Digital Extra: The Station Fire

01:00 AM EST on Saturday, February 25, 2006

A documentary on the Discovery Times Channel tomorrow night will recount the Station nightclub fire. The one-hour program is called Decoding Disaster and is scheduled to air at 10 p.m. (Ch. 109 on Full Channel; Ch. 102 on Cox Digital Cable.)

The show looks at the Feb. 20, 2003, Station fire -- plus the Chicago nightclub stampede several days earlier -- through the eyes of Paul Wertheimer, a nationally recognized crowd safety expert. Most of the program focuses on the Station fire.

The show does an excellent job of retelling the events of the fire, as well as factors that led to the disaster. But little new information is presented. Six survivors, who have told their stories in other venues, offer compelling accounts of the fire.

The program also includes footage, shot by a Channel 12 cameraman, that has not been widely aired before. That includes potentially disturbing shots of a pile of concertgoers who tripped as they exited the club's front door. Several pictures taken inside the burning club by a freelance photographer are also shown.

-- PAUL EDWARD PARKER