Digital Extra: The Station Fire

February 2003 stories

02/28/2003

Foam firm owner: Club bought non-fire retardant soundproofing
Updated 5:30 p.m. / The owner of American Foam Corp. said today that The Station nightclub bought low-grade foam for soundproofing that was not fire retardant. Tests on foam recovered from the scene of the club's disastrous fire also show it gives off lethal gases when burning.

First hospitalized victim of fire dies
BOSTON / Updated 4:31 p.m. -- A victim of the disastrous fire at The Station nightclub fire in West Warwick has died at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, the hospital said this morning.

Partial list of victims
Updated 5:12 p.m. / This is a partial list of people involved in the fire at The Station. The list was compiled from information supplied by the Rhode Island Department of Health, the hospitals, relatives, and friends of the victims.

Profiles / obituaries of The Station fire victims
The following is a compilation of profiles of some of those who died in The Station fire last week and obituaries of fire victims submitted to The Providence Journal.

Updated list of hospitalized victims
2:55 p.m. / An updated list of hospitals and remaining patients from The Station nightclub fire in West Warwick on Thursday, Feb. 20:

Musicians expected to be called before grand jury today
Lawyers for Great White met yesterday with state prosecutors to work on conditions for the band's testimony in the investigation into The Station disaster, the fourth-deadliest club fire in U.S. history.

Opening band: A 'little button' set off sparks that started fire
The bassist for the rock group that was touring as Great White's opening act said yesterday that the band traveled with a box of pyrotechnics in the hold of the tour bus and used the same setup to detonate them at nearly every show.

Probe focuses on foam soundproofing
Investigators hunting for the source of the stage insulation used at The Station nightclub searched a Johnston foam manufacturer Tuesday night and took samples of products.

Carcieri visits burn victims' families in Mass. hospitals
Governor Carcieri traveled to two Massachusetts hospitals yesterday and visited the families of some of the most severely burned victims of last week's deadly nightclub fire.

Nightclub had no workers' comp, records show
CRANSTON -- The Station nightclub in West Warwick was not carrying legally required workers' compensation insurance when the club was detroyed in a fatal fire last week, state records show.

'I felt like I could actually die right here and just go'
COVENTRY -- In the darkness of The Station nightclub he could hear glass breaking and people screaming. He placed his hands on the backs of two people in front of him and followed them through the darkness; then they disappeared, and Adam Florio...

Help, memorial services, benefits
The United Way of Rhode Island is administering a fund set up in conjunction with Governor Carcieri's office, emergency-management officials, and local charities. A coordinating council will oversee distribution of the funds to the fire victims and...

Blood drive gives residents a chance to help fire victims
SOUTH KINGSTOWN -- Exeter resident Jo-Anne Ricci -- who on Wednesday attended the funeral of a family friend who died in The Station fire in West Warwick -- was in South County Hospital yesterday, giving blood.

02/27/2003

Death toll from fire dropped to 96
PROVIDENCE / Updated 6:30 p.m. -- All victims killed in the West Warwick nightclub fire last week have been identified, while the number of victims has been reduced by one to 96, Governor Carcieri said today.

Partial list of victims
Updated 5:05 p.m. / This is a partial list of people involved in the fire at The Station. The list was compiled from information supplied by the Rhode Island Department of Health, the hospitals, relatives, and friends of the victims.

Profiles / obituaries of The Station fire victims
The following is a compilation of profiles of some of those who died in The Station fire last week and obituaries of fire victims submitted to The Providence Journal.

Grand jury off as Carcieri visits fire victims
12:50 p.m. / As funerals were being held for several victims of last week's tragic fire at The Station nightclub, the grand jury investigating the deadliest fire in the state's history is apparently taking a break from hearing testimony.

Witness describes placement of fireworks just before blaze
The pyrotechnic device that ignited the deadly blaze at The Station nightclub was placed on the stage just minutes before the headline band, Great White, made its entrance, according to a member of one of the warm-up acts last Thursday night.

No guarantee criminal charges will be brought
PROVIDENCE -- The investigation into the fatal fire at The Station could lead to a host of criminal charges being brought -- or none at all, depending on what investigators find.

