At least 96 people are dead and approximately 187 injured after a massive fire sparked by pyrotechnics broke out during a rock concert at a nightclub in West Warwick, R.I., about 15 miles southwest of Providence.
The death toll climbed steadily throughout the day as charred bodies were found inside the skeletal remains of the building. Most of the bodies were found near the club’s front door, and some of victims were burned and others killed by smoke inhalation. West Warwick Fire Chief Charles Hall said some also appeared to have been trampled in the rush to escape.
Only seven victims have been positively identified.
”They were completely burned. They had pieces of flesh falling off them,” said Michelle Craine, who was waiting to hear
about a friend who was missing. ”It was the worst thing I’ve ever seen.”
Family and friends flocked to area hospitals, looking for word on loved ones who were missing or injured. Three dozen people remain in critical condition.
A family center has been set up at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Warwick by the American Red Cross of Rhode Island. Grief counselors and clergy members are on hand.
The fire broke out about 11 p.m. Thursday night at a club called ”The Station” during a performance by the ’80s
heavy-metal band Great White.
Investigators said the group’s pyrotechnic special effects ignited the ceiling and soundproofing near the stage. The flames engulfed the one-story wood-frame building in less than three
minutes.
Some 350 people were believed to be in the club at the time. Witnesses say patrons ran for the exits and broke windows to escape the flames.
 Great White performs with pyrotechnics (Photo: WPRI-TV) |
“They tried to go out the same way they came in. That was the problem. They didn’t use the other three fire exits,” he said and pointed out the exits were working properly.
Great White’s lead singer, Jack Russell, told WJAR-TV the fire started just as the band was beginning its first song.
Russell said he turned around to see the ceiling and walls on fire and felt the heat of the flames while on stage.
”This place went up like the Fourth of July,” he said. “It went up in seconds. I grabbed a bottle of water and tried to throw it on there but that didn’t help. Then I was pulled out of the club by the
security personnel,” Russell said.
He said the group uses pyrotechnic ”props” in its peformances and described the walls of the club as being covered in some type of foam.
He said he checked with the club’s manager before the show and the band’s use of pyrotechnics was approved.
An attorney for the club, however, tells a different story.
“No permission was ever requested by the band or its agents to use pyrotechnics at The Station, and no permission was ever given,” said Kathleen Hagerty, a lawyer representing club owners Michael and Jeffrey Derderian, according to an AP report.
The owner of a well-known New Jersey nightclub told AP Great White failed to tell him they were using pyrotechnics for a concert there a week ago.
“Our stage manager didn’t even know it until it was done,” said Domenic Santana, owner of the Stone Pony in Asbury Park. “My sound man freaked out because of the heat and everything,
and they jeopardized the health and the safety of our patrons.”
Hall told reporters the club passed a routine fire inspection on Dec. 31, but said there was no permit for pyrotechnics.
The club was not large enough to be required to have a sprinkler system.
The fire was the second tragedy at a U.S. club in four days. Early Monday, 21 people were killed and more than 50 were injured in a stampede at a Chicago nightspot, which began after a
security guard used pepper spray to break up a fight.
The worst nightclub fire in the United States was Nov. 28, 1942, when 491 people died at Boston’s Cocoanut Grove
nightclub.
The 2 things Trump can do to make himself the GOAT president
Wayne Allyn Root