Massive Club Fire at Great White concert

"Although witnesses said the fight continued to escalate even after security at the club allegedly used pepper spray and mace to try to break it up, other witnesses said someone at the club started yelling "Bin Laden. Bin Laden" on the microphone apparently as a joke to lighten the tense mood."

Why do Heavy Metal concerts tend to require fireworks?

If there's any more urge to make fun of the terrible bands that happened to be playing while people were dying, just save it for your next party. Don't post it here, ok? It pisses me off.

http://www.artandlies.com/analog_roam/blog.html#000251

Well, sure. That's the headline, and the hook. The last line of my short blog entry is, "The band was the past-its-prime and ill-reputed Great White, but I cannot bring myself to make snarky jokes about people who were burned alive."

So, yeah.

My thoughts exactly!

"man, what happens if there's a fire'."

Every time I walk into CBGB's I think that.

And yet, you did, in your "hook". do'h!

Those large pyrotechnics never should have been there. That much is clear.

The footage of the flames engulfing the speaker cabinets on the edge of the stage is pretty staggering. I can't imagine how those poor folks caught in the scrum must've felt.

Don't hate on Great White. They were actually way less goofy than the hair bands. They were just a bunch of fun dumb guys who liked zeppelin and mott the hoople.

What the fuck are you talking about?

People have long known that it's a dump. But never before now have I considered what a deathtrap it is.

Whaddya mean? You're watching the footage aren't you? Fun in that they're not the worst band ever to walk the earth. Dumb in that they set the place on fucking fire.

Do you have a concept of how these things work? Even a band as washed-up as Great White has management who arranges this shit. They're the ones setting up the shows; at that point there should be a conversation along the lines of "do you have a pyrotechnics license"; "yeah, what do you have?"; "blah blah". Somewhere, this discourse broke down. Either the management misrepresented their stage show, or the club lied about their capacity to handle same. Or lied about the license. Who knows at this early stage. But don't accuse the band of "killing people" for Christ's sake.

I know I'm going to check to see where the exits are at shows from now on (and never be too far from one..)

..wouldn't a place like that have been required to have a sprinkler system?

Only thing is, when I was thinking of problematic deathtrap nightclubs in the city, I wasn't thinking of these places.

i know they've undergone renovations since the last time i was there (almost 2 years ago) but wasn't there an emergency exit out to the back alley from the pool room?

A friend of mine nearly died that day of dehydration.

Oh, and get this.. the headliners were the Charalambides.

I had nothing to do with the addition, but the guy who was the main booker wanted to do their label/booker a favor I guess. Noble, but it turned out to be rather awkward and bad. (Thankfully, that was the only bad moment of all the shows, and have amazing respect for the folks who kept that all-ages venue alive)

Anyway, the World Inferno Friendship Society did a variety of pyrotechnics inside a venue that was an ALL WOOD ART SHACK!

Smart, guys. Really smart. Thanks for stinking up the place, too. Hope you guys are now banned from playing shows ever again.

"Remember this next time someone tells you 'there is no such thing as bad publicity'."

Ouch. No kidding. The owner of the Stone Pony apparently wants Great White impaled in the sun. I think a lot of people are feeling that way about this.

In all cases.. :(

There's a lot of finger pointing going on right now between the surviving band members and the owners of the club. What strikes me about this is that EVEN IF the management of the club didn't know about the pyro effects, they are still guilty of GROSS NEGLIGENCE. If you own a business, it is your duty to know what is taking place in your establishment - either by a stage manager, a soundman, or some other person who is involved with the set-up of the equipment. It is also your duty to have procedures in place in the event of an emergency, such as fire extinguishers, plans to show people the exits in the event of a fire, etc. What strikes me about this tragedy is that there appeared to be little to no response from the club staff during the fire. Yes, there are those heroic people who saved others, but I'm referring to the more basic needs of having staff open exits and use fire extinguishers during the initial moments of the fire.

