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Author Topic: Dozens killed in Rhode Island nightclub fire Leo Enticknap Film God Posts: 7474 From: Loma Linda, CA Registered: Jul 2000 posted 02-21-2003 10:21 AM                        Link to story. It seems the blaze was started by fireworks deliberately being discharged inside the building! Whoever allowed that to happen has a lot of answering to do, IHMO.  |  IP: Logged Bill Gabel Film God Posts: 3873 From: Technicolor / Postworks NY, USA Registered: Jan 2002 posted 02-21-2003 10:48 AM                     According to the news it started during the first song, when giant pyotechnic sparklers on stage began shooting up & ignited the ceiling above them and the soundproofing near the stage. The entire club was engulfed in flames within 3 mins. Right now the count is 65 killed. They didn't have a city permit for the pyrotechnics. Last week in Chicago 21 people got killed at a night club. The worst night club fire was in 1942, when about 491 people died at the Boston Coconut Grove. [ 02-21-2003, 12:25 PM: Message edited by: Bill Gabel ]  |  IP: Logged Stephen Furley Film God Posts: 3059 From: Coulsdon, Croydon, England Registered: May 2002 posted 02-21-2003 10:48 AM                     Nightclubs seem to be prone to fires, there have been many in the news over the past twenty years, or so, but this does sound worse than most, a very high death toll. I wonder what type of pyrotechnics they were using, and whether they were designed for indoor use?  |  IP: Logged Paul Goulet Master Film Handler Posts: 347 From: Rhode Island Registered: Jan 2000 posted 02-21-2003 01:40 PM                        Death toll is now up to 85, with 10 to 15 more deaths possible. It is definetly a day of tragedy in Rhode Island. There was a TV crew shooting a story about night clubs inside the club when the fire broke out and to see the video of the fire unfolding just makes it more unbelievable. Paul Goulet  |  IP: Logged Bobby Henderson "Ask me about Trajan." Posts: 10973 From: Lawton, OK, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 02-21-2003 06:19 PM                     CNN played video of the fire starting (from the cameras of a TV station doing a news story about the concert). It looked to me like the pyrotechnics stuff was a very bad idea from the outset. The effects were a very bad idea considering where they were placed (it looked like some sparking effects were mounted on the walls not far from the ceiling --and they caught the roof on fire very quickly). Normally spark generating items or flashpots are mounted on the floor. But even still, the ceiling of this old nightclub was very low. Anything being set off would surely ignite parts of the building. The band, Great White, insists the nightclub owner gave them permission to set up the pyros. The owners disagree, saying they knew nothing of the band using pyrotechnic displays. Sounds to me like both parties are going to be sued to total oblivion in nearly 100 wrongful death cases. Another really bad thing is the stories from survivors who say everyone piled up at the exit unable to get out because a few people at the exit fell down causing a human logjam. When in peril, you're supposed to keep your feet underneath you and moving. The falling down crap is only supposed to happen in bad slasher movies when some bimbo is being chased by a maniac wearing a hockey mask. Knowing the darker side of human nature, I can't help but wonder if some practical joker took the opportunity to trip someone just to be funny. What a gigantic, senseless tragedy! Maybe I should count myself lucky. I've seen Great White twice in concert (once with Judas Priest in 1984 and again here in Lawton a couple years ago)--and I survived!  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 02-21-2003 06:50 PM                        I saw the video. What amazes me is that those sparking pyros just kept going and going. I've seen a lot of pyro in concerts and such, and usually it's something that goes BAM and that's it... maybe repeated explosions, but I don't think I've seen anything that just went on and on like this did. Death toll is into the 90s according to the early evening news here.  |  IP: Logged Bill Gabel Film God Posts: 3873 From: Technicolor / Postworks NY, USA Registered: Jan 2002 posted 02-21-2003 06:51 PM                     On NBC tonight they said two owners of clubs where Great White played resently. They said they tried to use the pyro stuff without permission for the show. The owners had no idea they were going to use it.  |  IP: Logged Paul G. Thompson The Weenie Man Posts: 4718 From: Mount Vernon WA USA Registered: Nov 2000 posted 02-21-2003 07:00 PM                     According to the news, so far 95 people have lost their lives in that tragic fire. There appears to be a big pissing contest between the club management and the Great White's management company. Great White's management says the tour manager "always checks" with club officials before pyrotechnics are used. The news also points out that a club owner in New Jersey indicated Great White failed to tell her they were using pyrotechnics for a concert there a week ago. The owner went on to say that the stage manager didn't even know it until it was done. The lawyer for the club's management said that "No permission was ever requested by the band or its agents to use pyrotechnics at The Station, and no permission was ever given."  |  IP: Logged Jack Ondracek Film God Posts: 2348 From: Port Orchard, WA, USA Registered: Oct 2002 posted 02-21-2003 07:09 PM                        Jim Abrams (Fox News) got ahold of one of Great White's contracts today. No mention of Pyros of any kind. They also had the owner of another club where G/W played last week. The owner insists pretty much everything short of "who farts where" is in those contracts. According to him, G/W set off pyros during their opening number at that venue as well. He says that the subject of using them was never brought up, much less whether permission was given. Bobby's probably got it right. "Sued to total oblivion" is probably going to be a conservative description of the fallout over this.  |  IP: Logged Paul G. Thompson The Weenie Man Posts: 4718 From: Mount Vernon WA USA Registered: Nov 2000 posted 02-21-2003 07:15 PM                     Yup!  |  IP: Logged Ray Brown Expert Film Handler Posts: 111 From: Dayton, WA, USA Registered: Sep 2002 posted 02-21-2003 10:19 PM                        The foam rubber egg crate shaped acoustic paneling caught on fire and quickly spread to the low ceiling. The pyrotechnics stuff was placed to close to the paneling. What the hell were they thinking?? I saw the interview of the Great White lead singer quickly trying to blame the club owner this morning. He didn't sound very convincing to me. The interview with the New Jersey club owner saying he didn't give them permission to set that stuff off in his club hasn't helped the lead singers story any. As of 7:00 tonight Pacific time, the death toll was at 96. Somebody is looking at some major jail time for negligent homicide.  |  IP: Logged Paul G. Thompson The Weenie Man Posts: 4718 From: Mount Vernon WA USA Registered: Nov 2000 posted 02-21-2003 10:38 PM                     Ray said: quote: The pyrotechnics stuff was placed to close to the paneling. What the hell were they thinking?? Well, Ray...when I saw a picture of one of the blowtorches in the background, I wondered the same thing. Those who set up the pyros had to definately had their heads inserted in the lower portion of their body. I wonder what the hell they were smoking when they were rigging the pyros. Here is a picture that was posted on AOL News. Notice what I have circled in red. How and why on God's Green Earth could someone in a stable mind even think of placing something like that so close to the ceiling? You can plainly see it is setting the ceiling on fire. If the club managers were "on the ball" and inspected the setup, I am sure they would have noticed it. Why wasn't it immediately questioned? Maybe what should happen is that any concert using pyros should have a safety inspection by the city fire departments and a permit issued even before the concert begins. I see this tragic accident as being 100% preventable if someone would have been doing their job.  |  IP: Logged Ken Layton Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1452 From: Olympia, Wash. USA Registered: Sep 1999 posted 02-21-2003 11:23 PM                     I used to be a licensed pyrotechnician 20 years ago doing stage shows as a sideline. Here in Washington state you must pass a state test for pyrotechnician. You must then obtain a special license from the fire chief of the city in which the pyrotechnics will be used. The license spells out EXACTLY how many and what types of pyrotechnics will be used on stage. The effects must be "line of sight" of the pyrotechnician and the technician must have at all times a large capacity fire extinguisher "at his side". If a stage production does not have the required pyrotechnic license, then the fire dept has the authority to immediately shut down the show.  |  IP: Logged Paul G. Thompson The Weenie Man Posts: 4718 From: Mount Vernon WA USA Registered: Nov 2000 posted 02-21-2003 11:51 PM                     Ken, that's the way it should be in ALL states. I think most everyone would agree on something like this. If they don't, they sure as hell would when they lose one of their kids or a loved one in a fire that was as senseless as this one was.  |  IP: Logged Ken Layton Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1452 From: Olympia, Wash. USA Registered: Sep 1999 posted 02-22-2003 01:09 AM                     The things I mentioned are the LAW here in Washington state. The local city fire departments have the authority to be even stricter for pyrotechnics.  |  IP: Logged

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