Scott James: When people arrive, they walk through this entrance and this kinda longish hallway. [78] The event raised at least $25,000 in donations for the Station Family Fund, and was broadcast in March by VH1 and VH1 Classic. [9], The fire was reported to the West Warwick Fire Department by cellular phone calls to 911 within sixty seconds of ignition[24]. [9] American Foam refuted the claims in Warner's fax. 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. So, I actually got a really good sense of the layout of the venue.". I found my soul was wanting.. [76] Another memorial was later that night the West Warwick Civic Center. Also outside was club owner Jeff Derderian. Joe Kinan was badly burned in the deadly Station Nightclub fire in Rhode Island that left 100 dead and 230 injured in February 2003 . [21] Thick smoke began to fill the station one minute after the ignition and the crowd began to escape the building. "I literally baked alive," says Linda Barr. " The first was her life before Feb. 20, 2003. I don't even like to talk about it. The night of the fire, hundreds of people gathered at The Station to see Great White, an 80s band now with some new members lead by singer Jack Russell and known mainly for their hit "Once Bitten, Twice Shy. Michael Derderian: Take this stuff down. The Derderians bought the club as an investment. [11] For the 2003 tour, the band was billed as "Jack Russell's Great White". On February 20, 2003 at about 11:10 p.m., Jody King got a call that something was going on at The Station nightclub in West Warwick, Rhode Island. [22] Biechele used four gerbs that were set to spray sparks 15 feet (4.6m) for fifteen seconds. And Paul Vanner didnt like what he saw. In the end, the survivors and victims' families settled for a total of $176 million. It would become one of the deadliest fires in a club in U.S. history. [94] Kendall's version of the band holds the copyright for the Great White name. Patrick Lynch: Looking back on it I would say they ran it as a side business, an attempt to maybe make some extra money with the callous, utter disregard for those that work there and assemble there. That was his gift. [tears up] And the roof and just everything just fast, too fast. According to Bostonherald.com, a memorial fund that raises money for survivors of The Station nightclub fire received at least $25,000 in donations after a benefit concert aired on television, organizers said today.. The Foam.". As it turns out, the foam they used was highly flammable. That happened in 2001. As a result of this and other similar incidents, fire chiefs, fire marshals and inspectors require trained crowd managers to comply with the International Fire Code, NFPA-101 Life Safety Code, NFPA-1 Fire Code and many local ordinances that address safety in public-assembly occupancies. I am proud. One guy did crawl out. Michael Derderian: Correct. Since 2003, the approach of the anniversary of the Station fire, where she and her twin sister, Cara Ann, got out unhurt while 100 others died and about 200 more were injured, was four weeks of dread. He was the. And it was ugly. "Taking responsibility for your actions goes a long way," she says. [36] Butler was there for a planned piece on nightclub safety being reported by Jeffrey A. Derderian, a WPRI news reporter who was also a part-owner of The Station. The Guest List is a strikingly visual film. The Derderians say despite their love for the club the business had peaked, and they were in the process of selling it. I did not lead them out, he said dismissively. [21], Among those who died in the fire were Great White guitarist Ty Longley, and the show's emcee, WHJY DJ Mike "The Doctor" Gonsalves. The fire left her with burns over 40 percent of her body, it incinerated her hair. It couldnt continue another 10, 15 years, it couldnt. But I should have at least tried.. Gina Russo, who was in The Station on Feb. 20, 2003, barely made it out. That's when I turned back. Jeff Derderian: You know a day doesn't go by that we don't think about it in some way, shape or form. It is the fourth-deadliest nightclub fire in U.S. history. It was late on Feb. 20, 2003, when the cold winter night erupted in flames. The message is, Dont forget. Never forget these people or forget what happened., Stay up to date on all the latest news from Boston.com. That is the furthest exit away from the stage But it's a relatively straight line. One near the bar. *One SAVE card issued per household that experiences 25% or greater damage to a primary residence. It would have been my legacy, Vanner said. But for anyone who was in The Station nightclub on Feb. 20, 2003, she said, a night out triggers an awareness. But I made a choice. these contracts are pretty specific. I went over, put my hands against the glass, and I started kicking at that window and it wouldn't break. Phil Barr: I asked my pulmonologist, you know, "when can I get back in the pool?" They said a critical piece of evidence was never presented to the grand jury. [58] Others pointed out that Biechele had sent handwritten letters to the families of each of the 100 victims and that he had a work release position in a local charity. [12] Kendall, who had co-founded the band with Russell in 1977, had rejoined Russell's version of the group in 2002. [24] Hundreds of firefighters responded to the fire, including every available West Warwick firefighter. Everyone carries baggage and I think at some point you figure out how to pack it and carry it with you, she said. So many ways this could have been avoided, Matthew Hoffman, an East Greenwich, R.I. resident, told WPRI. It seems senseless that something like this could happen. Club owners Jeffrey and Michael Derderian reached a settlement of $813,000 with survivors and victims' families in September 2008. [89] The band raised $185,000 for the Station Family Fund during the tour. How he went from being a man with a job he loved and friends, to someone struggling with sobriety and guilt, suffering flashbacks at fire alarms and smoke-like fog. 