I also listened to Mr. Santana, of the Stone Pony, as he professed his disgust at Great White and how he was taken completely by surprise by their pyro effects. Again, while this may be true, his lack of knowledge of events in his venue reeks of negligence. Of course, he's going to claim his ignorance - he's trying to cover his ass. Do you think he'd say that he knew they were going to use pyros without the permits? No way. Same thing with the owners of The Station.

I'm not taking sides here, only making an observation. I think the owners are at the least guilty of negligence and as far as the band, I don't know. They might be telling the truth because according to accounts from other clubs on this tour, they were denied permission to use pyros and didn't use them. Also, Great White played The Station 18 months ago, without pyro. Why would they suddenly decide to use them, especially after NOT doing so at other venues on this tour?

Beyond the legal ramifications, my heart goes out to all the victims and their families. This is a terrible tragedy, absolutely horrific.

I hope that from this disaster come measures that will prevent such a thing from happening again.

Meanwhile, in the 'uh, yeah, duh,' category, CNN's legal talking head had this to say, and while most of it is sound, the concluding comment is a bit 'the hell?':

And I'm not so cynical to think that liability is the only reason. I think that club owners genuinely don't want scores of people dying in their clubs.

Gee, ya think?

Meanwhile, over at the missing guitarist from Great White's guestbook, you've got people posting good wishes and remembrances...and then you've got a whole bunch of incredibly tasteless jokes from a slew of people at fuckedcompany.com as well. Smooth.

ie fans and punters and rock reviewers and posters to forums like these (who are obviously all smart and eloquent and care abt other ppl and whatever)

too much of rock/punk/rap subculture at ordinary times: "the govt sucks, it's like square guys in suits who don't get it!! FUCK THE SUITS, MAN!!"
too much of rock/punk/rap subculture at times like these: "where are the laws which we assumed kept us and our loved ones safe?"

this and chicago and anything like it are horrible and sad obv, even from far across the sea, not least bcz foax like great white were basically totally goofy and harmless and who the hell deserves this, least of all them?

when did you last see a review of some show at some dingy shack (or rave or whatever) saying "the band totally rocked, but btw this club is a horrific fire risk — go there at yr own peril, or let's get the bands that we like to boycott it till the owners take action"?

kerry — quite correctly — said that consumer groups shd regularly check these places out actually WHEN THEY'RE IN USE: all i'm pointing out is that consumers groups = orgs including fans themselves, and if everything is just left to a vague "measures must be taken", w/o pitching in yrself (obv i don't mean YOU ALEX MUST ORGANISE THIS, i mean the "you" most directly in the line of fire in these situations, ie the punters who go to such venues regularly anyway), then you WILL find that the measures taken will probbly leave yr area devoid of ANY funky little outlaw spaces etc etc (ie cf the v.good point you made up-thread, re city authorities simply shutting all clubs to save themselves the headache)

Dave, you live far (by RI standards) from The Station; I rent movies at the Blockbuster down the street from it ALL THE TIME.

Scary shit. Death toll is at 96, making it worse than Waco in terms of deaths.

I don't think I knew anyone, but given how small a state this is, it wouldn't surprise me to find out that I know friends of friends aunt's cousins sisters and shit.

From News of the Weird

In the midst of the national debate over fire codes in the wake of the February Warwick, R.I., nightclub disaster, fire safety consultant Philip R. Sherman told a Providence Journal reporter that toughening the codes was not an automatic cure because the codes will still be ignored due to variations in people's intelligence: "Clearly we have to account for dumb things (when we write the codes). Is wrapping the room in foam plastic the level of dumbness we want to account for? Or will somebody do something (even) dumber?" [Providence Journal, 3-14-03]

The band was popular during the 1980s, with hits including Rock Me and Once Bitten, Twice Shy.

Under Biechele's deal, he would plead guilty to the counts related to misdemeanor offenses.

Is that long enough?

xpost

Jack White / manager / club owners - 10 years
Other band members - 5 years

PROVIDENCE, R.I., May 10 — Daniel M. Biechele, the man who ignited the pyrotechnics that led to the deaths of 100 people in a catastrophic Rhode Island nightclub fire in 2003, was sentenced Wednesday to four years in prison and three years of probation.
Eileen DiBonaventura, who lost a son in the Station nightclub fire, was in tears as she left the courtroom.