Grand jury begins probe of club fire
Lawyers for band meet with prosecutors The focus of the fire investigation shifted yesterday away from the ruins of The Station nightclub to a National Guard complex in East Greenwich and to Town Hall in West Warwick.

State releases names of 21 more victims
State officials yesterday revealed the names of 21 more victims of The Station nightclub fire, leaving just 7 of the 97 killed in the fire to be named.

Film footage of club fire not moneymaker for WPRI
The film footage of the fire at The Station Thursday night lasted just a few minutes, but those stunning, haunting scenes could live on in television and newspapers for years.

W. Warwick man charged in relief fraud
WARWICK -- As families desperately awaited word of loved ones missing in the West Warwick nightclub fire last week, Jeremy J. Howell was allegedly using the grief center to obtain a free hotel room, food and a cell phone.

Resource center opens for families in West Warwick
WEST WARWICK -- A newly formed resource center has begun serving the families of those who died or were injured in last week's nightclub fire.

Varied groups raising funds for victims
PROVIDENCE -- The United Way of Rhode Island fund set up at Governor Carcieri's behest to serve as a central collection point for donations to victims of the fire at The Station is growing quickly, with more than $400,000 pledged as of yesterday,...

Help, memorial services, benefits
Updated 3:40 p.m. / The United Way of Rhode Island is administering a fund set up in conjunction with Governor Carcieri's office, emergency-management officials, and local charities. A coordinating council will oversee distribution of the funds to the fire victims and...

Resources for victims' families
HELP CENTER

Disasters spur national group to review its codes
QUINCY, Mass. -- In response to the deadly nightclub tragedies in West Warwick and Chicago, the nation's leading fire-protection organization announced yesterday that it will soon convene experts to examine safety issues in public buildings across...

Inspectors make the rounds in R.I.'s night spots
NEWPORT -- When a prankster pulled a fire alarm box during a busy night at the Newport Blues Cafe on Thames Street a few years ago, most people were unmoved.

Constituents' sorrow jolts Reed during visit
One of Sen. Jack Reed's first sensations upon encountering family members of those lost in last week's fire was a jolt of that only-in-Rhode Island déja vu, but with a horrible twist.

M. Charles Bakst: Remembering Rhode Island at its best
With a proposal from House Speaker Bill Murphy in mind, I went back yesterday to the scene of the West Warwick fire.

Mark Patinkin: Dennis Smith will always be remembered as a fun-loving free spirit
His unicycle was there in the parlor of the funeral home, to the left of the closed casket. There was also a flower arrangement in the form of a roller skate. Those were two of the...

Music was teen's life, and his final note
LINCOLN -- Sometimes things just fall apart/Aging slowly in your heart/Sometimes we end up all alone.

02/26/2003

No progress in identifying last 4 bodies
CRANSTON / 4:15 p.m. -- Four of the 97 persons killed in The Station nightclub fire last week remain unidentified, and no more bodies were recovered after another sweep of the West Warwick site, Governor Carcieri said today.

Grand jury probe into club fire begins
1 p.m. / A statewide grand jury probe into the The Station nightclub fire convened today, as participants arrived at a National Guard complex in East Greenwich where the proceedings are being held.

About grand juries in Rhode Island
PROVIDENCE / 1:20 p.m. -- The statewide grand jury that today began investigating last week's deadly nightclub fire is made up of about two dozen average citizens seated for up to 18 months to hear numerous cases.

Man arrested for falsely reporting person missing in fire
Updated 1:50 p.m. / The State Police have arrested a West Warwick man for filing a false report of a missing person in connection with The Station nightclub fire, which has claimed 97 lives and sent 187 to the hospital.

Latest list of those confirmed dead in fire
State officials have provided the names of 21 more persons of the 97 people killed in the fire at The Station nightclub in West Warwick last week. The names were released after a press briefing by Governor Carcieri this afternoon.

List of victims
This is a partial list of people involved in the fire at The Station. The list was compiled from information supplied by the Rhode Island Department of Health, the hospitals, relatives, and friends of the victims.

