Digital Extra: The Station Fire

04:19 PM EST on Friday, December 16, 2005

By SCOTT MacKAY
Journal staff writer

PROVIDENCE -- State Fire Marshal Irving J. Owens, the veteran fire safety official who became a lightning rod for criticism in the aftermath of The Station nightclub fire that killed 100 people and injured 200 more, announced today that he is retiring.

Owens, who held the state's top fire safety job for a decade, made his resignation effective Dec. 23, Governor Carcieri's office said in a statement.

He has been working under an expired appointment and had sought reappointment.

"Irving Owens had a distinguished career in the field of fire safety,'' said Carcieri . "Irving has dedicated his life to fire safety and his tireless efforts to improve the prevention and investigation of fires has contributed to making Rhode Island one of the leaders in fire safety.''

"His work in this area, as well as his leadership in expanding and modernizing the office of state fire marshal has been widely recognized,'' said Carcieri.

Carcieri spokesman Jeff Neal said the governor has not decided on a sucessor or how he will search for a new marshal. "No decisions have been made,'' said Neal.

Neal said Owens delivered his retirement letter to the governor yesterday and chose to leave the post on his own.

Owens worked in fire safety for the city of Warwick for 28 years before being appointed state fire marshal in 1995 by then-Gov. Lincoln Almond.

The office was a sleepy backwater of state government for many years. That all changed on Feb. 20, 2003, the night of West Warwick nightclub fire became one of the state's worst disasters.

Suddenly Owens was thrust under the heavy glare of the media and the anger and grief of fire victims and their families. A beefy man with a soft-spoken manner, he didn't play well either on television or with victim's families.

The victims and their families were upset that local fire inspectors in West Warwick -- who were trained by the state fire marshal's office -- failed to cite flammable packing foam used as soundproofing inside the club.

The fire started when indoor fireworks were set off for a performance that night for the rock band Great White. The fire climbed the walls quickly and ripped through the club once it hit the highly flammable foam, which had been installed by club owners in an effort to limit noise from leaking into the nearby residential neighborhood.

Last June, a group of nightclub survivors presented Carcieri with a petition signed by by 675 people requesting that the governor appoint a new fire marshal.

Owens was also recently dropped as a defendant in civil lawsuits stemming from The Station fire.

Three employees of the state fire marshal's office had also sued Owens and two of his top deputies, alleging under the Whistleblowers' Protection Act that they had been harassed and denied civil rights.

-- With Associated Press reports