Foam the Derderians had installed along the club's walls and ceilings to conceal noise was highly flammable and "was equal to gallons of gasoline. Jeff Derderian: That door was meant to block the noise from the neighbors. 9.1K. Scan this QR code to download the app now. Jim Axelrod: Did you have enough time to form those complete thoughts? Jim Axelrod: Describe The Station nightclub for me. He lost his work-release job and was transferred from minimum to medium security.. Prosecutor Randall White urged a sentence of ten years. When King arrived, he saw the devastating scene. It was completely preventable. 9. The brothers have always maintained that they never gave the band permission to use pyrotechnics. They were charged with two counts for every lost life under separate theories of the crime. 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. Jody King: When he walked into a room, if there wasn't a smile he'd start balancing stuff to get you uplifted and smiling. Out of it. The cameraman emerges safely from the nightclub, however there are 100 people who sadly do not ever make it outside. Lawsuits were filed against several defendants including American Foam Corporation, Anheuser-Busch Inc. (which had advertised the concert as well as supplied beer), the Town of West Warwick (which had inspected The Station and not found it a fire hazard), and Great White. This may be called Tools or use an icon like the cog. Patrick Lynch: while troubling, concerning, maddening it doesn't mean that somebody should be charged or can be. The one-story building burned to the ground in about three minutes. Barylick points to several instances shortly before the fire in which clubs withheld permission for pyrotechnics and Great White did not use it. "There was nothing heroic about what I did.". A passerby stops to talk to a police officer at the site of The Station nightclub in West Warwick, R.I., Saturday, Feb. 22, 2003. This is the main bar where you can get your drinks. I could have missed that My friends that didn't survive that night have missed that. Her bill was $646 that month, she said. You can follow any . A firefighter, center, inspects the charred interior of the nightclub, The Station, Friday, Feb. 21, 2003, after a fatal fire at the club in West Warwick, R.I. A nightclub erupted into flames during a pyrotechnics display at a rock concert, killing at least 39 people and injuring more than 150 as mobs of concertgoers frantically rushed to escape the raging fire. The station nightclub fire Stock Photos and Images - Alamy When Laroque testified before the grand jury he claimed he never saw the foam. Biechele pleaded guilty to 100 counts of misdemeanor manslaughter, and Michael and Jeff Derderian pleaded no contest. Rachel Florio Florio-DePietro. But does that mean it's not a crime? The Station Fire Tapes '03 - YouTube Collect, curate and comment on your files. Phil Barr: It was getting harder and harder to breathe I could feel tightness and constriction in my chest. She wrote a book, meets with burn victims, talks to fire departments and fire safety groups across the country. Vanner has no excuses. One near the bar. The blaze began when the band Jack Russell's Great White took the stage and their tour manager set off four large fireworks. The second was the time from that night until the dedication of the memorial last spring. But the night of the fire it was up to help cut down the noise. I thought how terrible it was that my daughter was going to grow up without her mom. 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. Linda Saran: It's like a riptide. "It was crowded, and it was getting bad. A surgery to correct a childhood ailment with his ears left him able to balance objects on his chin. He spent 33 months in prison, while Jeff had to do 500 hours of community service. 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. Linda Saran: That's when you make a decision. The Foam.". One hundred people died, and hundreds more suffered. For the Derderians, the "full story" begins with the issue of permission. People were crushing each other in front of him trying to get out of the emergency exits. If they stood up and said, small business owners, we were inexperienced. All rights reserved. BUY TWO IMAGES, GET THE LOWEST PRICE IMAGE HALF PRICE WITH CODE: 50%OFFNEXTIMAGE. The Avalanche championship dynasty crumbles less than a year after hoisting the Stanley Cup. Jeff Derderian: There's so many things that factor into the decision to do that. One near the bar. But I don't want it to define the rest of my life. Writing about previous shows, Barylick reports, At none of the venues where Biechele shot pyro did he secure the required pyrotechnics permits., Rhode Island had enacted a state building code in 2003 that required sprinklers in places of public assembly that could be occupied by more than 300 people. She