10-20 killed during fire at Great White concert in RI.

The Duchess of Zeon · Post by **The Duchess of Zeon** » 2003-02-21 04:16am

WEST WARWICK, R.I. (Feb. 21) - A huge fire engulfed a Rhode Island nightclub during a rock concert's pyrotechnics display, causing at least 10 deaths and 100 injuries, authorities said.

Fire Capt. Russell McGillivray said an estimated 10 to 20 people died. He said many of the victims were found in the front door area after they apparently frantically rushed to the exits. More were possibly trapped inside.

The blaze broke out at about 11 p.m. Thursday during a pyrotechnics display during a Great White concert at The Station in West Warwick, about 15 miles southwest of Providence. The club quickly went up in flames and little was left of the one-story building hours later.

''The place went up within a matter of two minutes,'' witness John Kudryk told the Providence Journal.

At least 100 people were taken to area hospitals including Rhode Island Hospital in Providence and Kent County Memorial Hospital in nearby Warwick, said Town Manager Wolfgang Bauer.

Paul Vanner, the club's sound technician and stage manager, said more than 300 people were at the concert. One person from the band was missing, he said.

Chaos erupted moments after the blaze broke out. Witnesses said dozens of people rushed toward the exit, and those who escaped were later seen staggering into a triage center. Rescuers carried dozens of people on stretchers.

Hundreds of firefighters and police from across the region and dozens of ambulances were on the scene. Rescuers were pulling badly injured victims from the fire as ladder trucks poured water over the flaming skeleton of the building.

''It was calm at first, everyone thought it was part of the act,'' said John DiMeo, who was sitting at the bar near the front door when the fire started. ''It happened so fast.''

Jack Russell, the lead singer of Great White, told WJAR-TV he checked with the club's manager before the show and the band's use of pyrotechnics was approved. He said he felt the heat of the flames while on stage.

''This place went up like the Fourth of July,'' he said.

Town Manager Wolfgang Bauer couldn't speculate on the specific cause, but said a flame from the pyrotechnics display hit styrofoam in the ceiling.

''Everbody knows there were pyrotechnics used in there,'' he said. ''We found people in a corner of the building. So there are dead people in there.''

Great White is a 1980s heavy metal band whose hits include ''Once Bitten, Twice Shy'' and ''Rock Me.'' The concert also featured the Canadian group Fathead.

The fire comes four days after 21 people were killed and more than 50 injured during a stampede in a Chicago nightclub that began when a security guard used pepper spray to break up a fight.

AP-NY-02-21-03 0357EST

- From AOL's newsservice, no link available.

Okay, well, this month is rather getting in the realm of the depressing and the bizzare. Disturbingly there's still a week left.

Captain tycho · Post by **Captain tycho** » 2003-02-21 04:35am

Ouch. My sympathies.

EmperorMing · Post by **EmperorMing** » 2003-02-21 04:43am

Whoa..!!

Alex Moon · Post by **Alex Moon** » 2003-02-21 04:49am

My deepest sympathies to the families in mourning tonight.

Drewcifer · Post by **Drewcifer** » 2003-02-21 04:54am

cnn.com wrote:Video shot by CNN affiliate WPRI showed Great White performing as onstage fireworks went off onstage. As the crowd cheered, a fire ignited by the pyrotechnics engulfed the stage. Initially, fans casually made their way toward the exit. Then, panic broke out, according to videographer Brian Butler, who was taping the rock concert.

"It was that fast. As soon as the pyrotechnics stopped, the flame had started on the egg-crate [foam] backing behind the stage and it just went up the ceiling and people stood and watched it," Butler said.

"Some people were already trying to leave and others were just sitting there going 'Yeah that's great!' and I remember that statement because I was like, 'This is not great, this is time to leave.'"

As the flames spread inside the one-story club, band members jumped off the stage and joined the crowd, heading toward the exit.

"It went up like a Christmas tree," Jack Russell, Great White's lead singer, told The Providence Journal. "I was trying to put it out with a bottle of water. I turned around and the building was engulfed. My sound man is injured. I'm on my way to the hospital. I'm missing my guitar player."

Russell told the newspaper he had received permission from the club for the pyrotechnics display, but The Station's stage technician, Paul Vanner,said he was not aware that the band planned to use fireworks.