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 then, ever so slowly, he learned to walk again. Greatly., Things that bother people you sit there and you shake your head and you go, if this is the worst thing that happens to me today, this month, this year, this decade, I mean, at that point its one of those things. . So, it was very quickly they were in the circle of people we should look at. [60], Following Biechele's trial, The Station's owners, Michael and Jeffrey Derderian, were scheduled to receive separate trials. Flames can be seen on the back wall. WEST WARWICK, R.I. -- Five years . [12] Great White's popularity had waned in the decade prior to the Station fire, and they had been performing on a touring circuit of small clubs with capacities of up to 500 people. [54] Darigan remarked, "The greatest sentence that can be imposed on you has been imposed on you by yourself. And I took a good look and I said, "Oh, st, I'm burned.". [52] Speaking to the public for the first time since the fire, Biechele stated: For three years, I've wanted to be able to speak to the people that were affected by this tragedy, but I know that there's nothing that I can say or do that will undo what happened that night. "[5], Many of the survivors of the fire developed post-traumatic stress disorder after the event. Linda Saran: Second- and-third-degree burns, over 34 percent of my body from the heat. "There really weren't that many people around early in the night. Petrarca was sitting near the bar that night in 2003, about five feet from a door, when the fire broke out. "We wanted the full story to come out, not just some of it, and for people who want to come to their own conclusion on what happened that night," says Jeff Derderian. [4] Another restaurant opened in the building in 1974. It justit was so fast. In 2017 a memorial was opened to honor the100 innocent lives that were tragically lost in The Station fire, including Tracy King, who died saving so many others. Patrick Lynch: They are running the operation. Michael Derderian: Jeffrey was responsible for all the marketing activities. [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. American Foam said Warner's claims about the company are false. About a month after the fire Barr went home from the hospital. When January comes each year, she starts a lesson, delicately, talking about The Station and how there was a fire there. [94] Russell's group made its first New England appearance in twelve years at a harvest festival in Mechanic Falls, Maine, in August 2015. 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. Dont take life for granted and I miss her every day She was my world and now shes my angel.. And I'm like, "OK.". Jim Axelrod: To people who feel that the two of you have never said we own this what do you say? The brothers sent a fax to the foam company specifically asking for sound foam. Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider, who is featured in a REELZ documentary about the Warwick, Rhode Island Station nightclub fire, which killed some 100 attendees of a Great White concert in 2003, In the other rooms, the smoke hadn't gotten to them, the flame wasn't that bad, they didn't think anything of it. A staggering 100 lives were lost. 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. I refused to accept that as the outcome. On May 20, 2003, nondenominational services began to be held at the site of the fire for a number of months. Built in 1946, the wooden Station nightclub was grandfathered into an exception for laws requiring ceiling fire sprinklers. Based upon its work, Tentative Interim Amendments (TIAs) were issued for the national standard "Life Safety Code" (NFPA 101), in July 2003. But Saturday night, as . Jeff Derderian: Because in my mind I had nothing to hide. How did you meet him? The roof was caving in, walls were caving in, body after body in front of me. Phil Barr: I couldn't hear alarms. An off-duty police officer standing outside had heard her kicking at the window. Linda Saran and Phil Barr, badly injured, were transported to a local hospital. First published on October 23, 2021 / 11:18 PM. I don't know that I'll ever forgive myself for what happened that night, so I can't expect anybody else to. Her bill was $646 that month, she said. Sparks from the gerbs ignited the insulation foam, and flames were visible on the wall above the stage within nine seconds of their ignition. [24] The first West Warwick fire engine arrived at the scene at 11:13 p.m., followed by three other trucks shortly thereafter. Michael Derderian: But that door became impassable almost within seconds because clearly there's foam that's burning at 800 or 1,500 degrees. [48] Larocque had set various capacities for the Station in the years prior to the fire based on whether pool tables and other items could be moved. The blaze began when the band Jack Russell's Great White took the stage and their tour manager set off four large fireworks. 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.