Grand jury to begin probe today of club fire
A statewide grand jury will convene today at a National Guard complex in East Greenwich to investigate The Station nightclub fire, the fourth deadliest in U.S. history, according to law enforcement sources.

More names of the victims are released
The mounting human toll from The Station fire took several forms yesterday.

Fire code board expects workload to increase
PROVIDENCE -- The members of Rhode Island's fire code board stood and bowed their heads, beginning their meeting yesterday with a moment of silence for the 97 people who lost their lives in the West Warwick nightclub fire.

Stage manager: Pyrotechnics not unusual at club
EAST PROVIDENCE / Upudated 11:57 a.m. -- At least a dozen prior shows at The Station night club included pyrotechnics similar to those that apparently touched off the deadly blaze there last week, a club employee said yesterday.

Brothers were trying to sell their nightclub
Michael and Jeffrey Derderian, owners of the West Warwick nightclub where 97 people perished in a raging fire last week, had been looking to sell the business.

Police chief praises officers for bravery
WEST WARWICK -- Minutes after fire began ripping through The Station nightclub Thursday night, nearly the entire second shift of the Police Department was there to help pull people from the blaze.

Impassioned speaker wants overhaul of fire safety laws
PROVIDENCE -- Anyone who grew up in West Warwick, attended its schools, wore the black and orange of the Wizards or met for coffee at A.J.'s on Main Street -- "we all had our lives changed forever last Thursday night," said House Speaker William J....

Lawyers' associations volunteer to assist survivors with needs
A group of Rhode Island lawyers is volunteering to help survivors of last week's nightclub fire with their immediate legal needs. But the lawyers want to make it clear they are not scouting for prospects for the wave of lawsuits to come.

Red Cross volunteers offer comfort and care
Rose Marie Barker's eyes fill with tears as she talks about taking care of a little girl while her family traveled by bus in the rain to the site of the fire.

Priest offers solace at trauma unit
The Rev. Gerald Harbour spends his days walking the fifth floor of Rhode Island Hospital, where many of the patients slumber while they recover from their grievous injuries.

Overwhelmed funeral directors working together
It's hard enough to lose a sick parent or a grandmother. But when parents and grandparents have to bury their own children -- it's almost too much to bear.

Radio station playing a tribute to Dr. Metal
As a tribute to Mike Gonsalves, the WHJY-FM radio personality known to area rock fans as Dr. Metal, the station is broadcasting a tape of Gonsalves sound bites playing over one of his favorite songs, Metallica's "Fade to Black."

Help, memorial services, benefits
The West Warwick Department of Human Services has asked local businesses for help in raising money to assist the families of fire victims. The money collected is meant to help the families with short-term, unexpected expenses, such as funeral...

M. Charles Bakst: Fire aftermath: Sue Carcieri steps up front
You may have noticed Sue Carcieri on Sunday, face alternately anguished and thoughtful, a woman amid the sea of elected officials surrounding her husband at news media briefings on the West Warwick fire.

City tightens fire safety pyrotechnics regulations
CRANSTON -- To comply with a state mandate following last week's fire at The Station nightclub, in West Warwick, Mayor Stephen P. Laffey issued an executive order yesterday regarding fire safety and pyrotechnics.

02/25/2003

Only 4 of club fire's 97 dead remain to be ID'd
CRANSTON / Updated 5:55 p.m. -- Medical examiners have identified all but four of the 97 victims who died in The Station fire last week, Governor Carcieri said this afternoon.

Investigation widens; governor seeks federal assistance
The investigation into Thursday's catastrophic fire in West Warwick broadened yesterday with a law enforcement official saying police had searched the home of a co-owner of The Station nightclub and subpoenaed three members of the band Great White.

Profiles of the victims
The Journal plans to publish photographs and profiles highlighting the lives of those who died in the fire at The Station. The goal is to tell the stories of how they lived so they will not only be remembered for how they died.

A partial list of victims
Updated 7 p.m. / This is a partial list of people involved in the fire at The Station. The list was compiled from information supplied by the governor's office, Rhode Island Department of Health, the hospitals, relatives, and friends of the victims.