Vanner said the club has had onstage pyrotechnics at past concerts, but there has always been a licensed expert to supervise the fireworks. He said no one was onstage to supervise Thursday night's show.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/02/21/nightc ... index.html

I was never a Great White fan, but that just sucks, especially: I'm missing my guitar player. Bandmates can be like family, like brothers.

It's been a bad few years for rock and roll

Post by **Gandalf** » 2003-02-21 09:28pm

My sympathies to all affected.
How come these things tend to happen in groups?

HemlockGrey · Post by **HemlockGrey** » 2003-02-21 09:33pm

well, at least it's not the 60 killed that some places were reporting

beyond hope · Post by **beyond hope** » 2003-02-21 09:40pm

Update to the same story. 95 are now dead and 180 or so injured.

Next of Kin · Post by **Next of Kin** » 2003-02-21 10:51pm

beyond hope wrote:Update to the same story. 95 are now dead and 180 or so injured.

It is a tragic situation. I can only hope that those that were injured in the fire hold on and try to fight off the infection that comes afterwards.

Darth Yoshi · Post by **Darth Yoshi** » 2003-02-21 10:54pm

I heard on the radio this morning that most of the dead were trampled, rather than actually burned.

Ted · Post by **Ted** » 2003-02-21 10:59pm

Darth Yoshi wrote:I heard on the radio this morning that most of the dead were trampled, rather than actually burned.

Trampled to death, then burnt, except for the burning, much like the previous one.

And things always happen in threes.

Montcalm · Post by **Montcalm** » 2003-02-21 11:02pm

Lets hope they stop using pyrotechnics in these concerts they don`t need them.

beyond hope · Post by **beyond hope** » 2003-02-22 12:00am

Well, at least according to the attorneys for the club, the pyrotechnics were unauthorized and they had no knowledge they'd be used. They also quoted a rep for another club the band had played previously as saying they'd used the pyrotechnics without checking first. The band is of course saying the opposite: sounds like both sides are getting their alibis ready when the inevitable lawsuit hits them.

One thing that's painfully clear is that the fire code in the area could use some serious revision. Also, they stated that a "surprising number" of the deaths were due to smoke inhalation.

Post by **Kuja** » 2003-02-22 12:02am

Every time I hear about something like this, I'm reminded of the line from MIB:

"People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals, and you know it."

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2003-02-22 12:08am

Montcalm wrote:Lets hope they stop using pyrotechnics in these concerts they don`t need them.

The building was made of wood without sprinklers. There was also only one narrow door and hall way out, and over 300 people inside. Pyrotechnics should never be used inside the first place.

AylaKat · Post by **AylaKat** » 2003-02-22 12:18am

Tis another sad day for rock and roll. Too many deaths... too many innocent lives. And the guitarist gone. If he's dead... not a very rock and roll way to die, eh? This sucks. My friend was supposed to see them last week in Maine... now he'll probably never get the chance. Arg.

Darth Yoshi · Post by **Darth Yoshi** » 2003-02-22 12:26am

Sea Skimmer wrote:
Montcalm wrote:Lets hope they stop using pyrotechnics in these concerts they don`t need them.
The building was made of wood without sprinklers. There was also only one narrow door and hall way out, and over 300 people inside. Pyrotechnics should never be used inside the first place.

Weren't there several emergency exits in the place, except the mob didn't know their locations?

beyond hope · Post by **beyond hope** » 2003-02-22 12:54am

I believe 3 of them, towards the back where the stage (and the fire) were. It's herd mentality: people headed for the door they came in and everyone else followed them.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2003-02-22 07:26am

I saw the video on the news. The pyro was hitting the roof; it should have been totally obvious that it would cause a problem. The fire code requires a permit for that kind of equipment, and the finger-pointing is pathetic. The club owner couldn't possibly have failed to notice them setting up this equipment; it is his responsibility to monitor what's going on. Pleading ignorance doesn't cut it. And the band's stage manager should have gotten the proper permits before using pyro because that's the law (and he wouldn't have gotten them because the fire dept. would not allow it once they saw the venue). So he broke the law in using the pyro.

Ergo, both the stage manager and the club owner are at fault.

Frank Hipper · Post by **Frank Hipper** » 2003-02-22 09:10am

I've just seen the video. Considering the countless times I've been in crowds like that, in clubs that size, and knowing that a lot of the people in that video burned to death makes me sick to my stomach.