Digital Extra: The Station Fire

The state is cutting back the amount of money budgeted for victims of The Station fire after receiving fewer requests than predicted.

09:25 AM EST on Thursday, February 17, 2005

BY LIZ ANDERSON
Journal State House Bureau

PROVIDENCE -- Nearly two years after fire tore through The Station nightclub in West Warwick, state officials are scaling back how much state money they expect will be needed to help victims and their families.

Fewer people than predicted have applied for help from the state's Crime Victims Compensation Fund, managed by the General Treasurer's office. And those who have applied often need less than the full amount available, up to $25,000 apiece.

"What we're finding is that many of the expenses and the financial needs have been met through other resources," said Catherine Avila, deputy treasurer for administration in the treasurer's office. The situation, she said, "really speaks to the community response" and outpouring of help available through other sources for victims and survivors.

The crime victims fund takes in money from court fees and fines, federal grants, and, from time to time, state general revenue appropriations.

It is available to victims of the Feb. 20, 2003 fire, which took 100 lives, because three people have been charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the blaze, set off by errant fireworks: club owners Jeffrey and Michael Derderian, and band tour manager Dan Biechele.

To date, 256 people have applied to the treasurer's office for help from the victims fund. Of those, 117 requests totaling $937,799 -- an average of a little more than $8,000 each -- have been granted; the rest are pending, Avila said.

State law defines who is eligible. In most cases, it will be a person who survived the fire, seeking coverage for such things as treatment of physical wounds, counseling or lost wages, Avila said. But money is also available, in some cases, to families of those who died -- for example, to cover funeral costs or to provide aid for a dependent child.

The law declares that people must exhaust other avenues of aid first. For example, if they are seeking help with medical bills and have insurance, they can apply only for costs that are not covered by their policies.

Avila said the state originally added $800,000 in general revenue to the fund last year, then carried that money forward into the current year because it took more time than expected for claims to be filed and evaluated.

"We have to have a lot of backup documentation to demonstrate what the needs are . . . [and] that was coming in a bit slower than we expected," she said.

In addition to the money carried forward, another $1.1 million in federal money was earmarked in the current budget for fire-victim assistance, and the state added another $2.2 million in general revenues for that purpose, Avila said. But now, that extra $2.2 million does not appear to be needed, and the governor's proposed budget revisions would eliminate it, she said.

In the next budget year, which begins July 1, just $28,000 is earmarked for Station victims; by then, the state expects most claims will be paid, Avila said.