# The Station Nightclub Fire



## MNicolai

(I know it's been discussed here a few times, but I don't think it's ever been given the attention it deserves, especially since it's been a few years and people are beginning to forget about it or were too young to remember.)

A lot of people get upset at fire marshals for making the decisions that they do, and they'd prefer to happily continue doing things the way that they've always done them, be it safe or not.

The Station Nightclub fire is the case that I always revert back to. Anytime someone is upset with me for contacting a fire marshal to inspect a set, I bring this up. Part of it's out of the goodness of my heart and respect for what I do. I really don't want anyone to get hurt. Then there's the part where I'm selfish and don't want to ever be brought up on manslaughter charges or sued into bankruptcy.

"But that's a little extreme, don't you think?"

No, it's not. As soon as there's any kind of injury or casualty, all bets are off for what might happen next. If you look at the list of companies who were sued after the fire, the cameraman who shot the video (ironically there to report on nightclub safety) was accused of impeding exits and his news station sued for $30 million (while the night club owners for only $1 million). JBL had to fork over $815,000 in a settlement for the foam in their speakers.** I don't know the last time anyone tried to set their speakers on fire, but I bet the entire building was in flames before the foam inside the speakers caught fire. Anheuser-Busch was sued for $21 million just for promoting the event. Even the town was sued for AHJ not shutting down the building prior to the event.

Another problem in this SNAFU is that people don't respect fire enough. They don't understand it, they've never first-hand experienced it in a building. Bonfires in your backyard are not comparable. You can spend a good 30 minutes building up a strong flame in a bonfire, but in just 10 minutes, a structure fire can level the building. What people also forget is that not only do people need time to escape in the event of an emergency, but firefighters need to be able to get into the building for rescue efforts. In The Station, people were blinded and passing out from the smoke within just under a minute and a half from ignition, and by the time EMS arrived (about 4:30 after ignition), the building was so far ablaze that the fire department was unable to even consider rescue efforts. Though people may still have been alive at this point, passed out inside, there was no way a firefighter was going to be able to get to them until much later in the fire once the blaze was under control and the structure was safe(-r) to enter.

I encourage everyone to watch this video, known as the Butler video. It was recorded by Brian Butler of WPRI-TV. It is the first 10 minutes of the blaze, uncut, unedited. It's the closest many of us will ever come to witnessing and _hearing_ people die in a catastrophic disaster. For those who haven't seen it, it's very graphic, but I think after watching it, it is a lot easier for everyone to understand how careful we need to be when we're working. I know I learned a lot from this video, and just a few days ago showed it to a student tech crew as part of a safety seminar. I don't think those students will ever question a fire marshal or risk breaking a fire code now.

"The Butler Video"

Here is a timeline of events I put together from the video that it's worth taking note of:
-Ignition: ~0:18
-People realizing they should leave: ~:35
-People making progress to the door ~1:00
-Smoke billowing out of the building (people inside begin to pass out and are blinded) ~1:45
-People trampled and stuck at entrance (literally piled on each other in doorway, 4' high: ~1:50
-Smoke has consumed the building: ~2:30
-Emergency services arrive: ~4:45
-EMS unable to reach building because of high volume of vehicles and people near structure: ~5:35
-Flames have spread to exterior: ~5:40
-Building is an inferno, inside and out (by now, anyone still inside might as well be dead): ~6:00
-A man can be spotted, writhing in pain on the ground, no EMS available to help him as they are all rolling out fire hoses: ~6:10

Some of us work in unsprinklered spaces. While legal, that doesn't make it necessarily safe. An experiment shows how sprinklers would have altered the events that night at The Station. Mind you, The Station, which broke fire code in many ways, was not required to have fire suppression systems in place.

There is also this map, put together by the local police department, detailing how many people died and where. It's important to note that most people either died in the panic trying to get out the front door, were so lost in the confusion and smoke they couldn't even find a door, or were in an area of the building that was too far from a fire exit for them to be able to escape once the smoke had reached them.





