Digital Extra: The Station Fire

Irving Owens, who became a target of criticism after the Station nightclub fire, is leaving of his own accord, the governor's office says.

01:00 AM EST on Saturday, December 17, 2005

BY SCOTT MacKAY
Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE -- State Fire Marshal Irving J. Owens, the veteran official who became a lightning rod for criticism in the aftermath of the 2003 Station nightclub fire that killed 100 people and injured 200 more, announced yesterday that he is retiring.

Owens, 65, who held the state's top fire-safety job for a decade, made his resignation effective Dec. 23, Governor Carcieri's office said in a statement.

"Irving Owens had a distinguished career in the field of fire safety," Carcieri said. "Irving has dedicated his life to fire safety, and his tireless efforts to improve the prevention and investigation of fires has contributed to making Rhode Island one of the leaders in fire safety.

"His work in this area, as well as his leadership in expanding and modernizing the office of state fire marshal, has been widely recognized," Carcieri said.

Owens left on his own and was not urged to retire by Carcieri, said Jeff Neal, Carcieri's spokesman. "He chose to leave," Neal said.

In a letter of resignation dated Dec. 15 and provided last night by Neal, Owens informed Carcieri, "It is with great emotion and after much thought and consideration that I write to notify you that I am retiring from my position as the State Fire Marshal effective Dec. 23, 2005. As you know, I have recently had some health problems that have caused me to re-evaluate my future plans. Accordingly, after much discussion with my wife and family, I firmly believe that the time has come for me to leave State service and focus my attention on my health and my family. I am grateful for the oppoertunity to have served the State of Rhode Island as State Fire Marshal."

The governor has not decided on a sucessor or how he will search for a new marshal. "No decisions have been made," Neal said.

Owens worked as a firefighter and in fire safety for the city of Warwick for 28 years before being appointed state fire marshal in 1995 by then-Gov. Lincoln Almond. Owens has about a dozen years in the state pension system, so he will probably be eligible for a pension, Neal said.

The office was a quiet backwater of state government for many years. That all changed on the night of Feb. 20, 2003, when the West Warwick nightclub fire became the worst state disaster since the Hurricane of 1938.

Suddenly Owens was thrust into the glare of the media and exposed to the anger and grief of fire victims and their families. A burly man with a soft-spoken manner, he didn't play well on TV or with victims' families.

The victims and their families were upset that local fire inspectors in West Warwick -- who were trained by the state fire marshal's office -- failed to cite flammable packing foam used as soundproofing inside the club.

The fire started when fireworks were set off indoors by the tour director for the rock band Great White, which performed at The Station that evening. The fire climbed the walls quickly and ripped through the club once it hit the highly flammable foam, which had been installed by club owners in an effort to limit rock 'n' roll noise from leaking into the nearby residential neighborhood.

In June, a group of survivors presented Carcieri with a petition signed by 675 people requesting that the governor appoint a new fire marshal.

But Owens was not without friends and allies, especially in the state's tight-knit firefighting community. The Rhode Island Association of Fire Chiefs, for example -- the group that represents state municipal fire chiefs -- came to Owens' defense, collecting signatures for a petition on his behalf to counter the efforts of the fire victims.

Owens has maintained that his staff properly trained the West Warwick inspectors and that the state fire marshal's office had no control over whether the local inspectors noticed that the foam was a fire hazard.

Lawsuits on behalf of fire survivors and relatives of those who died included Owens as a defendant. A complaint filed by a group of plaintiffs in July 2004 named dozens of defendants and asserted that Owens was negligent in failing to discover the foam.

But senior U.S. District Judge Ronald Lagueux ruled recently that Owens was shielded from any civil liability in the case and dismissed him as a defendant.

The West Warwick fire was a catalyst for stricter state fire codes. The fire marshal's office was also given more money and staff. When the fire occurred, the office had 21 authorized positions but only 14 people working. The office has grown to 32 people, and Carcieri has proposed adding 6 more next year.

Neal said Carcieri would be considering how to handle the top vacancy "over the next couple of days."

Carcieri said Owens' "work on behalf of the state is greatly appreciated by this administration and the people of Rhode Island."