axelrod: Did you have enough time to form those complete thoughts? Michael Derderian: The field test is crystal clear. You see on your left the horseshoe-shaped bar. [9] Although Warner was called to testify to a grand jury, he was not asked about the fax. Biechele was released from prison on March 19, 2008. Robin Petrarca was in New York City three weeks ago, looking for some laughs in a comedy club. A surgery to correct a childhood ailment with his ears left him able to balance objects on his chin. He trusted in his friends. Since the fire, I have wanted to tell the victims and their families how truly sorry I am for what happened that night and the part that I had in it. Jim Axelrod: When you come to, you're in a hospital room. The Station nightclub fire occurred on the evening of February 20, 2003 at The Station, a nightclub and hard rock music venue in West Warwick, Rhode Island, United States, killing 100 people and injuring 230. Michael Derderian: Zero. View All 100 Memorials for the The Station Nightclub Fire Site. Survivors of the Station nightclub fire reflect on tragedy's 20th anniversary One hundred people were killed and many more injured when a pyrotechnic display caused a massive blaze in 2003.. Two decades after 100 people were killed in the West Warwick, R.I. fire, those affected by the incident are reflecting on that tragic night. Jim Axelrod: Mr. Warner's fax wasn't presented to the grand jury, correct? Gina Russo, a survivor of The Station nightclub fire. Tweet. An off-duty police officer standing outside had heard her kicking at the window. Linda Saran: They have said they were sorry.
Linda Saran and Phil Barr, badly injured, were transported to a local hospital. Season 1.
Remembering the 100 victims of the Station Nightclub fire 18 years Vanner wonders whether he could have saved them. At least 64 others were also sued, including the state of Rhode Island citedforthe fire inspector's failure to report the flammable foam during multiple inspections. So, I said to Deb, "stay here. The pyrotechnics ignited the walls on either side of the stage and within seconds flames spread along the foam that lined the walls and ceiling of the club intended to dampen sound. It looked like a ladder of those black jelly bracelets from the 80s hanging in rings around my wrists. [1] The building that would become The Station was built in 1946 and was originally used as a gin mill. Jody King kneels at his brother Tracy's memorial. There's an exit near the stage. Within six minutes, the entire building was engulfed in flames. It just so happens that we're evacuated due to the CZU complex fire but hey that's how. There had to be that period for me. My parents taught us a lot, a lot of things. This is a company that did little to educate their employees about the limits of polyurethane foam. [80], A permanent memorial at the site of the fire has been erected and named the Station Fire Memorial Park. [76] Another memorial was later that night the West Warwick Civic Center. Michael Derderian: We say that they we're sorry for all of it. But what they received was highly flammable packing foam. Many of the families believed that the punishment was just; others had hoped for a more severe sentence. [22] Biechele used four gerbs that were set to spray sparks 15 feet (4.6m) for fifteen seconds. She paused, her eyes tearing. "We went out on a Thursday night to listen to music, drink some beers and have a good time. Also there that night was Bates College student Phil Barr, who was home for winter break. Also outside was club owner Jeff Derderian. After the investigation ended and prosecutors had no more questions, after reporters stopped calling and the years passed since that deadly night, the man who was the sound technician and stage manager at The Station nightclub was left with his thoughts.
Joshua Sanders, MS, IAAI-CFI on LinkedIn: ATF_NCETR on Twitter Warner lived next to The Station and had met the brothers. Kat Teurfs is the associate producer. Scott James: It was a typical kind of roadside dive. 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. Jason Hahn. And I remember that statement, because I was, like, this is not great. Doreen Schechter and Gary Winter are the editors. Biechele and Michael Derderian went to prison. VIEW ALL PHOTOS. Michael Derderian: And I'm saying to him "Did everybody get out Did anyone die?" It was criminal, he says. 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? 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. [6], Great White, the headlining band of the February 20 concert, had risen to fame as part of the glam metal scene of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Gina Russo, who was in The Station on Feb. 20, 2003, barely made it out. Legal action against several parties, including Great White, were resolved with monetary settlements by 2008. Linda Saran: Second- and-third-degree burns, over 34 percent of my body from the heat.