This is, by far, one of the worst tragedies in the history of the entertainment industry and there are many important lessons to be learned from it. The only good that can come of this tragedy now is the result of watching the videos, looking through the facts, and learning how to avoid situations like this in the future. Fire departments can train for this, but it never comes close to simulating the real thing. Tech directors can think they've got everything covered, and then the band lights pyro on stage that the venue was not made aware of. I hate to say that anything "good" actually happened that night, but the coincidence that this should happen on a night where the entire process of events was being filmed is amazing. Unfortunately, most people can't even begin to comprehend how flames and smoke propagate and large crowds of people evacuate in emergencies until they've witnessed it for themselves.

**An actual quote: _Anthony DeMarco, a Providence lawyer for the Derderians, said that even though his clients are contributing a modest amount compared with sums pledged by corporations, it represents all of their assets. "Whatever JBL's paying, it's not everything JBL has, is it?" he said._

If you ask me, JBL had zero fault in this tragedy. If anything, by the time the foam inside their speakers caught fire, anyone who was going to die was already dead, and yet the lawyer is suggesting that JBL should be paying out far more relative to what the nightclub owners had paid.


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## BrockTucker

Wow. I'd heard of the station fire but never seen this video. Wow. Thank you for sharing this.


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## shiben

That was a tough video to watch. At any rate, I dont think this qualifies as a SNAFU, but rather a FUBAR. This should not be Situation Normal ever. Fire never ceases to amaze me.


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## renegadeblack

Back when this actually happened, I was a bit younger, but when did it actually happen? I knew that it was severe, but I never actually saw the events unfold or any footage of it for that matter. What I do remember is being at a TSO concert not too long after that, but they had their usual pyro in their show, and everyone in the venue got startled. Real crazy fire, hopefully to never happen again.


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## derekleffew

Thursday, February 20, 2003.

Other (semi-recent) tragedies:
Beverly Hills Supper Club fire, May 28, 1977
Who Concert in Cincinnati, December 3, 1979, "the most horrific rock concert incident in the United States"


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## venuetech

Coconut Grove

Historical Perspective: Fires In Public Assembly Occupancies


Iroquois Theatre

http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/glossary-f-l/17450-iroquois-theatre.html


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## venuetech

This is a surprising long list of club fires.
sadly it is likely an incomplete list.

Rhythm Nightclub fire 23 April 1940; Natchez, Mississippi, United States; 209 dead

Cocoanut Grove fire 28 November 1942; Boston, Massachusetts, United States; 492 dead

Summerland Leisure Centre fire 2 August 1973; Douglas, Isle of Man; 51 dead

Beverly Hills Supper Club fire 28 May 1977; Southgate, Kentucky, United States; 165 dead

Stardust fire 14 February 1981; Dublin, Ireland; 48 dead

Alcalá 20 Nightclub fire 17 December 1983; Madrid, Spain; 82 dead

HappyLand fire 25 March 1990; New York City, New York, United States; 87 dead

Kheyvis Nightclub fire 20 December 1993; Olivos, Buenos Aires, Argentina; 17 dead

Ozone Disco Club fire 18 March 1996; Quezon City, Philippines; 162 dead

Gothenburg discothèque fire October 30, 1998; 63 dead

Luoyang Christmas fire 25 December 2000; Luoyang, People's Republic of China; 309 dead

The Station Nightclub fire 20 February 2003; West Warwick, Rhode Island, United States; 100 dead

Cro-magnon Republic Nightclub fire 30 December 2004; Buenos Aires, Argentina; 194 dead

Wuwang Club fire 21 September 2008; Shenzhen, People's Republic of China; 43 dead

Santika Club fire 1 January 2009; Watthana, Bangkok, Thailand; 61 dead

Lame Horse club fire 5 December 2009; Perm, Russian Federation; at least 149 dead


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## ronedee

I live in RI and remember that night well. 

Unbelief is the thing that comes to mind. I lost a friend Keith Mancini, who was a bass player in the opening act that night. Someone also offered me tickets to that nights Great White show! I refused. I was never a GW fan of any kind. 

