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.
Several of the musicians are expected to be called today when the grand jury returns to a National Guard complex in East Greenwich, according to sources close to the investigation.
Pyrotechnics fired moments into Great White's show last Thursday are blamed for igniting soundproofing around the stage of the West Warwick nightclub. The fire raced through the building in minutes, claiming 96 lives and injuring hundreds.
The death toll was reduced by one yesterday, after pathologists finished identifying all of the remains. Governor Carcieri explained that some of the bodies "were in very difficult conditions," which confused the count, but pathologists are now certain that all the victims have been accounted for.
The grand jury, which convened Wednesday, did not meet yesterday, but Jack Russell, the lead singer for Great White, met for several hours with prosecutors. Russell signed an agreement guaranteeing that anything he tells them in interviews cannot be used against him if prosecutors decide to charge him with a crime.
Russell is also seeking immunity from prosecution or a letter of non-prosecution from the attorney general's office for any possible testimony before the grand jury. By last night, neither had been offered by prosecutors, and Russell has been subpoenaed to testify this morning at Camp Fogarty, the National Guard training facility off Route 2.
Neil Philbin, Russell's lawyer, declined to comment on what -- if anything -- Russell told prosecutors.
A decision about whether to grant Russell immunity could come as early as today, according to a source close to the matter.
If Russell cannot get assurances that he will not be a target of the grand jury's investigation, he will probably invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
Once the band members testify, they are expected to leave Rhode Island. They could be called back for further questioning.
BROTHERS MICHAEL and Jeffrey Derderian, the club owners, have not been called to testify.
Jeffrey B. Pine, the lawyer representing Jeffrey Derderian, said the brothers have given investigators copies of documents that were lost in the fire. He declined to specify the nature of the documents, other than to say they relate to the nightclub.
Pine, who is in Atlanta on business, said he has been in constant communication with lawyer Kathleen M. Hagerty, who is representing Michael Derderian.
Hagerty was once a prosecutor for Pine, a former Rhode Island attorney general. "We will continue to assist investigators in any way that is feasible," Pine said. "We are doing that as a joint effort."
Atty. Gen. Patrick C. Lynch -- also a former prosecutor under Pine -- has said the Derderian brothers have not answered questions about the fire.
Jeffrey Derderian spoke to a prosecutor outside the club the night it burned. Michael Derderian, who was in Florida the night of the fire, has not spoken to investigators since returning to Rhode Island. Hagerty said he spoke to authorities by cell phone the morning after the fire.
Pine said he plans to meet with investigators next week -- without Jeffrey Derderian. "I haven't had a face-to-face meeting with anyone," he said. "I would like to sit down with them when I get back. I think I have a sense of what paths they are exploring."
REP. TIMOTHY A. Williamson, West Warwick town solicitor, said late yesterday that the grand jury had not yet subpoenaed any town records. Town Manager Wolfgang Bauer said that no one from the task force investigating the disaster has yet reviewed public records relating to the nightclub at 211 Cowesett Ave.
At West Warwick Town Hall yesterday, the dozens of prosecutors and investigators assigned to the case held the regular morning meeting in Town Council chambers. Detectives and fire officials passed in and out of Town Hall and the adjoining police headquarters all day.
Yesterday morning, a car registered to Jeffrey Derderian was parked outside the West Warwick Police Department, which is being used as the headquarters for the expanding investigation.
A few hours later, a woman got into the car and left without talking to reporters. It was unclear who she is, why she was driving Derderian's car, or whether she spoke to investigators.
Pine said he did not know anything about it.
A dozen investigators combed through the blackened remains of The Station fire site yesterday afternoon.
Onlookers peeked through the wire fence, covered in flower bouquets and teddy bears, as the searchers sorted dirt into bright orange buckets and paper bags. The rubble pile was littered with plastic water bottles, crushed cardboard boxes and purple rescuers' gloves.
Other workers sifted debris through a sieve. More than one onlooker remarked that it looked like an archaeological dig.
Officials from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives, the state police and the West Warwick and Providence Police Departments were on scene.
The site was quiet except for the sound of cars creeping by and a few soft sobs. Students on West Warwick school bus number 11 stared out their windows as they passed.
THE STATE revealed the names of four more of the dead yesterday; just two names remain secret pending notification of families.
