Digital Extra: The Station Fire

Although the National Institute of Standards and Technology will miss its April deadline, it now says it expects to complete its study of the fire by the end of this year.

01:00 AM EST on Friday, February 20, 2004

BY PAUL EDWARD PARKER
Journal Staff Writer

The federal agency investigating The Station nightclub fire announced yesterday it has rethought its decision to delay completion of the study until 2005.

"We've decided to move forward with the Rhode Island investigation as expeditiously as possible," Michael Newman, a spokesman for the National Institute of Standards and Technology, said yesterday. "We expect to complete the project this year."

On Tuesday, Newman announced that his agency would miss its April target for completing the investigation because it does not have enough money. He said the study probably would not be completed until 2005, after the new federal budget year begins. He said it could happen sooner if Congress approved more money for the institute.

But yesterday, Newman said the agency will rearrange its priorities to move up the Station investigation, rather than waiting for more money. He said officials still have not determined when this year the study would be finished because they are still reviewing how to pay for it. They expect to have a clearer picture in the next few days.

A subdivision of the agency, called the National Construction Safety Team, is examining why the fire a year ago today spread through the West Warwick nightclub so fast and why more people were not able to escape unharmed. More than 200 people were injured and 100 died as a result of the fire started by a rock band's indoor fireworks display. The federal investigation is not looking to assign blame for the tragedy.

Sen. Jack Reed said yesterday he was upset when he learned the federal study was going to be delayed, especially after having met with the officials in charge of the investigation to pledge his support in making sure they had the resources they needed to do their work.

Reed said he contacted Arden L. Bement Jr., director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology. "He was as much surprised as we were," said Reed. "He assured me he is going to find the funding."

Reed said completing the investigation is crucial for two reasons. "It's an important issue for the families, who really want to know as much as possible what happened there," he said. "Just as important, this is a situation where we can help avoid tragedies in other places by understanding what happened."

Reed's comments were echoed by Rep. James Langevin, whose district includes the West Warwick site where The Station stood. "I hope [it] will help to bring closure for some of the families so they can begin to heal," said Langevin, adding it will bring comfort to the families to know the study will help prevent future tragedies.

The National Construction Safety Team Advisory Committee in December recommended that Congress give the Natoinal Construction Safety Team a yearly budget of $2 million, plus a $2-million reserve fund to be used when investigating disasters.

The team was established in the wake of the collapse of the World Trade Center towers after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The team is also investigating the World Trade Center disaster, but has $16 million for that purpose from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The Station fire was the first -- and so far the only -- investigation started after the team was established.

In its examination of the Station fire, the team has built a replica of the nightclub's stage area, which was covered with flammable packaging foam used as soundproofing. The team conducted test burns of the replica, with and without sprinklers in place, to see how installing sprinklers would have changed what happened at The Station.

The team also is working on a sophisticated computer model of how the fire spread through the building.

Investigators still want to hear from anybody who has information about The Station and the fire. They can be reached by phone, toll-free, at (877) 451-8001; by fax, at (301) 975-6122; by e-mail, at ncst [at] nist.gov, and by mail, at NCST Rhode Island Investigation, NIST, 100 Bureau Drive, Stop 8660, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8660.