9th anniversary, the Station fire...

[DeputyChiefGonzo]

Today marks the 9th anniversary of the Station Nightclub fire in Warwick, Rhode Island.

The fire began at 11:07 PM EST, on Thursday, February 20, 2003 and killed 100 people.

In Massachusetts, the Station fire caused a ripple effect, the State enacted a sprinkler law for venues that seat over 100 people and also established annual inspections for all bars, clubs and restaurants in order to renew their liquor licensing.

[WD6956]

Today marks the 9th anniversary of the Station Nightclub fire in Warwick, Rhode Island.

The fire began at 11:07 PM EST, on Thursday, February 20, 2003 and killed 100 people.

In Massachusetts, the Station fire caused a ripple effect, the State enacted a sprinkler law for venues that seat over 100 people and also established annual inspections for all bars, clubs and restaurants in order to renew their liquor licensing.

Excellent video showing the start of the fire and how fast it spread.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVPgzLddshE

The video is continuous and while tragic provides a rare look at how fast this fire grew and how deadly it was. Many of my freinds knew victims of this fire.

[johnsb]

And yet, some where out there, another fire hazard just like that is lurking.... Hopefully some good firefighter will spot the condition before people die and get it corrected.

[Rescue101]

Study history. Parallel events happen at almost predictable times because we seem to forget the lessons of the PAST. And YES, it WILL happen again.........Somewhere. Don't let it be in YOUR jurisdiction,

[Picc.93Truck]

Wasn't this something like the 3ed deadliest nightclub fire in the US? I wasn't around at the time, still a youngin' I've read articles and watched video's though. Terrible terrible thing.

[EastKyFF]

Wasn't this something like the 3ed deadliest nightclub fire in the US? I wasn't around at the time, still a youngin' I've read articles and watched video's though. Terrible terrible thing.

OK, the Station fire seems like it was just yesterday, and here you are posting that you were too young to follow it at the time. I am officially feeling old today. (It was 4th deadliest, according to Wikipedia. That might depend on one's definition of a nightclub, too, I guess.)


Great points, everybody. Triangle Shirtwaist...Iroquois Theater...Cocoanut Grove...Beverly Hills Supper Club...The Station... so many more. History does in fact repeat itself. Let's all be observant in our districts and do everything we can to ensure that such a tragedy never occurs again.

[FWDbuff]

In Massachusetts, the Station fire caused a ripple effect, the State enacted a sprinkler law for venues that seat over 100 people and also established annual inspections for all bars, clubs and restaurants in order to renew their liquor licensing.

Which are all great, but aren't worth schit when the Tour Manager of the Act and the owners of the nightclub conciously, blatantly and willingly violate building, fire and life safety codes.

And for the record- all three of them got off lightly. If it were up to me they would be spending the rest of their natural lives behind bars.

[slackjawedyokel]

I have the video saved - I recently butted heads at the jr high music room -they had glued egg crate foam to the roof. helped me make my point.

[snowball]

I have the video saved - I recently butted heads at the jr high music room -they had glued egg crate foam to the roof. helped me make my point.

Schools are the worst offenders of overdecorating. Yet we send our own kids there everyday.

[Dickey]

As I have said before, this incident could have easily happened in my town just 3 weeks prior with this band promoter jackass!!

Very tragic....do not let it happen in your town!!

[Truck_3]

I teach For a Fire Ex. Vendor. One of the clients is a Company which supports concert Productions (Roadies). I have used the Station Video as a teaching tool. The One Teaching point is One Person with a Fire Extingusher would have/could have changed the entire outcome. Second point is looking at the venue for safety exits and how/where to get out.

[Picc.93Truck]

OK, the Station fire seems like it was just yesterday, and here you are posting that you were too young to follow it at the time. I am officially feeling old today. (It was 4th deadliest, according to Wikipedia. That might depend on one's definition of a nightclub, too, I guess.)

Haha sorry! I'm truly a younger firefighter, atleast you didn't have to tend to the horses when you joined!

[yjbrody]

No matter how many times I watch that, it still surprises me how quickly everything went south. Thanks for posting the video.

I didn't think it was that long ago either.

[EastKyFF]

No matter how many times I watch that, it still surprises me how quickly everything went south. Thanks for posting the video.

I didn't think it was that long ago either.

Absolutely, absolutely. To see that smoke following the videographer out is scary, and to see those humans logjammed at the door is absolutely horrifying.

I reviewed some of the Beverly Hill Supper Club stuff as I looked through this thread, too. Scary stuff. There was an outstanding article in the Cincinnati Enquirer about that fire, 20 years later.

http://www.enquirer.com/beverlyhills/where.html

[emt161]

Which are all great, but aren't worth schit when the Tour Manager of the Act and the owners of the nightclub conciously, blatantly and willingly violate building, fire and life safety codes.

And for the record- all three of them got off lightly. If it were up to me they would be spending the rest of their natural lives behind bars.

Fire Marshal never had to explain why he increased the capacity something like 5 times, either. He couldn't even be a defendant in the civil suit due to immunity laws, from what I read.

[WD6956]

I teach For a Fire Ex. Vendor. One of the clients is a Company which supports concert Productions (Roadies). I have used the Station Video as a teaching tool. The One Teaching point is One Person with a Fire Extingusher would have/could have changed the entire outcome.

I disagree that one person with an extinguisher could have prevented (for the sake of argument) that disaster. You had two fires start at the same time over 6' up in the air and over 10' apart. By the time the pyrotechnics stopped both fires were well underway. Not a chance that ONE person with a water can or Dry Chem (the most likley types of extinguishers you would find) could have knocked BOTH fires down. The person would have to deal with the band and crowd just to get to each fire. Impossible.

I do agree that a person with any common sense who would be at the ready with an extinguisher because of the fact they were using Pyro could have likley delayed the fire's spread to the point more people might have gotten out. But the video clearly shows that one extinguisher was not going to knock that fire down.

But i would have hoped that anybody with the common sense to know to keep an extinguisher handy would also be smart enough to know that you should not use open flames near foam rubber and would have pointed this out to them. Even cutting a small piece of foam off and lighting it to show them.

[Truck_3]

WD, Fair Point. I just think given one person taking a shot at the incipent fire could have changed the outcome. Would it have put it out, maybe not but it sure as hell wouldn't have made it any worse. I'm going to talk to the local training center with a flashover sim and see if they would let me hang board with eggcrate stapled to it and try it. Worse they can say is no.