Episode 73: The Station Nightclub Fire
The Station was a nightclub in West Warwick, Rhode Island that was converted from an old gin mill. In March of 2000 the club was purchased by two brothers, Michael and Jeffrey Derderian. The club was cited for nine fire code violations in November 2002, but notably a huge safety violation was overlooked and never cited. The club was soundproofed using polyurethane foam, which is extremely flammable.
The Station was known as a concert venue especially for heavy metal bands, and on February 20th, 2003 the band “Great White” was headlining. During their opening number the tour manager Daniel Biechele began setting off pyrotechnics that almost immediately ignited the flammable foam surrounding the stage.
Crowd goers did not immediately evacuate because they thought the fire was part of the show, and by the time they realized the danger the club had filled with thick black toxic smoke from the burning foam. Hundreds of people began running for the front door, and many were crushed as panic grew.
100 people died, and causes of death varied from crush injuries, smoke inhalation and burns. 230 people were injured from those causes as well, making this the fourth deadliest nightclub fire in US history.
The Derderian brothers as well as Daniel Biechele were charged with 200 counts of involuntarily manslaughter each. Daniel and Michael were sentenced to fifteen years in prison with four to serve and eleven years suspended plus three years probation and were released in March of 2008 and June of 2009 respectively. Jeffrey received 500 hours of community service.
$115 million has been paid to families of the victims since the fire, and the Station Fire Memorial Park opened on the same property where the fire occurred in 2017. The band Great White has held multiple benefit concerts to raise money for the families of the victims as well.
Image sources:
abc6.com - “Memorial to be held to remember 100 victims of Station Nightclub fire on 19-year-anniversary”
cbsnews.com - “The Station nightclub fire: What happened and who’s to blame for disaster that killed 100?”