I did know the Station Club. It was a typical (at the time) "hole"! The place stunk of piss and beer, and it looked like a disaster waiting to happen. I had a working band at that time, and was refused a gig by one of the Derderian bros because we played "too much original material". I remember thinking as I was walking out of the dump, that it was no great loss!

I did, and do fantasize, or lament at times, that "if" I did go that evening that I would've been talking to Keith, and commenting or alerting someone about the pyro torches being inches from the foam ceiling. 

I had a recording studio years ago with the same foam hanging on the walls. A friend of mine was lighting a cigarette with a lighter and put the flame to the foam! Before he could get, "I wonder if this stuff is flammable out"... The 2x4 sheet was in flames!! We both desperately torn that foam down and started stomping on it. We both got the sticky melted...AND STILL LITE foam stuck to our shoes!! It was a terrorizing few moments that I will never forget!! 

So, as you can see, I feel like maybe I could've done something that night to avert it. But, also could've easily been on the list of victims.

Believe me, this is a tragedy that touched every Rhode Islander, and still haunts us.


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## dereklentz

ronedee said:


> Believe me, this is a tragedy that touched every Rhode Islander, and still haunts us.


I was going to school in Providence at the time and actually lived in Warwick not far from there. I definitely remember it very clearly.


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## MNicolai

An excerpt from Derek's link about the Cocoanut Grove fire:


> Firefighters then attempted to enter through the new lounge area. Here investigators found approximately 100 dead bodies that had been blocking the door. The glass brick windows of the new lounge were difficult and time consuming to take out. All the while firefighters were removing both the living and the dead from the building. The air outside had gone down to 20 degrees. The sidewalk and the street soon turned to ice. *One firefighter said that those who were still alive and had breathed in superheated air, upon inhaling the 20-degree air outside that the victims dropped like stones.*



While I have a vague understanding of how this could be, can someone please explain the science behind this?


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## ronedee

It sounds like condensation (moisture/fluid) formed in their lungs. Just like rain storms would form in the presence of hot and cold air. The result would be congested and frozen airways in the lungs.

God, it sounds terrible. RIP


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## shiben

That or their lungs were badly damaged enough that the cold air turned the burns on the inside to ice, which would also be a terrible way to die. The screams in that video have begun coming in dreams. Lets hope that we can all do our part to eliminating unsafe practices, especially ones that kill lots of people.


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## MNicolai

An NFPA podcast on the Cocoanut Grove fire said that many people died without burns, but from the toxic decomposition of materials used in the structure. Doctors at that time period were astounded of the deaths and considered them mysterious because many of the victims who died showed no external symptoms of injury. It's hard to say if the victims died from the sudden temperature change as the firefighter suspected or if they died from the toxic gases. I'm calling our fire marshal today anyways so I'll ask him if he knows anything about this case.


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## venuetech

The deaths had nothing to do with the "cold"
but rather respiratory burns.

the mass of a human body will warm the air in the airway before it gets to the lung
damage to the lungs would prevent oxygen from getting into the blood. 




> Only three of the patients who were admitted to Mass General hospital had no respiratory burns due to fast thinking on their part. Two of the patients had covered their faces with a sweater and a dry cloth, while the other had urinated into a napkin and had covered his face.


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## chris325

Honestly, IMO, I think that way too much blame is placed on the pyro operator for that show. I mean, it was his screwup that caused the initial ignition, but it was the sub-par construction and safety systems that caused the fire to spread out of control so quickly. I think that if the building had been built with proper insulation, sprinkler systems, etc. that a significant number of the lives lost on that day would have been saved. This video is a blatantly clear reason to promote the safe use of pyro and the proper installation of fire prevention systems in buildings.


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## MNicolai

Just to be clear, at that time, they were not required by code to have sprinkler or other fire suppression systems in place. They were in compliance in regards to that. That's not to say they shouldn't have had them, though. Had they been installed, some people still would've been hurt in the panic, but it would've been a very different outcome.


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## chris325

MNicolai said:


> but it would've been a very different outcome.



And that's why it is so important for new construction to include fire suppression systems. In this case, a very different outcome could have meant dozens of saved lives.


