Using the latest in computer science, a federal agency describes how the Station fire gained strength, with temperatures reaching 1,800 degrees.

09:17 AM EST on Friday, March 4, 2005

BY MARK ARSENAULT and PETER B. LORD
Journal Staff Writers

PROVIDENCE -- Ninety seconds after The Station nightclub caught fire on Feb. 20, 2003, gases inside the club were already hot enough to melt silver, although a federal investigation has concluded that fire sprinklers could have kept the club close to room temperature long enough for the crowd to escape.

The Feb. 20, 2003, fire killed 100 people. It inspired an overhaul of the state fire code, including mandatory sprinklers in nightclubs that hold more than 150 people.

After a two-year investigation, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, an agency under the U.S. Department of Commerce, yesterday released its 550-page draft report on the disaster, and its recommendations to improve fire codes.

Rhode Island's sprinkler requirement, criticized by some businesspeople as too harsh, may not be tough enough: NIST recommends sprinklers in all nightclubs, regardless of size.

NIST's $500,000 investigation drew heavily on video of the fire shot inside the club by a Channel 12 cameraman, and on reporting by The Providence Journal.

Other than NIST's findings on temperatures and the agency's meticulous analysis of how the fire spread, the report did not offer many startling revelations. NIST spokesmen said they hope their work and the videos they shot of test fires will help experts, such as those at the National Fire Protection Association, draft better codes, and encourage communities to embrace them.

"NFPA codes don't have impact unless local people adopt them," said William Grosshandler, who led NIST's investigation. "Over time there will be push-back [against stricter codes], so we hope our video helps resist that."

The Station report is the first investigation of its type that NIST has completed. The agency is also investigating the collapse of the World Trade Center towers in New York City.

NIST USED computers to construct a digital model of the nightclub. It used the model to study the spread of smoke and fire, temperature and the amount of oxygen.

To run the model, investigators used eight high-speed computers clustered to work as one supercomputer. It still took hours to complete their calculations. They verified the accuracy of the computer model by comparing it with the Channel 12 video, and to a full-sized mock-up of the stage area of the nightclub, which investigators set on fire.

The full-scale model included flammable packing foam on the walls. The club owners, Michael and Jeffrey Derderian, used flammable foam to soundproof The Station.

NIST filmed the spread of the flames through its life-sized model.

Investigators estimated the temperature and oxygen levels during the fire at 5 feet and 2 feet above the floor -- corresponding to the height of someone walking through the club and someone crawling.

The model showed that 80 seconds after the fire started, the air was still room temperature and oxygen was at normal levels at both the walking and crawling heights.

That changed quickly.

Ten seconds later -- a minute and a half after the fire started -- temperatures in most parts of the club were about 750 to 1,800 degrees at walking height. At crawling height, some parts of the club reached 1,800 degrees, while pockets remained at room temperature. Maximum survivable temperatures range from about 150 to 200 degrees in brief exposure, said Grosshandler.

At 80 seconds, the model showed very little smoke in the club. Twenty seconds later, the smoke created a blackout.

Journal photo / John Freidah

Sarah Mancini, of North Kingstown, who lost her son, Keith, in the fire, says a federal agency's report made her feel "like we are not alone." She spoke at the Providence Marriott yesterday after a private briefing. Dorothy and William Bonardi, who lost their son William, are in the background.

The Station had no sprinkler system. In another model that showed the effects of sprinklers, the water controlled the fire and held temperatures to about 77 degrees.

INVESTIGATORS also studied 30 eyewitness statements that were published in The Providence Journal and The Boston Globe, and by the Associated Press. In addition, it received statements from 25 people who used a special hot line or e-mail address set up by NIST -- "none of which contradicted the published accounts."

Based on those statements, investigators said many people did not try to flee when the fire started. Some thought the flames would be controlled. Some didn't want to give up their spots in front of the stage. No one directed people to leave. The investigators said the failure to exit immediately contributed to the severity of the disaster.

NIST quoted The Providence Journal's conclusion that at least 440 people were in the club. Fire codes suggested the limit should have been no more than 420.

Many of the recommendations made by NIST are directed at the National Fire Protection Association, an industry group based in Quincy, Mass., that writes model fire codes used by states and counties across the country.

Robert Solomon, the fire protection association's vice president for building and life safety codes, said yesterday that the agency had already implemented many changes recommended by NIST. But the advocacy group still finds great benefit in the new report.

"Our initial reaction is, we are very impressed with the level of effort NIST put into the investigation . . . especially considering this is the first time out of the box."

The computer modeling, fire re-creations and materials testing are all techniques used in other investigations. But Solomon said it's impressive to see all the latest tools used together in one comprehensive study.

"It shows we have these great tools, and these great people at NIST," he said. "When we have a great loss like in Rhode Island, we'll be able to go in and really do some science."

Solomon said the fire videos made by NIST can be made available to any nightclub owner to show how serious a fire can get. "I really think there's going to be a lot of good that comes out of this," he said. "I'm pleased to see the . . . recommendations. None surprised me or caught me off-guard. I think at NFPA we're in good shape on the vast majority of these."

Solomon said his staff will review the report and submit comments to NIST. It will also continue reviewing its own codes in light of NIST's recommendations.