But I dont want it to define the rest of my life. these contracts are pretty specific. Now in private practice, Lynch says he looked into a host of people. 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. Isn't that an important fact in determining who's at fault? It justit was so fast. I had no control over my muscles. [2], In the months prior to the fire, the building had been inspected twice by West Warwick fire marshal Denis Larocque. [104] It was last introduced in the House in 2015 by then-U.S. Reps. James Langevin of Rhode Island and Tom Reed of New York.[104]. I would forgive them in a heartbeat. That was in like the 80s. 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. The Station nightclub owners Michael, left, and Jeffrey Derderian, right, pleaded no contest to 100 counts of misdemeanor manslaughter and agreed to a deal. In February 2006 three years after the station nightclub burned down many in Rhode Island were shocked to learn that instead of a trial, a plea deal had been reached with Daniel Biechele, the tour manager for the band Great White. And that's when it starts to hit you all that you've lost. One of them is never say die, never give up. For the first February in 15 years, Lisa Del Sesto said, she hasnt had the nightmares. They go for 15 seconds and they go 15 feet into the air. Almost immediately the finger pointing started. "48 Hours" is not showing any of that footage. 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. Jody King: They blamed three. I went back around the front again, and that's when you saw people stacked on top of each other, trying to get out of the front door. His work was instrumental in amassing 176 million dollars in settlements from persons and corporations responsible for the fire. But that night, leading the cameraman around was bouncer Tracy King, a dedicated husband and father of three young boys. Flames soon appeared on the walls on either side of the stage and spread quickly along the foam that lined the walls and ceiling, intended to dampen sound. That is the furthest exit away from the stage But it's a relatively straight line. That evening she had a girl's night out with a friend while her young daughter was at a sleepover. 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. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. [95] When Russell launched his version of the band in 2012, Kendall's group responded that Russell had no right to use the name. Linda Saran: Most of the crowd thought it was part of the show and didn't move. then as it heals, the scarring tightens up.
Station fire, 15 years later: Survivors tell their stories "Taking responsibility for your actions goes a long way," she says. WEST WARWICK, R.I. (WJAR) Gina Russo, who survived The Station nightclub fire in West Warwick in 2003, spoke with NBC 10's Mario Hilario on the morning of the 20th anniversary of the. I said to myself, we gotta go. 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. Those who were trapped inside The Station when the flames started knew they needed to get out fast. The fire quickly spread over the dance floor, along the ceiling. Daniel Biechele, the tour manager for Great White who had ignited the pyrotechnics, plead guilty to 100 counts of involuntary manslaughter in 2006 and was sentenced to fifteen years in prison with four to serve.
Multiple injured after shooting at San Jose nightclub | KRON4 And then on one side, I noticed it come over the top, and that's when I said, "I have to leave." We couldn't make it. But, you know, they have this following to this day . At first, there was no panic. [2] The club was cited for nine minor code violations during the first inspection in November 2002, but was not cited for the flammable polyurethane foam the venue used for soundproofing, which was against code. I would see the burn survivors, whom Im lucky enough to call friends, Del Sesto said. Linda Saran still places much of it on the Derderian brothers. And that song reminds us of that night. The story of three survivors that were trapped when the massive Cypress Street viaduct collapsed. How did you meet him?
Inside The Inferno: The Station Nightclub Fire | Thought Catalog And outside I went. [29] The initial death toll was 96 people; Four more individuals died in the hospital in the weeks following, bringing the toll to 100. This article was originally published on Oct. 22, 2021. Susan Nicol. [97] Russell raised about $180 from the concert, but the Memorial Foundation refused the donation, a decision supported by Kendall.