Both the brothers had other jobs. Nothing lifts his despair. [95] When Russell launched his version of the band in 2012, Kendall's group responded that Russell had no right to use the name. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. And then the main exit that hallway where everyone came through," explains Scott James. America's Deadliest Rock Concert: The Guest List explores the Station nightclub fire through gripping survivor accounts and family members and friends of victims who have memorialized their loss . I could have missed that My friends that didn't survive that night have missed that. She saw friends who had lost people they loved, others who had been burned and scarred by the fire, and felt embarrassed that she got out physically unharmed. 2021, shooting at a San Jose rail station. I never wanted anyone to be hurt in any way. They should have blamed more. [78], On the twentieth anniversary of the fire on February 20, 2023, Rhode Island governor Dan McKee ordered flags in Rhode Island lowered to half-staff for the day and the Rhode Island State House to be illuminated in memory of the 100 victims. [2] Larocque later told the Rhode Island State Police that he had not spotted the polyurethane foam during the November 2002 inspection because he was upset after finding an illegal inward swinging door that he had previously asked to be removed from the building. WEST WARWICK, R.I. -- Five years . And then we've got the pressure from the judge saying you know, you're going to go to jail for 30 years apiece. Biechele was released from prison on March 19, 2008. Barr says when he came to, he felt excruciating pain near the base of his spine and burning on his face. Almost immediately the finger pointing started. [25] Fire departments in Warwick, Coventry, and Cranston rendered mutual aid to the fire site. Jim Axelrod: When the foam came, was there anything on the packaging that indicated that it was highly flammable? Jeff Derderian: That door was meant to block the noise from the neighbors. So, the only way to pick up a can of soda would be to do this [lifting both arms out parallel in front of her]. And people stood and watched it, and some people backed off. fine against Station Nightclub owners upheld", "Station nightclub fire survivor tells how she's moved on in new book", "The Station fire took emotional toll on survivors, study finds", "Tentative $30 million deal in R. I. nightclub fire", "TV station that assigned reporter to cover his own nightclub raises ethical issue", "Station Video Spurs Lawsuit - Pollstar News", "Nightclub owner resigns from WPRI television", "Report of the Technical Investigation of The Station Nightclub Fire: Appendices (NIST NCSTAR 2), Volume 2", "Grand Jury Convened to Probe Deadly R.I. The night of the fire Jeff Derderian gave a statement to the local police and another one to an investigator with the Attorney General's Office. First of all, I don't know you would, how would you how would you accomplish the detail and the amount of new information in a news conference or, you know, a commercial or something that we would try and do on our own. He turned back to see the crowd bottle-necked at the stage. She took a photograph of the stone of a man who died and sent it to his daughter in California. It had to end, for me and it ended in the most beautiful way.. Jim Axelrod: There are so many people still to this day angry that the case didn't go to trial. On Feb. 20, 2003, 100 people were killed and more than 200 others were injured in a fire at the Station nightclub in West Warwick. Nightclub Fire", "Judge Accepts Plea Deal in Rhode Island Fire", "Co-owner of R.I. club where 100 died to be released early", "Band to pay $1M in case over deadly club fire", "Great White offers $1M to settle fatal fire suits", "Derderians reach settlement in nightclub fire", "Governments offer $20 million in RI nightclub fire", "Packaging company settles in R.I. nightclub fire", "McLaughlin & Moran, Anheuser-Busch offer $21M settlement in Station fire case", "Home Depot Settles In R.I. Great White's tour manager Daniel Biechele also faced the same charges. Patrick Lynch: You're telling me it wasn't, and I don't know that it wasn't. "I literally baked alive," says Linda Barr. " "We never knew the whole story because the trial never happened, so everything really never came out," says Jody King, whose brother worked at The Station as a bouncer. It was that fast. Scott James: I decided I would start asking some questions. Many of the families believed that the punishment was just; others had hoped for a more severe sentence. Jody King: We never knew the whole story because the trial never happened, so everything really never came out. It just so happens that we're evacuated due to the CZU complex fire but hey that's how. Everyone carries baggage and I think at some point you figure out how to pack it and carry it with you, she said. He wrote: "This is a company that is well aware of the dangers of polyurethane foam. I couldn't get up. But she said she also wants to keep the people she has met from that night, who she sees as friends and not sharers of a horrible experience. Follow Boston.com on Instagram (Opens in a New Tab), Follow Boston.com on Twitter (Opens in a New Tab), Like Boston.com on Facebook (Opens in a New Tab), R.I. State House homeless encampment removed after legal fight, After the 80th anniversary of the tragic fire, a Cocoanut Grove memorial is coming to Boston, This affordable airline says it will bring at least 20 routes to an R.I. airport. Jody King: He trusted the club. Nine friends didnt. And if we could change it, we would. The Derderians say that in the three years they owned the club, no one ever questioned the safety of the foam. [86][87] The memorial dedication ceremony took place on May 21, 2017. Scott James: The fire alarm you hear it kick in. There's an exit near the stage. Scott James: You have four exits. Scott James: He writes up this long, almost a manifesto about all the things that he thinks are wrong in that foam