Burned victims facing skin grafts, surgeries -- and then the tough part begins
BOSTON -- The most badly burned victims of Thursday's fire are waking up into a world most could never have imagined. It is a world of repeated surgeries, of continual dressing changes, of days spent as lone occupants of isolation rooms -- rooms...

Latest list of those who died
State officials today released the following list of 26 names of those who died in The Station fire in West Warwick last Thursday. At least 97 people were killed in the fire. As of this afternoon, four remain to be identified. Previously, state officials have publicly released the names of 43 of those victims.

78 of dead have been identified
CRANSTON -- On a day in which 24 more victims of The Station fire were revealed, Governor Carcieri ordered all state flags at half-staff until further notice and President Bush expressed his sympathy "for what we are going through here."

Vigils embrace mourners
Grieving families gathered for prayer yesterday at St. Gregory the Great Church in Warwick, some clutching photographs of relatives killed in the fire at The Station nightclub last Thursday.

At some schools, the atmosphere is somber
After their winter break was marred by the deadliest fire in Rhode Island's history, students and teachers returned to school yesterday and marked the fire's toll -- one parent, teacher and friend at a time.

Fire inspectors begin checking nightclubs
Just hours after the deadly fire at The Station, Providence fire inspectors walked into 10 of the city's most popular nightclubs without warning -- and found minor problems at every one.

New state panel will scrutinize fire-safety codes
Central Falls Fire Chief Rene R. Coutu scanned the shelf in his office and pulled out a shiny-red, 500-page book titled Rhode Island Fire Laws and Rules.

Pyrotechnic expert: More than 'a passive OK' needed
Approval from the owners of The Station to set off fireworks inside the nightclub would not have been enough for a professional pyrotechnician intent on conducting a safe show, an internationally known pyrotechnician said yesterday.

MoneyLine by Neil Downing: Who will pay for this huge loss?
CRANSTON -- Who's to blame?

TV coverage ethics an issue as reporter becomes the story
"This is Channel 12's worst nightmare," said Kathy Gazda, news director for Channel 6.

R.I. Hospital doctor 'optimistic' on recovery for burn victims
Doctors at Rhode Island Hospital began more aggressive treatments yesterday for those most severely wounded in the West Warwick fire.

Mark Patinkin: 'This is Bob. I'm okay.'
They say that in so small a state, it's likely each of us knew someone in the fire.

Phone numbers for victims' families
Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency, victims hot line: (401) 462-7111

Help and memorial services
The Coventry Credit Union is collecting money at each of its branches for the Rhode Island Chapter of the American Red Cross's Fire Prevention Training Program, in connection with local emergency-management associations. People can put cash...

Limp Bizkit singer promises benefit for fire victims
Limp Bizkit lead singer Fred Durst says he is "horrified" at last Thursday's fire at The Station in West Warwick, and wants to put together a benefit concert for the families of victims.

Mark Patinkin: 'This is Bob. I'm okay.'
They say that in so small a state, it's likely each of us knew someone in the fire.

02/24/2003

Mourners gather as more names of victims released
Updated 6:33 p.m. / Mourners are gathering tonight and state flags are flying at half mast for the 97 people killed and the nearly 200 injured in the fire at The Station nightclub in West Warwick.

AG Lynch seeks more cooperation from club owners
CRANSTON / 6:45 p.m. -- Atty. Gen. Patrick C. Lynch wants more cooperation from the owners of The Station nightclub in investigating the fire at the club that killed at least 97 last week.

R.I. fire marshals begin to inspect clubs
PROVIDENCE / 4:40 p.m. -- The state began today what could be a lengthy review of its minimum fire code, with emergency inspections of nightclubs following a deadly inferno that claimed at least 97 lives.

Club fire death toll hits 97 as families mourn
Pathologists racing to match dental records to the bodies recovered from The Station nightclub fire have one more to identify, the 97th, discovered at the site on Saturday and publicly disclosed yesterday.

A partial list of victims
Updated 5:25 p.m. / This is a partial list of people involved in the fire at The Station. The list was compiled from information supplied by the Rhode Island Department of Health, the hospitals, relatives, and friends of the victims.

