capped
I WAS IN THE FUTURE, IT WAS TOO LATE TO RSVP
Member # 709
posted
On Thursday night, a club in West Warwick, RI (near CCRI, my college) called "The Station" caught fire from sparkler fireworks during the first song by the band Great White. Flammable soundproofing material behind the stage was releasing superheated toxic smoke, and a stampede towards the exits began.. everyone who didnt make it out in the first few minutes suffocated, or was trampled. A lot of this is on video, recorded by a cameraman doing a story on nightclubs (related to the recent Chicago stampede that killed 20+).. It was literally only 2 minutes from the lighting of the stage before the building's ceiling and roof were completely in flames.
There were 300+ people in the club, and about 170 were taken to three local hospitals and other medical centers, the largest medical evacuation in recent RI history. Some escaped unhurt or just shaken, but in the end dozens were missing, none of whom could have conceivably survived. The death toll currently stands at 96 bodies recovered, and the process of identifying them has been continuing throughout the weekend.
Rhode Island is a small state, and everybody knows somebody who was affected by this tragedy.. a classmate of Diana's was at the show, still listing as missing.. she can't belive that he could be dead though. 94WHJY lost a DJ, Doctor Metal, who was covering the show, and the band Great White lost one of their own. I'm pretty sure I'm going to find out that somebody I knew from Thayer Street was there, but seeing as street kids rarely have well established communications, it might be a while.. The news isupdating the casualty list, and the Red Cross is setting up hotlines for families to search for their own.
This is awful though, because many of the Great White concertgoers were in their 20s and 30s and might have lived alone, and their families and workplaces might not know they are missing for several days. The police are cataloguing the vehicles remaining in the parking lot to see if they belong to the fallen.
I've never been to the Station, and havent seen a concert in months, although i have been back to some Providence clubs a few times this past year. A lot of my relatives called from Germany, from Poland, from Florida to see if I was all right once this hit national news. I guess that this is being considered one of the top few deadliest structure fires in all of history.. its shocking, everyone died short distances from exits and windows, mostly because of the smoke preventing them from moving around
The Station had just passed inspection with flying colors, yet still this happened. The owner, a local newsanchor, claims he gave no permission for fireworks to be used, but the band claims they received permission from the management. The band has a history of using their fireworks in clubs across the US without incident, over the past 15-20 years, and the type of fireworks used are supposedly quite safe, like 4th of July sparklers that you can put your hand on without receiving serious burns. (some have come forward to state this band has used pyrotechnics without permission before) The RI fire code did not require a building of that size to have sprinklers.
We have a freshman governor and attorney general, and sophomore reps and senators right now, so its going to be interesting how things pan out politically.. the AG is young and refuses to comment about any investigation, although he does seem to be pursuing the matter of the owner, requesting he cooperate with the law 'as fully as he has with the media' ( a definite barb, there ).. the Governor,a businessman in his first month in office, has taken a hard line too, saying that someone will be held responsible.
At this point, I'd like to see positive changes. Several local clubs have announced they are installing sprinklers, new exits and banning certain types of pyrotechnics, on their own, without the state requiring it. I welcome and changes they can make to make partying safer.
Oh, and since everyone online's been worried too, just posting to let you know i'm all right.
-------------------- "Are you worried that your thoughts are not quite.. clear?"
Registered: Sep 2001
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Cartman
just made by the Presbyterian Church
Member # 256
posted
Something similar happened over here two years ago. A fire that started in a bar rapidly spread to adjacent buildings, killing fourteen people outright and claiming the lifes of many others who somehow got out but succumbed to grievous third-degree burns in the following months. The place, like the Station, had passed all public safety inspections succesfully. One minute passed from spark to inferno. ONE. At its peak, the temperature must have been in excess of 1100 degrees centigrade... all from a single firecracker that ignited the christmas ceiling decoration.
Afterwards, a commission was appointed to investigate the direct and indirect cause, and to probe deeper into the underlying chaos of licenses that turned out to be expired, fire prevention measures that were never taken, disaster plans that were decades out of date, rescue workers who were unprepared, cooperation between aid agencies that was severely hampered, escape routes that were closed off due to renovation... the conclusion was as devastating as it was predictable, that the tragedy could have been averted had the parties involved not evaded their responsibilities, had they been willing to meet their obligations instead of making a few extra bucks a month.
And you know what? To this day, the owner of the cafe has denied all liability to both municipal government (itself a major contributing factor to the calamity) and family of the victims. This is inexcusable bullshit. Don't hold your breath for positive changes, man... that way, the next time won't come as a surprise.
[ February 25, 2003, 01:53 AM: Message edited by: Cartmaniac ]
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted
The death toll, I'm told, is now 98... including Great White's guitarist.
-------------------- "The best defense is not a good offense. The best defense is a terrifyingly accurate and devastatingly powerful offense, with multiply-overlapping kill zones and time-on-target artillery strikes." -- Laurence, Archangel of the Sword
Registered: Mar 1999
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capped
I WAS IN THE FUTURE, IT WAS TOO LATE TO RSVP
Member # 709
posted
the late news still lists 97.. up from 96, he last body was found yesterday (unless more lie in the wreck)... the guitarist is listed as missing but it is assumed that his body is among those 97, one of the many yet unidentified
Registered: Sep 2001
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Saltah'na
Chinese Canadian, or 75% Commie Bastard.
Member # 33
posted
This is the second nightclub incident in a week.
Heads are going to roll for this one, and the one in Chicago too.
-------------------- "And slowly, you come to realize, it's all as it should be, you can only do so much. If you're game enough, you could place your trust in me. For the love of life, there's a tradeoff, we could lose it all but we'll go down fighting...." - David Sylvian FreeSpace 2, the greatest space sim of all time, now remastered!
Registered: Mar 1999
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capped
I WAS IN THE FUTURE, IT WAS TOO LATE TO RSVP
Member # 709
posted
a lot of people are blaming the owner, but i doubt there was much he could have done.. his club was within code, inspections passed, etc, etc.. the fault lie with the band for being stupid and lighting those off (the fact that other clubs have complained about GW setting off pyrotechnics without permission is VERY damning..) if they did it without permission, then its solely their fault; if they received permission from the club manager and not the owner, without permits, then its hardly something the owner couldve controlled, although he may be held liable, but i hardly think he is criminally responsible. i think the state is also at fault, for not requiring small buildings and older buildings to have sprinklers, which would have prevented ANY deaths from occuring..
BTW, GW's Ty Longley has been positively identified, according the the CNN site.
Registered: Sep 2001
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posted
You're kidding me, that was a Great White gig? I didn't even know they were still going. But then I guess they aren't now. Oh, even with a hangover I'mn a glass-half-full kinda guy. 8)
posted
I heard the incident at the nightclub in Chicago is being blamed on Jesse Jackson, because he lobbied hard to have the place kept open when the city wanted to close it down.
I don't know whether he actually did or not, though. I just heard it in passing from the old nutter who lives across the hall from me.
-------------------- "The best defense is not a good offense. The best defense is a terrifyingly accurate and devastatingly powerful offense, with multiply-overlapping kill zones and time-on-target artillery strikes." -- Laurence, Archangel of the Sword
Registered: Mar 1999
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