watching MSnbc right now.............Great White concert.......300-400 patrons......pyrotechnic display goes terribly wrong.......more to come.............Not a joke!
WEST WARWICK, R.I., Feb. 20 — A huge fire engulfed a Rhode Island nightclub during a rock concert’s pyrotechnics display, causing at least 10 deaths, authorities said. Dozens of people were injured, officials said. THE BLAZE broke out at about 11 p.m. Thursday during a pyrotechnics display during a Great White concert at The Station in West Warwick. The club quickly went up in flames and little was left of the building early Friday. Fire Capt. Russell McGillivray said an estimated 10 to 20 people died. He said many of them were found in the front door area after they apparently frantically rushed to the exits. Dozens were reportedly injured. Rescue workers brought victims out of the club on stretchers and several appeared to have serious burns, NBC affiliate WJAR-TV reported. Jack Russell, the lead singer of Great White, told WJAR-TV that he checked with the club’s manager before the show and the band’s use of pyrotechnics was approved. He said he felt the heat of the flames while on stage. “This place went up like the Fourth of July,” he said. PYROTECHNICS BLAMED Town Manager Wolfgang Bauer said a flame from a pyrotechnics display hit styrofoam in the ceiling. “Everybody knows there were pyrotechnics used in there,” he said. “We found people in a corner of the building. So there are dead people in there.” Advertisement Hundreds of firefighters and police from across the region and dozens of ambulances were on the scene. Rescuers were pulling badly injured victims from the fire as ladder trucks poured water over the flaming skeleton of the building. “The place went up within a matter of two minutes,” John Kudryk of Southeastern Massachusetts told the Providence Journal. “Two of our friends, we can’t find them” because they were seated near the front, and it appeared they didn’t have time to get out. Great White is a 1980s heavy metal band whose hits include “Once Bitten, Twice Shy” and “Rock Me.” The concert also featured the Canadian group Fathead. The fire comes four days after 21 people were killed and more than 50 injured during a stampede in a Chicago nightclub that began when a security guard used pepper spray to break up a fight.
damn it was at 26 now its at least 39. its pretty freaky watching the injury total go down and the death toll go up.
WEST WARWICK, R.I., Feb. 21 — A huge fire engulfed a Rhode Island nightclub during a rock concert’s pyrotechnics display, killing at least 39 people, authorities said early Friday. Around 160 people were injured, some critically, as mobs of concertgoers frantically rushed to escape the raging fire, officials said. WEST WARWICK Fire Capt. Russell McGillivray said 39 people were confirmed dead. He said many of the victims were found in the front door area after apparently becoming trapped trying to escape the fast-spreading flames. “I think it will take a good amount of time before the building can be thoroughly searched and a definite number can be estimated,” Town Manager Wolfgang Bauer said. The blaze broke out at about 11 p.m. Thursday during a pyrotechnics display during a Great White concert at The Station in West Warwick, about 15 miles southwest of Providence. The club quickly went up in flames and little was left of the one-story building hours later. “The place went up within a matter of two minutes,” witness John Kudryk told the Providence Journal. More than 160 people were taken to area hospitals including Rhode Island Hospital in Providence and Kent County Memorial Hospital in nearby Warwick, Bauer said. Firefighters worked into the morning Friday to pull charred bodies from the building as onlookers watched — worried about missing friends. “They were completely burned. They had pieces of flesh falling off them,” said Michelle Craine of West Warwick, who was waiting to hear about a friend who was missing. “It was the worst thing I’ve ever seen.” Paul Vanner, the club’s sound technician and stage manager, said more than 300 people were at the concert. Ty Longley, one of the guitarists for Great White, was not seen leaving the building and was feared dead or injured, Manic Music Management Inc., the California-based company that manages the group, told NBC News. It was not immediately known how many people attended the concert, however, one witness told The Providence Journal that about 300 people had been inside. ‘IT HAPPENED SO FAST’ Chaos erupted moments after the blaze broke out. Witnesses said dozens of people rushed toward the exit, and those who escaped were later seen staggering into a triage center. Rescuers carried dozens of people on stretchers. Hundreds of firefighters and police from across the region and dozens of ambulances were on the scene. Rescuers were pulling badly injured victims from the fire as ladder trucks poured water over the flaming skeleton of the building. “It was calm at first, everyone thought it was part of the act,” said John DiMeo, who was sitting at the bar near the front door when the fire started. “It happened so fast.” In a phone interview with NBC affiliate WJAR-TV, Rhode Island Gov. Don Carcieri questioned whether the club had the necessary permits allowing pyrotechnic displays Jack Russell, the lead singer of Great White, told NBC affiliate WJAR-TV that he checked with the club’s manager before the show and the band’s use of pyrotechnics was approved. He said he felt the heat of the flames while on stage. “This place went up like the Fourth of July,” he said. Bauer couldn’t speculate on the specific cause, but said a flame from the pyrotechnics display hit styrofoam in the ceiling. “Everybody knows there were pyrotechnics used in there,” he said. “We found people in a corner of the building. So there are dead people in there.” Great White is a heavy metal band whose hits include “Once Bitten, Twice Shy” and “Rock Me.” The band emerged in the Los Angeles metal scene of the late 1980s, selling 6 million albums and earning a Grammy nomination in 1990. They continued to tour and make albums in recent years, maintaining a strong allegiance of fans from their glory days of the 1980s. The fire comes four days after 21 people were killed and more than 50 injured during a stampede in a Chicago nightclub that began when a security guard used pepper spray to break up a fight. Thursday night’s fire is believed to be the worst in Rhode Island since 10 women were killed in a fire at a Providence College dormitory in 1977. Terrible news, I'm sure it's gonna rise some more as the morning comes.
Very tragic, but... My question is: How could the band be so unthinking as to use a pyro display such as this in (1) such a small club with (2) low ceilings and (3)curtains in the back of the stage. I smell a bunch of lawsuits, and the end of "Great White".
not likely imo. They had clearance from the club manager to use the sparkler. If they quit, it wont be because of lawsuits. I dont know for sure, but I would think the club would be the ones getting sued seeing as they cleared the use of the spark machine. Maybe one of our lawyer types could illuminate us on this? What a horrifying feeling that must have been to be unable to get away from the flame because of the mob tryin to get out.
There was a potentially similar incident in Minneapolis at the Fine Line Music Cafe Sunday night. Some non-descript band used pyro-technics (which the club owners did not know about). The place caught fire and suffered a lot of damage but all got out safely.
See video of the fire starting at the concert here: http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/Northeast/02/21/deadly.nightclub.fire/ The guy shooting the video was pretty smart...he's walking away from the fire the whole time while other fans stay up by the stage.
What an awful thing for the audience. I think both the band and the club will be held liable. Just because the club owner permitted this act of stupidity doesn't mean the band can avoid fault. However, I bet the band will end up suing the club and vice versa.
