The evening of February 20, 2003 was crisp, clear and cold in West Warwick, Rhode Island. Winters in New England tend to be long and monotonous, and what better way to stave off cabin fever than by checking out a band at a local club?
The 80’s band Great White was in town playing at The Station, a small, no-frills, don’t-wear shoes-you-care-about club that held about 300 people. Quite a step down from the heady days when Great White was enjoying A-list rock star status thanks to their mega-hit “Once Bitten Twice Shy,” but that’s the nature of the business.
Shortly after 11 p.m., Great White took the Station’s tiny stage and began their opening song. Their road manager, Daniel Biechele, set off the band’s pyrotechnic display as he had for so many other gigs, but this time a perfect storm of bad circumstances collided that resulted in one of the most deadly fires in U.S. history.
As the audience crowded closer to the stage to see the band, sparks from the pyrotechnic effects ignited the foam soundproofing of the club’s low ceiling, and within minutes the mainly wooden interior was engulfed with flames.
Thick, black smoke filled the air, and people began to panic. They rushed towards the exits, but because of the dense smoke many couldn’t make out where they were located, and the ones that could were bottle-necked at the doors, piled on top of each other, unable to escape. Most of those who died were found near the exits.
Station survivor Lisa Shea told CNN the day after the fire that:
“The whole place got tons of black smoke. We were breathing black smoke. I got knocked on the ground. People were standing on my back, my head. I was holding my head, and I said, ‘I’m going to die here.’ All I could think about was my mother, and I said, ‘I got to get up. I got to get up.’”
When the next day dawned, what was left of The Station — a pile of charred, blackened wood — was still smoldering. 100 people had perished in the blaze, and another 230 were injured. Only 132 people escaped without physical harm, but it’s doubtful that anyone present remained unscathed by what they witnessed that night.
There was plenty of finger-pointing about who was at fault, and also plenty of blame to go around. The Station’s owners, Great White and their management, the West Warwick fire marshal, among others, all had their actions, or lack thereof, called into question.
After plenty of legal wrangling, Great White’s road manager, Daniel Biechele, who set off the pyrotechnics that caused the fire, plead guilty to over 100 counts of involuntary manslaughter. He was sentenced to 15 years, with four years mandatory and his final 11 years suspended. Biechele was deeply affected by what happened that night at The Station. The families of some of the victims petitioned for his early release, and he was free by March 2008.
Jeffrey A. and Michael A. Derderian, who owned the nightclub, were fined $1.07 million for not providing their employees with adequate worker’s compensation insurance, including four who died in the fire. Jeffrey received a 10-year suspended sentence, 3 years probation and 500 hours of community service, while his brother Michael was sentenced to 15 years, with four years mandatory and 11 suspended. He was granted an early release in June 2009.
In the spot where The Station used to stand there are 100 wooden crosses, fashioned with wood recovered from the remnants of the charred building. 100 crosses to represent each life lost that February night. There is now a formal memorial to those lost on that spot, but one has to wonder if it could be any more poignant than those simple wooden crosses. #100WoodenCrosses Click To Tweet
