The Incident
First-In: Heroic Rescues
Death Toll Rises to 97
At Least 96 Dead in Inferno
Rescuers Struggle with Horror
Fire, Smoke Turns Club Into Hell
Discuss the Warwick Tragedy
The Aftermath
2 Families Sue in RI Nightclub Blaze
RI Nightclub Claims May Total $1B
RI Nightclub Death Toll Rises to 98
Victims Face Long Recovery
All But 4 Victims ID'd
Thousands Mourn Victims
IDs Could Take Days
Family, Friends Search
9/11 Widow Reflects
Survivors Recall Heroic Acts
The Investigation
Band Member Testifies
RI Reports Don't Mention Foam
Fire Inspector Report Released
Post-9/11 Drills Aid Club Rescue
Federal Team Launches Probe
Grand Jury Begins Probe
Brannigan: Inspectors Ready?
Investigation Ramps Up
Investigators Check Soundproof
Pyrotechnics Examined in Clubs
Disasters Prompt Inspections
Sprinklers Not Required
Nightclub Up to Code Before Fire
Town Withholds Records
RI Begins Inspections
No Warning of Pyro Use
Pyrotechnics Usually Safe
Atty: RI Club Rep. OK'd Pyrotech.
Fire Challenges State Atty. Gen.
IDs Weighed Heavy on Dentists
FEMA Denies Disaster Aid for Fire
Photos & Video
IBS Scene SlideShow
ABC: The Fire Starts
WJAR Video Feedroom
History of Tragedies
Carter: History Strikes Again
Fire, Life Safety Laws in Front
Tragedy Recalls Cocoanut Grove
Worst Club Tragedies
Nightclub Disasters Too Familiar
List: Worst Club Tragedies
Related Sites
West Warwick Fire Department
Warwick Fire Department
FH Network: Rhode Island
Providence Journal Coverage
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) -- When the band Great White made it big in the 1980s, they didn't go for the glitzy pyrotechnics used by many of the popular heavy metal bands of the day. But almost 20 years later, long after their heyday, Great White decided to give it a try.
Since January, when they started a new tour, the band had used pyrotechnics at least a half dozen times in small clubs around the country. On Feb. 20, the band's pyrotechnics sparked a fire that ripped through The Station nightclub in West Warwick.
Mitchell Shubert, 39, of Newberry, Fla., became the fire's 99th victim when he died Thursday at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. He had been in Rhode Island to visit friends and family. Nearly 190 others were injured in the blaze.
Since the fire, band members have insisted they received permission to use pyrotechnics from club owners Jeffrey and Michael Derderian. The Derderians, however, say the band never asked to use pyrotechnics and were never given permission.
The band's tour manager, Dan Biechele, made sure he spoke with each club on the tour to get permission for the special effects because it was a new part of the band's act, Great White's attorney said Thursday.
Biechele has not made any public remarks about the fire. However, band attorney Ed McPherson said Biechele made sure before each performance at each club, he would carefully explain exactly what he was going to do with the pyrotechnics, and receive explicit permission to use them.
The recent tour was the first time Great White had used pyrotechnics, McPherson said.
``They decided that they were going to spruce it up a little bit. So they said, 'Why don't we try this?''' McPherson said.
Biechele received verbal permission to use pyrotechnics from club co-owner Michael Derderian about a week before the West Warwick show, McPherson said.
Jeffrey Derderian's lawyer, Jeff Pine, said Biechele and Michael Derderian did talk by phone about a week before Great White's show at The Station. But Pine said the subject of pyrotechnics was never broached by Biechele.
``It absolutely wasn't discussed,'' Pine said Thursday. ``They talked about what kind of food and other provisions and specialty items the band needed _ towels, food and certain arrangements _ and there was absolutely no mention of pyrotechnics.''
A grand jury is investigating, and will decide if there is enough evidence to indict anyone on criminal charges.
Biechele's Rhode Island attorney, Thomas Briody, said Thursday he would not comment on the investigation.
Officials at clubs in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Florida and Maine where Great White recently played have said the band used pyrotechnics but didn't give advance notice to management.
McPherson said pyrotechnics are not mentioned in either the band's contract with the nightclub or in a ``tour rider'' _ an addendum to the contract _ because those documents were signed in December, and the band did not decide to use pyrotechnics on its tour until sometime in January.
``One of the big reasons why (Biechele) made certain he spoke to them orally is because it was not in the rider and he wanted to make sure he had permission from every single club,'' McPherson said.
Police searched the band's tour bus and took fax sheets for Great White's pyrotechnics order, three performance agreements, other unspecified documents, computer equipment and electrical gear, according to an inventory. They also found a ledger and other documents in a safe in the club's ruins, court documents show.
Among those killed in the fire was Great White guitarist Ty Longley.
McPherson said the band, which has been touring for two decades, got to know many of their fans by name and by face, and knew many of the people who died in the fire.
``The entire band is completely distraught,'' McPherson said. ``Their lives, obviously, will never be the same again.''