The names are:
Dina Ann DeMaio, 30, of West Warwick;
Eric James Hyer, 32, of Coventry;
Christopher Prouty, 34, of Pawtucket;
Jeffrey Rader, 32, of Danville, Calif.
As Rhode Islanders mourned at wakes and funerals around the state, donations poured in to help the families of the victims.
The Station Nightclub Fire Relief Fund has raised about $500,000, which will be used to help meet "short-term needs," Carcieri said.
The Rev. John E. Holt, executive minister of the Rhode Island State Council of Churches, is chairman of the fund's coordinating council.
Holt pledged that all the money collected would go to the families. Some money was disbursed yesterday, he said.
Dozens of people hurt in the fire remain hospitalized, including 30 at Rhode Island Hospital. Burn victims require "extraordinary" amounts of care and staff time, Carcieri said. "It has stretched and stretched the resources of Rhode Island Hospital."
A federal team of about 20 burn specialists is coming this week to provide relief for the caregivers at Rhode Island Hospital, Carcieri said.
The specialists are civilians who work at medical facilities and who volunteer for teams in the National Disaster Medical System, said Tim Brown, a special assistant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Carcieri and Massachusetts Governor Romney yesterday visited some of the most severely burned victims who are in Shriners Hospital for Children in Boston and UMASS Memorial Medical Center in Worcester.
ANOTHER investigation was announced yesterday by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. NIST, under the U.S. Commerce Department, will lead a team of public and private-sector fire and safety experts in trying to determine the condition of the nightclub before the fire.
They will look at such things as building materials, the location and condition of doors and windows, the number of people in the club, and their approximate locations.
The team intends to reconstruct the fire with computer models; it will will try to determine if a sprinkler system might have made a difference; and it will analyze the response of the patrons "to better understand the impediments to safe egress," according to a NIST statement.
The investigation could result in recommendations for specific changes to building codes and practices nationwide, according to NIST.
The General Assembly is already working in that direction. Legislation that would require sprinklers and tougher fire-safety requirements in establishments such as The Station was introduced yesterday with the blessing of House Speaker William Murphy, D-West Warwick, and his Democratic leadership.
It would require older entertainment establishments to install sprinkler systems within five years. Owners of so-called Class C establishments -- those with capacities between 50 and 300 patrons -- would have to provide better information about entertainment. For example, club owners would have to notify the local fire chief at least 72 hours in advance of a live music event, said William Guglietta, chief of staff to House Majority Leader Gordon Fox, D-Providence.
The legislation would make any illegal use of pyrotechnics a felony and increase the financial responsibility level for use of pyrotechnics from the current $50,000 to $1 million.
The measure would also transfer regulation of pyrotechnics from local fire departments to the state fire marshal. And a firefighter would be required in all Class C establishments, unless the local fire chief granted an exemption.
Exit signs would have to be better marked and lighted, including a provision that requires floor lights for exits, said Guglietta, who drafted the measure.
In addition, fire-enforcement personnel would have an easier time citing an establishment for a violation of fire codes, said Guglietta.
"We believe this is a starting point for a discussion of new fire-safety regulations," said Larry Berman, spokesman for Murphy.
The bill was introduced yesterday and sent to the House Corporations Committee. It is sponsored by Rep. Williamson, D-West Warwick, and four House members who are firefighters: David Laroche, D-Woonsocket, Rene Menard, D-Lincoln, Peter Ginaitt, D-Warwick, and Norman Landroche, D-West Warwick.
The state got disappointing news yesterday when the Federal Emergency Management Agency, in a letter to Carcieri, turned down the governor's request to declare The Station fire a major disaster, which would have brought federal relief.
U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., said he was "disappointed and surprised by President Bush's decision."
"I urge the president to reconsider," Reed said in a statement.
U.S. Rep. Jim Langevin, D-R.I., said that "denying Rhode Island the requested disaster declaration not only places additional burdens and worries upon already hurting families, but it also neglects the enormous costs" to response agencies.
Carcieri said he was disappointed but not surprised by the decision from FEMA. "We have had excellent cooperation from federal officials to date and we expect this to continue," he said. "As we gather more information, we will consider the option to appeal."
U.S. Sen. Lincoln Chafee, a Republican, pledged his support if Rhode Island appeals.
With staff reports from Zachary Mider, Scott MacKay and Meaghan Wims.
