Great White, the headlining band of the February 20 concert, had risen to fame as part of the glam metal scene of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Main article: Great White Great White co-founders Jack Russell (left) and Mark Kendall (right) in 2008. Local bands that had played at the Station prior to the fire had used pyrotechnics during their concerts without incident, including a Kiss tribute band that had set off fireballs during their show in August 2002. Prior to the fire, the Station often hosted concerts by 1980s hard rock groups and tribute bands. Larocque later told the Rhode Island State Police that he had not spotted the polyurethane foam during the November 2002 inspection because he was upset after finding an illegal inward swinging door that he had previously asked to be removed from the building. ![]() The follow-up inspection in December 2002 also did not cite the foam, and the inspector gave the building an "All OK" rating on his inspection form. The club was cited for nine minor code violations during the first inspection in November 2002, but was not cited for the flammable polyurethane foam the venue used for soundproofing, which was against code. In the months prior to the fire, the building had been inspected twice by West Warwick fire marshal Denis Larocque. The nightclub was purchased by brothers Michael and Jeffrey Derderian in March 2000. In 1985, it was converted to a pub, which closed sometime in the late 1980s, and a nightclub was opened in its place in 1991. Another restaurant opened in the building in 1974. No occupants were in the building during the 1972 fire, but the interior was significantly damaged. A fire had previously occurred at the building in 1972 while it was used as a restaurant called Julio's. Prior to being converted into a nightclub and concert venue, the Station building had been used as a restaurant and tavern. The building that would become The Station was built in 1946 and was originally used as a gin mill. ![]() The Station was a nightclub that was located on the corner of Cowesett Avenue and Kulas Road in West Warwick, Rhode Island. Station Fire Memorial Park, a permanent memorial to the victims of the fire, was opened in May 2017 at the site where the Station once stood.īackground Location of West Warwick (in dark red) in Kent County, Rhode Island (in light red) The Station Legal action against several parties, including Great White, were resolved with monetary settlements by 2008. Jeffrey and Michael Derderian, the owners of the Station, pleaded no contest and avoided a trial: Michael received the same sentence as Biechele and was released from prison in 2009, while Jeffrey received a sentence of 500 hours of community service. Biechele was released from prison in 2008 after some families of the victims expressed their support for his parole. Daniel Biechele, the tour manager for Great White who had ignited the pyrotechnics, pled guilty to 100 counts of involuntary manslaughter in 2006 and was sentenced to fifteen years in prison with four to serve. It was also the second-deadliest nightclub fire in New England, behind the 1942 Cocoanut Grove fire.Īfter the fire, multiple civil and criminal cases were filed. history and the fourth-deadliest at a nightclub in U.S. The fire was the deadliest fireworks accident in U.S. ![]() Within six minutes, the entire building was engulfed in flames. During a concert by the rock band Great White, a pyrotechnic display ignited flammable acoustic foam in the walls and ceilings surrounding the stage. The Station nightclub fire occurred on the evening of February 20, 2003, at The Station, a nightclub and hard rock music venue in West Warwick, Rhode Island, United States, killing 100 people and injuring 230. Ignition of acoustic foam by pyrotechnics.
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