But over the weekend, Barry Warner said it was The Station owners Jeffrey and Michael Derderian who had initiated the sale of the cheap, highly flammable polyurethane packaging material as soundproofing for the club.
In his most recent explanation, Warner said he was approached by one of the brothers shortly after they bought The Station in March 2000.
Warner, who lives behind the building, said the co-owner wanted to address Warner's complaints about noise at the club, and once the brothers found out he worked for the American Foam Corp., they brought up the sale.
However, on Feb. 23, Warner told investigators he informed the Derderians about the packaging foam sold by his company, according to a police search warrant affidavit.
``Warner informed the Derderians that they could purchase the foam and use it as a form of sound-absorbing material,'' the document said.
Warner, who no longer works for American Foam, said Wednesday the affidavit didn't accurately represent his conversation with state and federal investigators.
``There's a lot of inaccuracies,'' Warner said, declining further comment.
A grand jury is investigating the Feb. 20 fire. Prosecutors have not again reserved the site where the panel is meeting until March 26, according to a source close to the investigation.
The soundproofing is considered a key part of the investigation into the fire, one of the deadliest nightclub blazes in U.S. history. State law bars highly flammable material from being used as soundproofing in clubs and bars.
The fire was sparked by the pyrotechnics display of the band Great White. Flames raced up the soundproofing behind and above the stage and ripped through the club. In addition to the dead, nearly 190 people were injured; 46 remained hospitalized Wednesday with injuries including severe burns and seared lungs.
The band has insisted it had permission to use the special effects, a claim denied by the Derderians. But officials are also investigating whether the foam should have been on the walls in the first place.
Michael Derderian's attorney, Kathleen Hagerty, has said the brothers deferred to Warner as the expert on a foam they believed to be appropriate soundproofing. American Foam president Aram DerManouelian has said the club bought $575 worth of the foam in mid-2000 and bought the ``cheapest'' material.
The investigative documents also describe details from probe by the police and Rhode Island Attorney General's office. They refer to the ``egg crate foam'' on the ceiling and walls.
``It would appear at this time that this material was NOT made of a fire retardant material but rather was highly combustible which served to feed the fire and cause it to spread rapidly,'' detectives wrote.
Police have taken computer equipment, electrical gear and faxes documenting pyrotechnic equipment from the band's tour bus, along with a ledger and other documents from a safe found in the club's ruins, the documents show.
Also found in the ruins are at least five pieces of foam, and a leather jacket, suitcase and bag belonging to guitarist Ty Longley, who died in the fire.
Meanwhile, the state has appointed Superior Court Judge Alice B. Gibney to manage what is expected to be a flood of lawsuits over the fire. At least one lawsuit has been filed so far.
The potential volume of claims has some state lawmakers thinking about establishing a compensation fund for victims and their families, similar to the fund created by Congress after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