The sentence was less than half the 10 years prosecutors had requested, but more than the community service Mr. Biechele's lawyers had sought.

Judge Francis J. Darigan Jr. said he considered Mr. Biechele's background and obvious remorse, and the fact that his actions were "totally devoid of any criminal intent," in addition to the horrific result of the fire at the Station nightclub in February 2003.

"Mr. Biechele, the greatest sentence that can be imposed upon you has been imposed upon you by yourself, that is, having to live a lifetime knowing that your actions were a proximate cause of the death of 100 innocent people," Judge Darigan said. "Any attempt by me or anyone else to correlate any sentence imposed with the value of these lives, or any other yardstick that may be applied, I believe would be a dishonor to the memory of the victims of this tragedy."

Shortly before the sentence was pronounced, Mr. Biechele, 29, who was the tour manager for the heavy metal band Great White, which used the pyrotechnics in its performance at the nightclub, stood, sobbing, and spoke to the judge.

"I don't know that I'll ever forgive myself for what happened that night, so I can't expect anybody else to," said Mr. Biechele, who pleaded guilty in February to 100 counts of involuntary manslaughter caused by a misdemeanor, the act of setting off pyrotechnics without a permit. "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. I'm so sorry for what I've done."

Families of some of the victims gasped and some broke into tears when the sentence was announced. One woman, Patricia Belanger, who lost her daughter, Dina Ann DeMaio, a waitress at the nightclub, shouted at Mr. Biechele's mother: "How do you like your son now? Now you're going to feel the pain that I feel!"

Outside the courtroom, Ms. Belanger said the sentence was "a joke" and said of Mr. Biechele's mother, "she'll get her son in four years, and they'll go back to being a happy family. What do we have?"

Gerard Fontaine, whose son Mark was killed and whose daughter Melanie was injured in the fire, said: "One year for every 25 people that died — it's crazy. You can do what you want in Rhode Island and get away with it."

But relatives of some other victims said the sentence was appropriate.

"I think it's a fair and just reaction," said Sarah Mancini, whose son Keith was killed. "He didn't set out to kill anybody. It was a horrendous accident."

Some victims' relatives and others in Rhode Island have said that more of the blame should be placed with the club owners, Jeffrey and Michael Derderian, who had installed sound-proofing foam that proved to be highly flammable.

Many also blamed the fire and building inspectors who failed to cite the presence of the foam during inspections. The Derderian brothers, the only others charged in the case, are under indictment on involuntary manslaughter charges.

The sentencing of Mr. Biechele followed two days of testimony from relatives of more than 30 victims, who offered accounts so anguished and raw that at one point Judge Darigan's clerk was too overcome to announce the next speaker.

Mr. Biechele broke down in tears Tuesday as the father of the youngest victim, 18-year-old Nicholas O'Neill, testified that his son would have wanted the family to accept Mr. Biechele's apology.

Mr. Biechele, of Winter Park, Fla., who recently married and works for a flooring company and takes night accounting classes, wrote letters of apology to each of the victims' families.

Despite Mr. Biechele's contrition, the prosecutor, Randall White, told Judge Darigan on Wednesday that Mr. Biechele should receive the 10-year maximum sentence under the plea agreement because his failure to get a permit for the pyrotechnics was "not simply an unwitting and innocuous oversight, but a deliberate and intentional decision not to abide by Rhode Island law."

"A child could have seen and foreseen the harm" of lighting pyrotechnics in the overcrowded club, Mr. White said.

"If this isn't the case that deserves a serious sentence," he said, "what one is?"

Mr. Biechele's lawyer, Thomas G. Briody, cited several factors that Mr. Biechele could not have been aware of, including the flammability of the foam and the lack of sufficient exits and fire extinguishers. "Daniel Biechele is the only man in this tragedy to stand up and say, 'I did something wrong,' " Mr. Briody said.

