Digital Extra: The Station Fire

02:02 PM EDT on Wednesday, August 18, 2004

By JACK PERRY
projo.com staff writer

PROVIDENCE -- As requested, state agencies that dealt with The Station nightclub fire and its aftermath have given Governor Carcieri their reactions to a security consultant's report on the state's handling of the tragedy.

The Titan Corp. report praised many of the individuals who came to the aid of victims of the Feb. 20, 2003 fire, which killed 100 and injured 200. But it also found widespread flaws, including consistent communications problems, in the state emergency system for handling such disasters.

After Titan delivered its report last month, Governor Carcieri told the affected agencies and departments to forward him their responses to Titan's 379 recommendations within a month. Some of those recommendations highlighted successes in Rhode Island's response, while others noted areas that need improvement.

Carcieri today released the responses from the four agencies and departments: the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency, the Rhode Island Department of Health, the Department of Mental Health, Retardation and Hospitals and the Rhode Island State Police.

The agencies and departments appear to agree with most of the recommendations. In some cases, they note that the issue at question is the responsibility of local authorities.

The state isn't waiting to implement some of the recommendations, according to Rhode Island National Guard Maj. Gen. Reginald A. Centracchio, director of the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency.

"It is important to note that the State of Rhode Island is already in the process of implementing a number of recommendations included in the Titan Report," Centracchio wrote in a cover letter to Carcieri accompanying the responses. "In fact, many of the improvements suggested in the report were underway before Feb. 20, 2003."

Carcieri plans to review the responses in the coming weeks and hold a meeting of the agencies in the fall "to begin to chart out exactly what steps the state needs to take to address recommendations," the governor said in a statement.

Carcieri commended the four departments and agencies for undertaking a "serious evaluation of their own responses" to the fire.

"The challenge we must now face is learning from this tragedy and implementing the changes necessary to upgrade our statewide emergency response capabilities," he said.

Centracchio's letter warned that implementation could be expensive.

"Many Titan Report recommendations will require significant investments in funding and personnel," Centracchio wrote. "While we agree with many of these recommendations, implementation will neccessitate significant public policy decisions regarding the allocation of limited state resources."

-- With reports from Journal staff writer Mark Arsenault