Profiles of the victims
The Journal plans to publish photographs and profiles highlighting the lives of those who died in the fire at The Station. The goal is to tell the stories of how they lived so they will not only be remembered for how they died.

Rhode Islanders steel themselves for the list of dead
As the list of The Station's dead slowly grows, people in this tiny state can't escape one sinking, dreadful thought:

An agonizing hospital vigil for family of burn victim
PROVIDENCE -- When Brittney LaBree saw her Aunt Terry yesterday, she had to turn away. The burns were horrible.

Burn victims have made remarkable strides, doctors say
They are burned, they're still coughing up soot. But they are alive. All of the nightclub patrons rushed to hospitals Thursday night are still alive.

250 pray for victims at chapel healing service
PROVIDENCE -- Strangers gathered at The Station nightclub Thursday night to celebrate rock 'n' roll, and last night strangers gathered to pray and sing for those rock 'n' rollers who never made it out of the fire.

Religious community reaches out to offer solace
WEST WARWICK -- Even before the hellish flames on Cowesett Avenue were quelled, West Warwick's priests and ministers were busy attending to the souls of the living and the dead.

Attendance is mixed at local clubs following Thursday's fire
The Arctic normally packs them in on Saturday nights, with 45 to 50 people crowding this snug little bar in downtown West Warwick to enjoy some live foot-stomping country music. "Usually, you can't get a seat in here," said owner Jackie Couto.

Communities across U.S. taking new look at fire laws
Thursday's nightclub fire in West Warwick and a deadly stampede in a Chicago club just three days earlier have cities across the nation rewriting fire and building codes and demanding immediate inspections to head off more disasters.

Help and memorial services
The Coventry Credit Union is collecting money at each of its branches for the American Red Cross of Rhode Island Chapter's Fire Prevention Training Fund, in connection with local emergency management associations. People can put cash donations in...

Phone numbers for victims' families
Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency, victims hot line: (401) 462-7111

02/23/2003

Death toll at club fire now at 97
CRANSTON / Updated 7:22 p.m. -- The death toll from the disastrous fire at a West Warwick nightclub has risen by one to 97, Governor Carcieri announced this evening.

Partial list of victims
Here is a partial list of people involved in the fire at The Station.

Families begin to get news they were dreading
WEST WARWICK -- As the first names of the dead were revealed yesterday, a procession of cars clogged the road where The Station nightclub fire took 96 lives -- a harbinger of processions to come.

Profiles of known victims
The Journal plans to publish photographs and profiles highlighting the lives of those who died in the fire at The Station. The goal is to tell the stories of how they lived so they will not only be remembered for how they died. These profiles are as of press time on Saturday night, Feb. 22.

Carcieri's agenda put aside by tragedy
CRANSTON -- The Station nightclub disaster has become the sole priority of Governor Carcieri's administration, eclipsing, for now, many of the regular functions of his office, including the presentation of his state budget.

Federal disaster team to help in identifying bodies
PROVIDENCE -- Whether someone had ever been arrested and fingerprinted, broken a bone or been tattooed could prove crucial to identifying them from among the nearly 90 unidentified victims of The Station nightclub fire.

Sound foam common in music clubs
Paul Hoogerzeil has worked and played at lots of music clubs in Rhode Island, Los Angeles and elsewhere, and nothing about The Station ever struck him as unsafe or worrisome. In fact, it was his favorite local club.

02/24/2003

A first-person account from a survivor
The following is a first-person account of The Station fire by one of its survivors, Robert Riffe, 22, of Ashaway, R.I., who has asked projo.com to post his story in the hope that his thanks will reach the unknown person who saved him from the blaze.

02/23/2003

Amid screams, rescue workers go about grim task
An army of the wounded greeted firefighter Peter Ginaitt when he reached West Warwick's Cowesett Inn restaurant shortly after 11 Thursday night.

Friends lost during frantic escape
WEST WARWICK -- There's no doubt in Robin Petrarca's mind that she got out of The Station because she knows the building.

Rescuers can't stop reliving fire, hearing the screams
WEST WARWICK -- Each time the emergency calls blared out, they raced out of the station in seconds, sirens wailing.

