Digital Extra: The Station Fire

In new court filings this week, the state also says that the nightclub's owners repeatedly disregarded the limit of 404 and gave other bands permission to use pyrotechnics in their acts.

08:20 AM EST on Thursday, March 24, 2005

BY TRACY BRETON
Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE -- State prosecutors say they intend to prove that there were 458 people inside The Station the night of the deadly fire at the nightclub -- 54 more than were allowed under limits set by the West Warwick fire marshal.

In newly filed court papers, prosecutors in the office of Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch also contend that Michael A. and Jeffrey A. Derderian "repeatedly and intentionally disregarded the maximum capacity of 404 that the West Warwick Fire Marshal prescribed for The Station" and never told their employees how many people could legally be inside the club at any one time.

They also assert, in Monday's court filings, that in the three years that they operated their nightclub before the fire, the Derderians gave permission to various bands to use pyrotechnics, even though they had installed highly flammable polyurethane foam on the ceiling and walls of the club as soundproofing near the stage.

The new court papers were submitted by prosecutors in response to a request by the Derderians and a third defendant, Daniel M. Biechele, the former tour manager for the rock band Great White, for more particularized information on the state's involuntary mansalughter case against them.

The Derderians and Biechele -- who ignited the fireworks inside The Station that set the foam ablaze -- each face 200 counts of involuntary manslaughter for the deaths of 100 people at a concert the night of Feb. 20, 2003. All three have pleaded not guilty.

The defendants stand indicted under two theories of involuntary manslaughter: misdemeanor manslaughter and criminal negligence.

In the case of the Derderians, the alleged underlying misdemeanor is a violation of a state fire-code regulation that required them to use flame-retardant acoustic material in their nightclub. In the case of Biechele, the underlying misdemeanor is setting off pyrotechnics at The Station without the required permit.

In laying out more of its case against the Derderians, prosecutors contend in the new public filing that from March 1, 2000, to the night of the deadly fire, the brothers were aware that musical groups employed by them "used special effects in their acts, including, but not limited to, pyrotechnics, open flames, flash pots and gerbs." The prosecutors said these special effects were being used in plain view.

The court papers don't indicate how many times this occurred but cite one specific case: "On or about May 25, 2002," they say, Michael Derderian told John Mellini, a member of the band Holy Diver, "that his band could use special effects, including, but not limited to, a flash pot, at The Station during its performance that evening [but] to be careful and to coordinate the use of the special effects with Paul Vanner, the sound technician at The Station."

HOW PROSECUTORS were able to determine that there were 458 people inside The Station the night of the fire is not disclosed in the new court papers. The Providence Journal -- based on interviews with victims, their survivors, and others who escaped from the deadly blaze without injury -- was able to document that there were 440 people inside the club when the fire broke out.

In their new court filing, prosecutors say the legal limit for the club was 404. They say they will prove during the trial that the Derderians repeatedly violated that limit -- which was set by the town. They base this assertion on interviews of witnesses who, they say, will testify to specific instances when there was overcrowding, and on financial records seized from DERCO, the corporation under which the Derderians ran their club.

Prosecutors also contend that the Derderians "repeatedly represented the capacity of the club to be in excess of the prescribed limit" in advertisements, contracts and other documents and that they failed to "conspicuously post" the maximum capacity for their nightclub or inform their workers that no more than 404 people could be allowed in.

In the new court filing, the prosecutors also allege that the door adjacent to the stage of The Station did not open in the direction of exit travel and did not have the requisite panic hardware as required by law. In the court papers, prosecutors assert that the Derderians "repeatedly installed or re-installed (or instructed an employee of The Station to do so) an inward swinging door" near the stage "that lacked any hardware."

As for Biechele, prosecutors assert that he was never licensed to perform pyrotechnics displays in any state and that he had never received any training on how to safely use, handle or store pyrotechnics.

Prosecutors say that Detective Cpl. John Killian of the Rhode Island State Police conducted a forensic examination of Biechele's laptop computer after The Station fire. They say that Killian's examination of the computer shows that Biechele -- who never applied for a permit to set off fireworks for Great White at The Station -- "was familiar with the need to secure the appropriate permits for such displays."

At one time, Biechele was tour manager for another band, WASP, and prosecutors say information found on Biechele's computer shows that Biechele "contacted licensed pyrotechnicians to conduct the WASP pyrotechnics display."

According to the prosecutors, Robert Hutchins, a witness who testified before the grand jury investigating The Station fire, said that he had assisted Biechele in setting off fireworks for WASP at in other clubs and for a movie entitled Metal God and that there had been "a conflict between Hutchins and [Biechele] over the inability of Hutchins to use pyrotechnics due to a lack of appropriate permits."

Prosecutors also say that while Biechele was employed as tour manager for WASP, "a license number belonging to Scott J. Ward, a licensed pyrotechnician, was used to purchase pyrotechnics for use by that band" but that Ward told them that his license was used without his permission.

Rhode Island prosecutors assert that as the pyrotechnician responsible for setting up and igniting the fireworks display at The Station the night of Feb. 20, 2003, Biechele had a duty "to be aware of the fall-out radius of his pyrotechnics devices, to inspect the interior finish in the area of the fall-out zone and to keep the fall-out away from any flammable material."

They say that the charcoal-gray polyurethane foam that the Derderians installed as soundproofing at The Station was clearly visible on the walls and ceiling of the club and was within inches of where Biechele set up the fireworks.

"The defendant did not inquire as to the flammability of the foam," they say.

The trial of the criminal case won't begin until sometime next year. Prosecutors and lawyers for the Derderians and Biechele met yesterday with Superior Court Judge Francis J. Darigan Jr. in chambers for about 1 1/2 hours but nothing was put on the record about the conference.

The next pretrial conference for the criminal case is scheduled April 1.