The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration yesterday announced that it has fined the company that owns The Station nightclub $85,200 and the corporate entity for the band Great White $7,000 for alleged violations of federal workplace-safety laws.
The single biggest fine -- $70,000 -- is for the same problem noted three months prior to the nightclub fire in a report by a West Warwick fire inspector: an exit door near the nightclub's stage that swung in when it should have swung out.
The OSHA report, the first the federal agency has issued on The Station fire, also cited the presence of "highly flammable foam" surrounding the rear exit door near the stage and surrounding walls.
The Feb. 20 fire killed 100 people, including 4 Station employees and 3 other people who were working at the nightclub on the night of the fire.
The fines follow a six-month investigation into The Station fire launched by the Providence area office of OSHA, the federal agency that enforces regulations aimed at preventing on-the-job injuries and deaths.
Though the agency declined to disclose specifics of the investigation, an OSHA source said inspections generally involve a combination of on-site inspections, interviews and review of records and other data.
The $85,200 in OSHA fines marks the second time the company that owns The Station has been penalized for alleged violations related to its workplace operation.
The state Department of Labor and Training has leveled a separate $1.06-million penalty against Derco LLC for failure to carry the mandatory workers' compensation insurance coverage. The nightclub's owners, brothers Jeffrey and Michael Derderian, are appealing.
OSHA's $85,200 in fines against Derco LLC are based upon citations by OSHA investigators of one "willful" and six "serious" violations.
The alleged "willful" violation, for which Derco was fined $70,000, was for the exit door near the stage which "did not swing out in the direction of travel," according to the OSHA citation.
A willful violation means one that is "committed with an intentional disregard of, or plain indifference to, the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations," according to an OSHA fact sheet.
The Station's stage exit door was repeatedly cited by West Warwick fire inspectors during the last three years, according to a Providence Journal story published on March 4, 2003, detailing a review of the nightclub's fire-inspection records.
In one report, on Nov. 10, 2001, West Warwick fire inspector Denis Larocque listed in his remarks: "Exit door swings wrong direction (stage door)," according to the Journal story.
OSHA also cited six "serious" alleged violations, carrying fines totaling $15,200:
An interior exit door and surrounding walls were covered with highly flammable foam.
An exit door near the stage was not distinguishable from the walls due to its being covered by highly flammable foam.
The building had no written emergency action plan.
There was no written fire-prevention plan.
Employees were not trained to assist in a safe and orderly evacuation of other employees.
The employer did not inform employees of the fire hazards to which they would be exposed.
OSHA rates a violation as "serious" when "there is a substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result, and the employer knew, or should have known, of the hazard," according to OSHA's fact sheet.
OSHA fined Jack Russell Touring Inc. $7,000 for what it alleges is a "serious" violation related to its use of pyrotechnics on the night of the fire.
OSHA's report said, among other things, that pyrotechnic materials were not properly stored; there was no "walk-through" demonstration; the pyrotechnic operators were not properly licensed and approved; fire extinguishers "were not readily accessible" during the preparation; each pyrotechnic device was not separated from the audience by at least 15 feet; smoking was not prohibited within 25 feet of the pyrotechnics.
By law, the companies cited have 15 business days before the citations become final to either request an informal conference with the OSHA area director, or to contest the citations before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
Kathleen M. Hagerty, the lawyer representing Michael Derderian, said yesterday that an informal conference with the OSHA area director has been scheduled for Sept. 5.
"I'm not exactly sure what they're basing their findings on," Hagerty said. "Until I have that, I can't really comment on it."
Jeffrey B. Pine, the lawyer for Jeffrey Derderian, said of the OSHA findings: "Let's hear what the findings are based on and take it from there. If the violations have merit," Pine said, "the Derderians are prepared to accept responsibility for that just as they were prepared to accept responsibility for the workers' comp issue."
Pine said that the $85,200 fine by OSHA only underscores the fact that the $1.06-million penalty imposed by the state labor department is "off-the-charts and disproportionate" to the violation.
Edwin F. McPherson, the lead counsel for the band Great White and Jack Russell Touring Inc., yesterday called the OSHA findings "unfortunate" and "inappropriate."
"It wasn't Jack Russell Touring's workplace. It was The Station's workplace," McPherson said. As for something such as patrons smoking, he said, "how is the band supposed to stop that? Only the Derderians could have stopped that."
Lynn Arditi, a Journal staff writer, can be reached at larditi@projo.com