company that led to this tragedy. [1] The building that would become The Station was built in 1946 and was originally used as a gin mill. In fact, they did the opposite.". Jim Axelrod: And that's when the despair sinks in. [96] By 2013, Russell's group had resumed playing "Desert Moon". [21] Thick smoke began to fill the station one minute after the ignition and the crowd began to escape the building. [9] Michael Derderian told 48 Hours that it was "Undisputable" that the building's use of flammable packing foam instead of flame retardant sound foam was the cause of the fire's spread, but the brothers claimed that they had ordered sound foam and had received the packing foam instead. During a concert by the rock band Great White, a pyrotechnic display ignited flammable acoustic foam in the walls and ceilings surrounding the stage. Linda Saran: They have said they were sorry. Jody King: As I went by the fire station fire trucks are coming out Now the question in my head is why are all these firetrucks leaving? That's when I turned back. And why wasn't the foam company charged? S01:E03 - Station Nightclub Fire. Phil Barr: I loved it. 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. We took shortcuts. Michael Derderian: They got this fax and it went on to describe the business practices of the foam company. I went over, put my hands against the glass, and I started kicking at that window and it wouldn't break. Well, I guess once we all started to turn toward the door, and we got bottle-necked into the front door, people just kept pushing, and eventually everyone popped out of the door, including myself. [9], The foam was sold to the Derderians by American Foam. MICHAEL DERDERIAN: I plead not guilty, your honor. Access remains open to the public, and memorial services are held each February 20. Now, Russo leads the Station Fire Memorial Foundation, which oversees a memorial that stands where the nightclub once went up in flames, The Boston Globe reported. [48], Following the tragedy, Governor Donald Carcieri declared a moratorium on pyrotechnic displays at venues that hold fewer than 300 people. The fire quickly spread over the dance floor, along the ceiling. [85] By April 2016, $1.65 million of the $2 million fundraising goal had been achieved and construction of the Station Fire Memorial Park had commenced. The story of three survivors that were trapped when the massive Cypress Street viaduct collapsed. [tearing up] "What a great brother you have. He was the. He tells her he wishes that hed tried to extinguish the fire. [4] No occupants were in the building during the 1972 fire, but the interior was significantly damaged. I never thought it would get so bad., He told bartender Julie Mellini that they had to leave, and she and several patrons followed Vanner out the kitchen door. When January comes each year, she starts a lesson, delicately, talking about The Station and how there was a fire there. Stay up to date with everything Boston. [24] Hundreds of firefighters responded to the fire, including every available West Warwick firefighter. Patrick Lynch: The defendant had every right to go to trial and say, hey, if it's this mysterious fax that it's trying to be referenced today, 18 years later, hey, this is important. But with last years dedication of the Station Memorial Park on the site of the nightclub, she said she found that along with the scars, that night had provided her with a purpose in life and people she would otherwise never have known. I couldn't play an instrument. And I hear [moves her arms to the side with a whoosh] and out Deb went. Phil Barr: I asked my pulmonologist, you know, "when can I get back in the pool?" He sees a court-ordered therapist, who has told him he has depression and PTSD. Fifteen years from now, she hopes, her students will go by the park, and have a memory, a connection, with the 100 people whose names and faces are etched into black granite squares arrayed throughout the park. 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. The first was her life before Feb. 20, 2003. [31], Four employees of the Station were killed in the fire. That's how thick the smoke was. It would have been my legacy, Vanner said. The Foam.". 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. And I knew the window was to my left. "It feels like somebody knew somebody who was in that fire or knew somebody who did, so the pain is very personal.". As were 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? she said. I come down every year and play the [bagpipes], he told WCVB. [56], The sentence drew mixed reactions in the courtroom. He was granted parole and then released after 22 months. Tracy King died saving many others the night of the fire. Its surreal. I will never forget that night, and I will never forget the people that were hurt by it. The state of Rhode Island is small," says author Scott James. She said she spent years after that in pain and anger. The Derderians say that in the three years they owned the club, no one ever questioned the safety of the foam and say the club was inspected by their insurance company, and multiple times by the local Fire Marshal Denis Laroque. After the fire, multiple civil and criminal cases were filed. I remember getting pushed from behind. We have an exit through the kitchen. 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. The second was the time from that night until the dedication of the memorial last spring. It fuels you. [9] In 2008, American Foam agreed to pay $6.3 million to the families of the victims of the fire. [21] A total of 462 people were in attendance, even though the club's maximum licensed capacity was cited as 404.[2]. Phil Barr: I went around the people trying to push to the front door. PROVIDENCE Over the years Dave Kane has had to find a place to store his outrage over losing his 18-year-old son, Nicholas, in The Station nightclub fire in 2003. Lying on the floor not far from the horseshoe bar, Barr lost consciousness.

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