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## MNicolai

chris325 said:


> And that's why it is so important for new construction to include fire suppression systems. In this case, a very different outcome could have meant dozens of saved lives.



Dozens is an understatement. It would've saved almost everyone. Injuries would've likely been reduced to one or two dozen in the exit, but people wouldn't have been as panicked getting hit my water instead of suffocated by smoke. Like wets cats, they'd be unhappy but they'd of survived. Maybe a few would've been trampled and died given egress from that building was less than awesome.

If you watch the scale experiment comparing the as-is structure to a structure with fire suppression, it puts the fire out before it spreads like wildfire and heavily restricts the smoke propagation.


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## JerseyMatt

I know this is an old thread, but I came across it browsing this section, and I think it deserves a bump. I vividly remember the day I heard about this fire and saw the Butler video on the news. Having been to many a hole-in-the-wall club/bar, it really made me think that The Station could've very easily been any of the clubs I went to.. And to this day I have trained myself to make a conscious effort anytime I go somewhere - club, bar, theater, restaurant, whatever - to make sure I know where all the exits are. I really think it should be mandatory for everyone to watch that entire video at least once. That pile of dead people at the front door should be burned into your memory, because it should flash through your mind any time you think of doing something stupid or half-assed. Now that I've gotten involved with community theater, really it's kinda scary knowing just how deficient our space is.

Since the link in the OP is dead, here's an updated one.. 


MNicolai said:


> Just to be clear, at that time, they were not required by code to have sprinkler or other fire suppression systems in place. They were in compliance in regards to that. That's not to say they shouldn't have had them, though. Had they been installed, some people still would've been hurt in the panic, but it would've been a very different outcome.



Actually, no they were NOT in compliance. At the time the building was converted into a nightclub, they were required by code to install a sprinkler system. That should have been done before they were able to get their COA. It was an oversight on the part of the AHJ. But that's besides the fact that they were over capacity, exits were not marked, they had highly flammable/extremely toxic foam on the walls/ceilings, and the band used outdoor gerbs indoors (regardless whether they had permission from Derderian, you don't use a 9ft gerb in a 10ft building).


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## BillConnerFASTC

When someone buys a building, there is no plan review and inspection, like for a new building. I don't think this is ahj oversight, as the ahj had no responsibility to inspect upon purchase.

The NFPA Assembly Occupancy committee, of which I am a member and simply by longevity the senior member having joined in 1987, had a special meeting as a result of this, and heard a lot of experts. I had also visited the site since I lived not too far from it.

Prior to the changes made at that meeting, sprinklers were not required in that building.

I believe the pyro is the biggest culprit, and that indoor pyro should not be allowed. The great age of theatre fires ended promptly with the development of the electric light bulb and passing of open flame and arc lighting. Indoor pyro has just reintroduced the ignition source. Take away the pyro away and we never hear if the Station.


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## JerseyMatt

BillConnerASTC said:


> When someone buys a building, there is no plan review and inspection, like for a new building. I don't think this is ahj oversight, as the ahj had no responsibility to inspect upon purchase.
> 
> The NFPA Assembly Occupancy committee, of which I am a member and simply by longevity the senior member having joined in 1987, had a special meeting as a result of this, and heard a lot of experts. I had also visited the site since I lived not too far from it.
> 
> Prior to the changes made at that meeting, sprinklers were not required in that building.
> 
> I believe the pyro is the biggest culprit, and that indoor pyro should not be allowed. The great age of theatre fires ended promptly with the development of the electric light bulb and passing of open flame and arc lighting. Indoor pyro has just reintroduced the ignition source. Take away the pyro away and we never hear if the Station.



It's really hard to find info on anything prior to the fire anymore, because the search engine crawlers are swamped with 12 years of references to the fire and the laws/regulations stemming from it. It has since been purged but there used to be an article in the Providence Journal archive that had an inspector go on the record saying all nightclubs in RI with a capacity over 300 were required to have sprinkler systems since 1976. The building was turned into a club in the 80's (voiding the grandfather clause), and had an OL of 406, so they would have been required to install a sprinkler system. Even if they weren't required to have an inspection before opening, it's a glaring omission that a fire marshal should have caught at some point over the years. Just like the tinderbox foam, lack of fire extingushers, yadda yadda. The place "passed" a fire inspection like two weeks before the fire.