The club owners will probably seek a deal since the court was lenient w/ the band manager, but it's hard to say which way it will go. If the owners choose a trial and it shows they knew the soundproofing was flammable and they knew Biechele was going to light off pyrotechnics they could get who knows how long in the can.

To get some perspective, RI doesn't have a full-time state congress, they all have other day jobs. Not sure how common that is but I was kind of surprised when I heard it.

Hmmm let me guess the other 8 states; North Dakota, South Dakota, New Hampshire, Delaware, Maine, etc.

(By the by, states with full-time legislatures = Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. This is according to Jeff Jacoby in yesterday's Boston Globe, writing on an unrelated matter.)

Jon, I remember reading articles on the evictions, I think they were all in the Phoenix though.

Duh. I meant ... you know what I meant.

Colin by "correct me if I'm wrong" I didn't mean "please tell me to look it up"!

Then you go and have your arguments over what IS intention, and your "what's the difference between recklessness and negligence", and then the reasonable man shows up, and I quit the law three years ago today.

The unedited version of the fire footage has leaked onto the net. (posted without comment except that I'm astonished at how damn fast the fire is)
http://www.metalsucks.net/?p=4231

It makes for even more disturbing viewing with that "all4humor.com" tag in the corner the whole time.

That makes me nauseous.

Very frightening :(

no thanks

i ain't going near that video : /

The Wikipedia page has a pretty good run down of the whole thing. Most interesting are the diagrams the club's exit doors, and where victims were found.

Between this and the revisit of the MGM Grand hotel fire after the Monte Carlo fire, I'm *always* making note of exits.

That reminds me of the footage of the Bradford City football ground fire that was (possibly still is) on Youtube, it's unbelievable how fast these fires spread, especially when they're in a complete fucking firetrap like that place.

the advert on the left is in bad taste

http://www.metalsucks.net/graphics/eko160x600.gif

Just for something positive:

http://www.bates.edu/x72231.xml

^ {POSTER I WENT TO HIGH SCHOOL WITH NAME HERE} and I went to high school with him. nice guy and a really interesting music fan. I remember him liking Earth Crisis.

That reminds me of the footage of the Bradford City football ground fire that was (possibly still is) on Youtube, it's unbelievable how fast these fires spread, especially when they're in a complete fucking firetrap like that place.

I have to do a yearly fire safety course at my work and it's one of the things they always show. I've seen it several times now and still can't believe how rapidly it spread.

Ugh. I just watched the Bradford City fire footage and can't get past the spectators jumping up and down and mugging for the camera.

Yeah I watched that Bradford fire as part of a H&S course a year or two ago. It's insane how fast it spreads.

he did like earth crisis, jon!

he was a wonderfully cool guy, brought really excellent porn to motivate the entire relay team on the new england regional swim championships. we swam the 200IM together: he butterfly, me breast

The unedited version of the fire footage has leaked onto the net. (posted without comment except that I'm astonished at how damn fast the fire is)
http://www.metalsucks.net/?p=4231

-- Elvis Telecom, Thursday, 7 February 2008 16:41 (Yesterday) Link

I got as far as the camera person leaving the building and then
panning back to the people who were quite literally piling & spilling out of the exit. Then I had to turn it off. Anyone else unable to watch it all the way through?

Yeah, I started watching it, then decided it was pretty sick.
Though I was able to watch this:

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=860c9b9f3b&p=1

he butterfly, me breast

This is a not so excellent porn.

Good article about the swimmer, thanks for the post.

Survivors of RI club fire awaiting settlement cash
By ERIC TUCKER, Associated Press Writer Eric Tucker, Associated Press Writer Thu Feb 12, 10:49 am ET
CRANSTON, R.I. – Linda Fisher's medical expenses have grown to a half-million dollars in the six years since a fire tore through a Rhode Island nightclub, killing 100 concertgoers and injuring more than 200.

The other costs of the fire aren't as easily calculated: Strangers still gawk at the web of scars up and down her arms. Her reconstructed hands make it hard to grip a soda bottle or shuffle a deck of cards. She has fierce itching pangs that even now can make her cry.