TV newsman, club owner ranked by sobs
WARWICK -- Wearing a light blue oxford shirt and blue blazer, and styled hair, Jeffrey Derderian walked into the glare of television lights last night and faced the camera.

Services:
Organizations throughout the state are making efforts to help the families and victims of the fire:

M. Charles Bakst: The fire shows human faces of politicians
I will remember Friday's body bags, the blood-splattered cars, and the emergency workers' purple disposable gloves.

Mark Patinkin: 'You just make plans for the end'
This, I thought, must be what it's like after a commercial airliner crashes. The Support Center was in the Crowne Plaza hotel in Warwick. Inside, hundreds of people were waiting for word. The Red Cross needed several ballrooms to accommodate...

Corrections
The name of WHJY disc jockey The Doctor was spelled incorrectly in yesterday's Journal. Mike Gonsalves, 40, of Warwick, is missing and presumed dead.

02/22/2003

Dental records sought to help ID victims
State officials are seeking dental records of possible victims of the West Warwick club fire as they push forward in the task of identify the bodies pulled from the wreckage.

With photos in hand, families hold out hope
PROVIDENCE -- Grief-stricken, Patricia Belanger scurried to the entrance of Hasbro Children's Hospital and waved a picture in front of a newspaper reporter and photographer.

Shattered families wait for news
They waited.

Organizations act to aid fire victims
Organizations throughout the state moved yesterday to make it easier for Rhode Islanders to help the families and victims of the fire:

From special effects to deadly inferno in just 56 seconds
In the startling video shot by WPRI-TV cameraman Brian Butler, the pyrotechnic tubes ignited by the band Great White gush upward furiously, fountains of brilliant sparks that within seconds merge with the ceiling panels and walls of the doomed...

A long history, but few problems
WEST WARWICK -- Over the years, the wooden building at 211 Cowesett Ave. has played many roles -- a hangout for World War II sailors, a family restaurant and finally a club that was often filled as various bands performed on its stage.

Names of 7 fire victims made public
CRANSTON / 1 p.m. -- State officials have released the names of seven victims of the the deadly fire at The Station on Thursday night. They are the first names of those who died to be made public.

Partial list of victims
Here is a partial list of people who were admitted to or treated at hospitals, who escaped the fire safely, or who are still unaccounted for. The list was compiled from information supplied by the hospitals, relatives and friends of the victims.

'Minor' concerns found, resolved
WEST WARWICK -- A fire inspection of The Station three months ago found several problems with the nightclub, including exit signs that were not working and an exit door that opened in the wrong direction.

M. Charles Bakst: The fire shows human faces of politicians
I will remember yesterday's body bags, the blood-splattered cars, and the emergency workers' purple disposable gloves.

Nation's media converge on town
WEST WARWICK -- The video starts with a club jammed with beery revelers rocking to a live band and an indoor fireworks display. It turns quickly to horror as the music stops, fire engulfs the room, and the screams of people trapped inside are...

WHJY DJ The Doctor is among missing
PROVIDENCE -- The man whose voice kept Rhode Island rock 'n' rollers company through night's darkest hours for nearly 20 years is missing and presumed dead.

Centreville Savings watches out for its extended 'family'
WEST WARWICK -- Robert O. Pare typically arrives at the Centreville Savings Bank in the heart of West Warwick around 7 a.m.

Rescuers found burn victims wandering a surreal scene
Warwick Fire Chief Jack Chartier said, "People were running down the street on fire when we got here. It was horrific. It's the worst thing I've seen in my life. I hope I never see it again."

Fire triggers medical disaster plan
Between 11 p.m. Thursday and 12:01 a.m. yesterday, the pagers of hundreds of doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists and other staff at Rhode Island and Kent County Memorial Hospitals sounded to life.

Most severe victims treated at Mass. General
BOSTON -- On first glance, it looked to be just another morning at Massachusetts General Hospital. Doctors in scrubs and nurses with patients bustled along the corridors. The line at the pharmacy was long. The hospital's two cafes and main...

Recovery from burns like running marathon -- over and over
As doctors in Massachusetts and Rhode Island work to save the victims of the West Warwick nightclub fire, their main job is to keep the patients alive long enough to heal themselves.