After the Station fire, the NFPA tightened its sprinkler requirements for nightclubs, but exempted those with capacities of less than 100. It long ago advocated severe restrictions on furnishings, wall coverings and pyrotechnics.

As for a third key recommendation, increasing main exit capacity at nightclubs to handle two-thirds of the patrons in an emergency, the NFPA intends to put it to a vote in June.

The fire protection association has tackled many of the other NIST recommendations. It demands redundant fire protection measures, in case one of the systems fails. It has increased the required number of fire extinguishers.

After The Station burned down, NFPA amended its code to require club owners to inspect their clubs every business day. The association also has published a fire inspection manual which shows how to set up a fire inspection department and includes a checklist of problems to look for.

NIST SAYS more research is needed to understand how crowds respond to crises such as the Station fire or the stampede that killed 21 people in a Chicago nightclub days before.

Grosshandler said the researchers know very little about human behavior in life-and-death situations. "We don't know how they respond -- how they recognize the threat, how they make their way to the exit and how it could be influenced positively," he said.

The report called for pinpointing "the factors that lead to crowd crush," saying: "This would enable sensible changes in building design to minimize the possibility of crowd crush, and improved ways to communicate to the crowd in emergency situations that go beyond the code."

Those changes could involve signs, the number or size of exits, or the role of "crowd managers," the report said. The report called for providing "explicit evacuation directions" before the start of any public event. Rhode Island enacted just such a requirement after the Station fire.

The report also called for further research to understand how fire spreads over furnishings and materials that cover walls, ceilings and floors. And it called for refining computer-aided tools to determine the costs and benefits of changing fire codes and fire safety technology.

In the area of Rhode Island's emergency response, NIST found that West Warwick firefighters arrived about four minutes after the first 911 call -- well within national standards. However, the allotment of only two firefighters on both the first engine and ladder companies was half the recommended minimum-staffing level.

Investigators said they were "unable to say how the outcome of The Station nightclub fire might have been altered if this staffing level standard had been met."

As for fire prevention efforts, the written records of regular fire inspections by West Warwick fire officials were incomplete, the report said. Crowd limits for the building were unclear, and reports on the correction of problems at the club were never signed.

But the report did not say how, if at all, the record-keeping problems at The Station contributed to the fire.

"We were not looking for any type of fault-finding in our process," said Grosshandler. "We did not investigate exactly what inspection process took place. We do know that additional guidance would be helpful not only for the state of Rhode Island but also for the rest of the country."

The report advocated setting new, national guidelines for the rigor and frequency of fire inspections, the training of inspectors, enforcement powers, and record-keeping. In West Warwick, the town has tried to improve inspections by hiring two full-time assistant fire marshals to help Fire Marshal Denis P. Larocque, who, for several years leading up to the Station fire, was the town's only fire inspector. West Warwick has also increased staffing in its Building Department.

U.S. REP. James R. Langevin said he didn't think the recommendations went far enough. "Unfortunately, NIST restricted these new recommendations only to nightclubs," the Rhode Island Democrat said in a statement. "I believe it would be in the best interest of public safety if these recommendations were extended to other structures, such as office buildings and other significant public venues."

Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch said the NIST report would not influence his prosecution of the Derderians or the band's former tour manager, Daniel M. Biechele, who are charged with manslaughter.

"In the weeks following the fire, many acronyms came in from many points to analyze the tragedy that unfolded," Lynch said. He lauded NIST's effort to improve fire safety. "As to its impact on my job, it has none."

Jeffrey B. Pine, the lawyer for Jeffrey Derderian, said the NIST findings are relevant to his client's case. "Here you have a lot of factors contributing to a tragedy," he said. "I don't think it's fair they are being singled out criminally."

A spokesman for Governor Carcieri said Rhode Island made dramatic improvements in fire safety after The Station.

"Governor Carcieri welcomes this federal report and hopes it will help us better understand what happened on that tragic night, and clarify how we can prevent it from happening again," said spokesman Jeff Neal. "The state will be reviewing the report to determine what, if any, reasonable improvements may be required to ensure the safety of Rhode Island citizens."

State Fire Marshal Irving J. Owens said he is writing a report for Carcieri comparing the recommendations to the steps Rhode Island has already taken in response to the Station fire.

"I think 99 percent of the things we've already done," Owens said. "There are a few things we don't have control over -- like apparatus and manpower that the cities and towns control." But, he said, "I think Rhode Island is well ahead of things."

While Rhode Island requires sprinklers in clubs with maximum occupancies of more than 150, the report called for requiring sprinklers in all clubs, regardless of size.

What does Owens think of that idea?

"Well, that would have to go back to the General Assembly," he said. "I'm sure they are willing to discuss it. It needs to be discussed. It's not something that would happen overnight."

With reports from staff writers Zachary R. Mider, Tom Mooney, Paul Edward Parker, Michael Corkery and Edward Fitzpatrick.

Seeing the report

A link to the National Institute of Standards and Technology report, video clips and simulations, are available at www.projo.com. The report requires Adobe Acrobat reader. To request a paper copy, e-mail inquiries [at] nist.gov