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## BillConnerFASTC

The NIST report states fire sprinklers were not required. *fire*.nist.gov/bfrlpubs/*fire*05/PDF/f05032.pdf

NIST report by engineers or journalist - take your choice. We changed the code in the emergency session so sprinklers would be required.

Without pyro, no story. Maybe without the highly flammable foam, no story. Occupancy was also over what had been permitted and added obstructions, like where they collected admission, hindered egress. The band also purposely blocked the egress by the stage.

If you look at large loss of life fires, especially in assembly occupancies, inadequate, obstructed, and unmaintained egress is a common cause of injuries and deaths. The added requirements for management is really the more important change than lowering sprinkler thresholds.


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## Les

chris325 said:


> Honestly, IMO, I think that way too much blame is placed on the pyro operator for that show. I mean, it was his screwup that caused the initial ignition, but it was the sub-par construction and safety systems that caused the fire to spread out of control so quickly.



[necroquote]
I believe the "pyro operator" deserves the blame he received. After all, he wasn't a real (licensed) pyrotechnician at all, let alone pulled a permit. A crime (well, several) was committed and lots of lives were lost as a result. Even the most rudimentary knowledge of pyro would have prevented this fire. An inexperienced and unlicensed driver plowing in to a crowd of people would be a similar analogy to use, and my guess is that they would be held accountable for their actions as well.

Don't get me wrong, the place was a deathtrap to begin with. But the root cause was the fact that 1.4g pyrotechnics were illegally used. No real pyrotechnic operator worth his salt would have touched the place with a ten-foot pole.


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## What Rigger?

According to metalsludge.tv, somebody was trying to sell the burned remnants of Great White's instruments and backline on Craigslist. http://www.metalsludge.tv/?p=48396 Looks like the listing got pulled, but still, if true these people are the worst of everything.

Also, be advised: Metal Sludge may be NSFW on any given day.


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## Robert

It is a horrible thing to know that the so many people died doing something they loved and that I love as well. I've worked on so many tours and shows and have seen some strange stuff, but safety was always my priority. 
So on a more constructive note: Know your exits. I teach my students to realize that the way you come into a venue is not necessarily the only way out. Perhaps you vaguely remember the airline talk that reminds you that the nearest exit may be other than the one you came onto the plane through. For us old folk we remember the movie of lemmings following each on off a cliff. Thanks Walt Disney for that screwed up memory. Thus comes the term "Lemming Effect," each one following the other. I've worked after-hours clubs that I purposely walked until I found another exit. I told the band what the deal was as well. Tell your friends and student to look for the exits! Tell them to move fast and with purpose the moment they feel something is wrong. That little voice is your friend. There were so many people who could have used a different exit if they had only known to look. 
Nothing excuses the circumstances that let this happen. It's a screwed up tragedy and so many were hurt horribly by it.


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## BillConnerFASTC

Good points but in planning, keep in !Ind a !majority of the occupants will try to egress the same place the came in. Probably lack of familiarity and uncertainty the other ways outs are open and clear is a major factor. Tests in the UK demonstrated this. A lecture room with normal entrance at foot of tiered seating and emergency exit at top, and no matter where the smoke bomb was placed, almost all occupants tried to get out main entrance. Not many years ago fire and building codes were changed to assure main entrance could accomodat at least 50% of occupants.


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## teqniqal

For a well-documented read about this horrific incident, obtain a copy of the book "Killer Show' by John Barylick. He was the lead lawyer that sued on behalf of the injured and dead, and his analysis is an amazing story. Although available via several book sellers, the website for the book is: http://killershowbook.com

Sadly, almost exactly ten years later there was a similar fire in a Brazil nightclub named 'Kiss'. Over 250 person perished in just a few minutes. Very similar circumstances. More info at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiss_nightclub_fire


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