Sprinklers weren't required, but could have slowed fire
No fire sprinklers activated when flames began to engulf The Station because the nightclub didn't have sprinklers and none were required.

Fire marshal thought disaster would be 'remote' in R.I.
PROVIDENCE -- Just 10 hours before the start of the fatal fire at The Station nightclub in West Warwick, State Fire Marshal Irving J. Owens told a reporter for The Providence Journal that the chances of a catastrophic nightclub fire happening in...

Pyro experts: Band selected wrong fireworks
It's dangerous enough detonating fireworks in a cavernous arena like the Dunkin' Donuts Center, so pyrotechnics and venue experts said they were dumbfounded to see yesterday's news video of fireworks being set off in a small nightclub like The...

Who is Great White?
Great White, the band onstage during the horrific fire at The Station in West Warwick, is a hardy survivor of the Los Angeles metal boom of the '80s.

Shocked club owners emphasize safety
"Everyone knows everyone. This really hits home."

Winter Carnival off because of tragedy
The IceFire Winter Carnival that had been planned for this weekend in downtown Providence was canceled by its organizers, the Providence Tourism Council, after a consultation yesterday morning with Mayor David Cicilline, during which it was decided...

02/21/2003

Death toll from W. Warwick club fire soars to 96
WEST WARWICK / Updated 9 p.m. -- At least 96 people were killed after a Cowesett Avenue nightclub burst into flames during a pyrotechnics display at a rock concert last night, igniting the deadliest fire in Rhode Island's history and the nation's worst nightclub fire in 25 years.

Hospitals handling club fire cases
A list of hospitals receiving patients from Warwick, R.I., nightclub fire, as of 3:30 p.m.

Fire investigators face many questions
5:55 p.m / The deadliest fire in Rhode Island's history raises many questions for investigators.

Clubs tell of Great White's use of pyrotechnics
5:26 p.m / Operators of several clubs around the country, including a Rhode Island nightclub where scores of people died in a fire, said today that the band Great White did not tell them ahead of time they would use pyrotechnics in their show.

Statement from The Station owners
A statement released by Kathleen M. Hagerty, a lawyer representing the owners of The Station Concert Club:

Reaction to the fire
Reaction to the nightclub fire in West Warwick, from witness, state officials and more:

IceFire events, memorial service cancelled
PROVIDENCE / Updated 4:05 p.m. -- Mayor David N. Cicilline and the Providence Tourism Council have cancelled all of this weekend's IceFire carnival events in the wake of the fatal nightclub fire in West Warwick.

The Station tuned into '80s bands For three weekends after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, The Station Concert Club hosted "Tunes Against Terrorism" -- 25 bands raising money for the Red Cross to help the families of victims.

N.J. club owner: Band didn't tell us about pyrotechnics
NEWARK, N.J. / 12:15 p.m. -- The owner of a well-known New Jersey rock 'n' roll club said the band Great White failed to tell him they would use pyrotechnics for a concert there a week before the deadly blaze last night at the band's show in Rhode Island.

Pyrotechnics also blamed for small fire in Minneapolis club earlier this week
MINNEAPOLIS / 2 p.m. -- About 120 people escaped unharmed Monday night after a band's pyrotechnic display apparently set the ceiling on fire at a Minneapolis club, The Associated Press reported Tuesday.

Sixty years after Cocoanut Grove, how could it happen again?
BOSTON / 3:16 p.m. -- After a fire ripped through Boston's Cocoanut Grove nightclub, killing almost 500 people, stringent fire protection standards were put in place across the country. Sixty years later, after a raging fire in a Rhode Island nightclub killed more than 85, the question was being asked: How could it happen again?

Deadly U.S. club and dance hall fires
Some of the deadliest fires at U.S. clubs and dance halls:

Many feared dead, scores injured as fire rips through West Warwick club
WEST WARWICK -- A deadly fire ripped through a West Warwick nightclub last night, killing an unknown number of patrons and burning and injuring scores, many critically.

Scores injured in W. Warwick club fire
WEST WARWICK -- Fire broke out in a crowded nightclub here late last night and dozens of patrons were reported seriously burned or injured.