As the six-year anniversary approaches next week, Fisher and more than 300 other survivors and relatives of those killed are waiting for their shares of a $176 million settlement intended to help cover mounting medical bills, with the largest payouts going to those most severely injured.

"There are people who have lost hair, their hands, ears, noses, fingers, arms, their jobs, their homes," said Fisher, 39, who spent three weeks in a drug-induced coma and suffered second- and third-degree burns on one third of her body.

"Anyone who was in that building that night, for what they went through, they deserve a million dollars each," she added. "The worst injured? There's not enough money to give him."

The settlements resolve lawsuits arising from the Feb. 20, 2003, blaze at The Station nightclub in West Warwick, which began when pyrotechnics used as a stage prop by the 1980s rock band Great White ignited foam used as soundproofing around the stage.

The band's tour manager, Daniel Biechele, served less than two years of a four-year prison sentence; the club's two owners pleaded no contest to involuntary manslaughter charges — one will be released on parole this year while the other was spared jail time.

Dozens of companies and people who were sued after the fire, from club owners Jeffrey and Michael Derderian and members of the band to Anheuser-Busch and Clear Channel Broadcasting, agreed to settle over the last year and a half rather than risk the costs and uncertainty of a jury trial.

Lawyers won't disclose how much individual clients will receive but say payments will range from about $20,000 to several million dollars. The victims can either collect their money in lump sums or installments.

Fisher said her lawyer has told her she'll be eligible for about $1 million, but expects a large chunk of that to go toward attorneys fees and repaying the state for medical care. She intends to use her share for a down payment on a new house with her fiance and for a Labor Day weekend wedding celebration.

Fisher said there's no fair way to compensate the survivors for the severity or permanency of their injuries. And while she's relieved that lawsuits over the fire ended without a trial, she doesn't consider the total settlement sum at all eye-popping since it'll be divided among so many people.

"It's not winning the Powerball," said Fisher, who lost her job as an assistant toy store manager after the fire and now works part-time at a candle shop and collects a monthly Social Security check. "We're not going to buy new cars, we're not all going to buy mansions."

Gina Gauvin, a single mother of three who lost her right hand and all the fingers on her left one down to the knuckle, said she plans to use her share to buy a new house for her family. Her injuries have left her permanently disabled, and she's been struggling to make ends meet.

"I'll just be happy once I receive my settlement, to be able to not have to worry about asking for help from anybody and being self-supportive," Gauvin said.

As they have done every year since the fire, scores of survivors and victims' relatives plan to gather at the fire site Sunday for an annual memorial service. It is decorated with crosses, photographs and other mementos, but a permanent memorial with a park, courtyard, garden and 100-string Aeolian harp is planned for the lot.

There are still a few legal hurdles before victims of the blaze will get their settlements.

The money is being distributed according to an intricate formula devised by a Duke University law professor, Francis McGovern, who has met with the survivors and relatives of those killed. The formula, which is awaiting a judge's approval, awards points based on a victim's age, education and income, and bases survivors' totals on their medical expenses — which range from zero to over $3 million.

Rhode Island Gov. Don Carcieri has proposed delaying paying the state's portion of the settlement — $10 million — until the next fiscal year because of an ongoing fiscal crisis. The cash-strapped town of West Warwick has asked for help to pay its own $10 million portion.

The entire process irked Diane Mattera, who said she felt like her late daughter, Tammy, 29, was reduced to an arbitrary mathematical calculus.

"I've always said from Day One, the money doesn't mean anything to us," Mattera said. "Her life meant more than points."

I feel for those people but RI is broke as a joke, son

10% unemployment

some public schools only have enough money to make it to april

here's some more world class irony, courtesy of RI: not enough staff are available to review the 1,200 applications that were received for 40 open positions at the state unemployment office. the positions were created to process the massive flood of unemployment benefits claims.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — More than 1,200 people applied for 40 new jobs at the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training to help process a glut of unemployment benefits claims. Department Director Sandra Powell said there are so many candidates for the $19-an-hour jobs the agency needs help from another department to sort through applications.

