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.
The governor announced the change in numbers at a press briefing late
this afternoon. As of yesterday, officials had said they had recovered
97 bodies, with four bodies still to be identified.
Carcieri said today that the final toll was determined after the medical
examiner completed a forensic examination of all the remains, many of
which the governor said were in "very difficult conditions." The more
detailed exam, including matching of records and other information,
confirmed that 96 had died at the scene, he said.
The governor also released four more names of those who had died,
bringing to 94 those publicly identified. He said officials are
withholding two names at the request of their families.
The newly identified victims are:
Dina Ann DeMaio, 30, West Warwick; Eric James Hyer, 32, Coventry;
Christopher Prouty, 34, Pawtucket; and Jeffrey Rader, 32, Danville,
Calif.
The governor said investigators still have one unresolved missing
persons report, but investigators believe that is an incorrect report
and the person was not at the club on the night of the fire. Carcieri
said, "There is no corroborating evidence."
He noted that officials initially received 117 reports of missing
persons. One of them was resolved Tuesday with the arrest of a West
Warwick man for filing a false report.
The governor also announced that the Station Nightclub Fire Relief Fund
has been established and is now issuing checks to needy victims and
their families. The fund has already received pledges in excess of
$500,000, according to Malcolm Chace, who is serving as honorary
co-chair with his wife, Elizabeth. The Chaces donated $100,000 of the
money raised so far.
The fund was established to avoid some of the questions that surfaced
with funds established following the Sept. 11 terrorist attack, Carcieri
said. He said Rhode Islanders should feel confident in giving to the
Station Night Club Relief Fund.
Rev. John E. Holt, executive minister of the Rhode Island Council of
Churches, is serving as chairman of the coordinating council for the
fund. The council includes the United Way, the Council of Churches, the
Rhode Island Chapter of the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army and
the Governor's office, among others.
Holt said all of the money raised would be used to fund the short-term
financial needs of victims and their families. The United Way is
absorbing administrative costs. Holt has met with many of the victims'
families over the past five days, and he says he feels "overwhelmed by
the responsibility of chairing this committee."
He said, "I've had grandfathers cry on my shoulder and little children
hold my hand and say, 'Pastor, why did this happen?' "
People who want to contribute to the fund should make checks payable to
"Station Nightclub Fire Relief Fund." Checks should be mailed in care of
United Way, 229 Waterman St., Providence, R.I. 02906. There is also an
online pledge form at
http://www.uwri.org/station
Earlier today, Carcieri and his wife, Sue, visited two Massachusetts
hospitals were seven persons burned in the fire are being treated. At
least 187 were injured in the blaze, the worst in the state's history.
About 60 remain hospitalized.
The Carcieris visited Shriners Hospital in Boston, which is treating
three patients, and the University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical
Center in Worcester, which is treating four. Carcieri thanked the staffs
at both hospitals and praised their work. The hospitals are handling
some of the most severely injured victims, who are being kept in
drug-induced comas to reduce pain and relieve stress on their systems.
"We are not out of the woods in terms of fatalities by a long shot,"
Carcieri said.
Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney met the Carcieris at Shriners Hospital
and toured the hospital with them. Shriners is a children's hospital
that specializes in treating burns. Carcieri said, "They tell me this is
the first time they've ever taken adults."
Romney "expressed his concern" and offered continued support, according
to Carcieri. Massachusetts has helped Rhode Island by sending rescue
workers and forensic experts. Carcieri thanked him for the state's help.
Carcieri noted that Massachusetts has also been significantly affected
by the fire. Thirty-four of the fatalities were Massachusetts residents.
"Although we go the brunt of this terrible disaster, Massachusetts is
sharing in the pain of it," Carcieri said.
Funerals were also being held today for several fire victims.
Investigators were also back at the fire scene in West Warwick today,
looking for personal artifacts.
Meanwhile, the grand jury investigating the deadliest fire in the
state's history is apparently taking a break from hearing testimony.
The statewide jury convened yesterday at the Rhode Island National
Guard's Camp Fogarty in East Greenwich. It heard testimony from several
witnesses, but is apparently not in session today.
Earlier this week, Atty. Gen. Patrick C. Lynch asked the Guard for
permission to use two classrooms at the facility.
Lt. Col. Michael McNamara, a spokesman for the Guard, said today, "The
attorney general's office has let us know they will not need the
facility at Camp Fogarty today. To our understanding, though, they have
asked that it be available for their use tomorrow."
Great White, a Los Angeles-based band, was playing its first song at The
Station Thursday night when pyrotechnics from its show apparently
ignited foam soundproofing material near the stage, quickly spreading
heavy smoke and flames throughout the wooden building.
Lead singer Jack Russell and band members Mark Kendall and Eric Powers
entered the Camp Fogarty complex yesterday morning. Lawyers for the band
members said none of them testified before the grand jury, but their
lawyers met with prosecutors assigned to the investigation.
Lawyers for the band Great White are believed to be in continued talks
with representatives for the attorney general's office regarding
potential testimony from their clients.
A national team formed last year to investigate building disasters
announced today that it is launching a formal investigation into the
fire.
The National Construction Safety Team, formed in October under the
Commerce Department's National Insitute of Standards and Technology,
will look into the location of windows and doors at The Station
nightclub, the number of patrons there the night of the deadly fire and
the type of construction materials that existed there.
The team will also examine whether lives could have been saved if the
club had an automatic sprinkler system.
The team was created in October to study building disasters the way the
National Transportation Safety Board investigates air crashes. It would
likely use its findings to make recommendations to fire safety groups
for improvements in building codes, said spokesman Michael Newman.
Separately, the National Fire Protection Association said it has called
for an immediate meeting of its top building code writers to review
safety issues for buildings where large groups of people assemble.
The nightclub's soundproofing is part of the criminal probe, Carcieri
said yesterday. Investigators are trying to determine whether the club
used an inexpensive and highly flammable brand that shouldn't have been
installed.
Tonight, the friends and families of the West Warwick fire victims are
invited to attend a peer support group tonight at 5:30 p.m. sponsored by
the Kent County Mental Health Center. The two-hour session will be held
at the Warwick Executive Park, 300 Centerville Rd., Summit South
Building, Suite 301 S, second floor, Room 204. Contact David Lauterbach
or Debbie Carroll, 401-732-5656.
-- With reports from Journal staff writer Neil Shea and the
Associated Press