took a photograph of the stone of a man who died and sent it to his daughter in California. Phil Barr: and I felt the door and I just heaved my shoulder into it. Patrick Lynch: Not only was the door up, which it shouldn't have been, opened inward which it shouldn't have It was covered in foam. Dan Biechele, center, at his sentencing. The Station nightclub owners Michael, left, and Jeffrey Derderian, right, pleaded no contest to 100 counts of misdemeanor manslaughter and agreed to a deal. The brothers, however, find that hard to believe considering the foam covered the walls, ceiling and even the inward swinging door he cited as a violation. A Trenton, New Jersey train station in 1967. "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. That evening she had a girl's night out with a friend while her young daughter was at a sleepover. Jeff Derderian: We feel a sense of guilt about what happened in the sense that you carry the guilt of knowing that these people aren't here anymore, and these people are hurt for the rest of their life. "Literally laid there and said, 'God please just take care of my family,' because I knew I was going to die,'" survivor Linda Saran recalls. He sees a court-ordered therapist, who has told him he has depression and PTSD. The state of Rhode Island and the town of West Warwick have each agreed to pay $10 million to those left behind after a nightclub fire that killed 100 people, according to court documents filed Monday, Aug. 18, 2008. Linda Saran: Most of the crowd thought it was part of the show and didn't move. MICHAEL DERDERIAN [at sentencing hearing]: There is so much pain and heartache that happened on our doorstep. Jeff Derderian: I don't know. It fuels you. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. Warner lived next to The Station and had met the brothers. I refused to accept that as the outcome. For the first few years she shunned memorial ceremonies but eventually was convinced to go. daddyodowd 12 yr. ago And I was responsible for the day to day. 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. Archived post. 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. So, to the people who think we don't own it I'm telling you, we DO own it ok? Jeff called his brother Michael who was in Florida. Patrick Lynch: First of all, I think it's pathetic, disgusting and unsettling to think that they're even speaking now The foam that they put up had a direct impact on the survivability of the bulk of the people that were assembled that night. Jury selection begins Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2006, for a trial that could last several months. Great White lead singer Jack Russell, left, speaks with bass player Dave Filice, right, near the scene of a deadly fire at The Station nightclub in West Warwick, R.I. Friday, Feb. 21, 2003. Club owners open up for the first time after deadly fire kills 100. Fifteen years since that terrible night. Streamline your workflow with our best-in-class digital asset management system. Station Nightclub Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images As survivor Gina Russo and writer Paul Londardo reported in From the Ashes, the first theory was criminal negligence manslaughter, which results when the accused ignores the bodily risk to others and death results. 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. Three years after the fire sparked by a rock band's pyrotechnics killed 100 people at his club, Michael Derderian, one of the brothers who co-owned it, is set to go to trial on involuntary manslaughter charges. Privacy Policy. 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. For the first February in 15 years, Lisa Del Sesto said, she hasn't had the nightmares. For years, he worked in Boston for Channel 7. Copyright 02/05/2023 Alamy Ltd. All rights reserved. And if we could change it, we would. PATRICK LYNCH [press conference]: We have an investigation on going and we need help, we need answers and I'm trying to get them. At the time of The Station fire, older clubs in Rhode Island weren't required to install sprinklers. The sum total of all settlements was slightly over $176 million. Like, "get away from the building." An Atlantic City vacation photo circa 1960. Patrick Lynch: The type of foam was equal to gallons of gasoline. The brothers have since learned that the fire marshal should have tested the foam on the wall. which was managed by Biechele used pyrotechnics. The roof was caving in, walls were caving in, body after body in front of me. / CBS News. Vintage photos of clubs and bands in N.J. - nj.com My friends were dead, my other friends are severely injured, I no longer look like myself. However, he failed to connect this story to the insulation at The Station. Im so sorry.. You should be proud." Saint Joseph's Cemetery.
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