^ omg

The money is being distributed according to an intricate formula devised by a Duke University law professor, Francis McGovern, who has met with the survivors and relatives of those killed. The formula, which is awaiting a judge's approval, awards points based on a victim's age, education and income...

Wtf does this mean??!

They try to make the settlements (a financial matter) in some way proportionate to the financial loss effected by the death.

Ah, okay, I thought the victims who survived were given compensation based on their age, education, and income too.

The first three minutes or so of that released video is something I can never unsee. Why do I click links?

Still, it still sounds kinda unfair saying that some dead people were worth more than others. Why not just give the same sum for everyone?

Even worse than the time they've had to wait for these checks will be the reality of how little each of them get after all the lawyers, "analysts", etc are paid for their work.

"There's a pivotal scene in Jennifer's Body where a rock band is playing at a bar. During its first song, a fire breaks out on-stage, and quickly engulfs the entire place, with many patrons burning to death. The scene is basically a small-scale reenactment of the tragedy that occurred in Rhode Island in 2003 when 100 people perished at a Great White gig. It's crass, thoughtless, and unnecessary, but at least it's consistent with the movie as a whole."

: /

That movie looks like a complete turd.

The band said they would never play the song "Desert Moon" again. "I don't think I could ever sing that song again," said lead singer and founder Jack Russell.[4] Guitarist Mark Kendall stated, "We haven't played that song. Things that bring back memories of that night we try to stay away from. And that song reminds us of that night. We haven't played it since then and probably never will."[5] The band has since resumed playing the song.[6]

omg

flashes of "I vowed to my father I would never use hamster style again."

Almost ten years. Some good news:

http://news.providencejournal.com/breaking-news/2012/09/owner-donates-station-land-to-memorial-foundation.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/01/us/memorializing-100-who-perished-in-rhode-island-nightclub-blaze.html?hp

http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/27/world/americas/brazil-nightclub-fire/index.html

Saw that. Pretty horrible. Have a friend from there, well from the town where the hospital is.

An accordionist who had been performing onstage with a band when the blaze broke out was among the dead, drummer Eliel de Lima told Globo TV.

Ten years ago tomorrow.

And ten years ago today. The Providence Journal's special features

Overviews of all the victims via the Boston Globe

The Station Fire Memorial Foundation.

The video with he hand transplant was heartbreaking and would have been regardless of where the guy got burned.

Also inspirational.

Great White's Jack Russell to play first New England show since Station fire

So Great White decided to play a show in North Dakota with zero social distancing and zero masks and needless to say Twitter is dragging them for it...

17 years ago, 100 people died in the Station Nightclub fire after
Great White’s tour manager lit pyrotechnics inside the small club during a show. One of the band’s biggest hits is called “Once Bitten, Twice Shy.”

Who had this on their 2020 bingo card? https://t.co/43iHWZ98fT

— Billy Jensen (@Billyjensen) July 11, 2020

Do people not remember what happened last time Great White ignored public safety guidelines? https://t.co/aBfayZH1OZ

— Warner Bros. Re-Release Cop Killer (@MetalShayne2000) July 12, 2020

Great White really pumped to add another entry to the “Tragedies” section of their Wikipedia page huh https://t.co/LZWVQY3OUE

— Casey Malone (@CaseyMalone) July 11, 2020

Eh, nothing bad has ever happened to the audience at a great white concert before, right? https://t.co/DRzujyU0lf

— Brendan Kelly, provocateur/total dildo (@badsandwich) July 11, 2020

Great White in 2003: Kill 100 people by bringing too much pyro to a small club.

Great White in 2020: Hold my beer. https://t.co/YV8YyVt8eT

— Metal Injection (@metalinjection) July 12, 2020

Whoa. I'm genuinely shocked by this.

All the simpering apologies for their reckless pyro antics that got 100 people killed in 2003 feels like a bunch of hot air now. This is beyond irresponsible. Fuck @GreatWhiteRocks.#ClassicRock #GreatWhite #HairMetal https://t.co/nnBMtK8cgZ

— Play That Rock’n’Roll (@playthatpodcast) July 12, 2020