At least 95 people are confirmed dead and more than 100 injured after a fast-moving blaze swept through a Rhode Island nightclub Thursday night during a concert by '80s heavy metal band Great White.
More than 200 people had packed The Station nightclub in the town of West Warwick, 15 miles south of Providence, when the fire broke out at about 11 p.m., as the rockers took the stage. A pyrotechnics display sparked the fire that quickly engulfed the club, sending fans scurrying for the exits.
Investigators said the fatalities occurred as a result of burns or smoke inhalation, while others were crushed to death during the rush to get out. Most of the bodies were found by the club's front doors.
Officials say the ages of the victims were mostly in their thirties and forties, though there were some teens in attendance. At least 81 people have been hospitalized, and the death toll is expected to climb.
This is the second nightclub disaster in one week. Last Monday, 21 people were crushed to death at the E2 nightclub on Chicago's South Side when a security guard sprayed pepper spray and set off a stampede. The worst nightclub fire in the nation's history occurred when 492 people lost their lives at the Cocoanut Grove in Boston.
Throughout their current club tour, Great White has often used pyrotechnics to get the crowd revved up when they take the stage, but this time, the sparklers ignited a fire at the back of the stage.
According to witnesses, many fans didn't realize immediately that something was wrong and kept cheering. But when the fire spread, burning through paneling and sound proofing on the walls, people started to panic.
Michelle Malardo, 35, of Coventry, Rhode Island, said fans frantically climbed on top of one another to escape the billowing smoke and flames and to squeeze through the club's front door to safety.
"They were jumping all over each other, and they were on fire," Malardo told the Associated Press. "There were so many people trying to get out of there that they were just trampling each other."
Investigators confirmed the club did not have a sprinkler system, because it was an older building.
West Warwick police chief, Peter Brousseau, indicated charges will "most definitely" be filed against the owners of the nightclub, but officials are still trying to assess who was ultimately responsible.
At issue is whether or not Great White had permission to set off pyrotechnics.
Fire officials said the club did not have a pyrotechnics license but a statement from club owners, Michael and Jeffrey Derderian, released this afternoon said they were not aware that pyrotechnics were going to be used in the act and did not give the okay.
"At no time did either owner have prior knowledge that pyrotechnics were going to be used by the band Great White," read the statement. "No permission was ever requested by the band or its agents to use pyrotechnics at the Station, and no permission was ever given."
That claim was given some credence by the owner of a New Jersey nightclub, The Stone Pony. Dominic Santana said the band used pyrotechnics without his permission at his venue where Great White played last week.
"On this event on February 14, not once were we told that there were going to be any pyrotechnics whatsoever," said Santana. I was in the back office myself [during their show] and heard through radio communications, 'What the hell is going on?' If we had known, we would never have allowed pyrotechnics."
However, according to lead singer, Jack Russell, the band did get approval from The Station's owners.
"Tonight we had permission to do it, set it up, and it must have hit the foam stuff...it's obviously very combustible and went up quickly," Russell told reporters.
Russell noted that the band had used sparklers many times in previous shows and that they only emitted modest heat. When it caught some foam on the wall, he tried to extinguish it.
"I started trying to douse it with a water bottle thinking I'm going to put it out," he said. "The next thing you know, the whole place is in flames. All the lights went out."
Lead guitarist Ty Longley is listed among the missing and is feared dead.
Nightclub owner Jeffrey Derderian was reportedly at the club and helped patrons out of the building. He and his brother expressed their heartfelt condolences to the victims and their families.
"Last night's fire and loss of life at the Station is an absolute tragedy which cannot be described by words," read the statement released Friday. "The owners of the club, Michael and Jeffrey Derderian, are devastated and in shock over these events, which have claimed the lives of so many, including their friends. Their prayers and deep-felt sympathy go out to those who lost their lives, their families and to those who were injured."
Rhode Governor Don Carcieri called it a "terrible tragedy" after touring the scene of the catastrophe.
"I would say to let off a pyrotechnic inside that building, you are asking for a trouble, but it's my understanding they never asked to do that," Carcieri said at a press conference.
The West Warwick District Attorney's office is conducting its investigation and is planning to interview band members.
Great White, which formed in Southern California in 1984, eschewed the hair-metal style of most late '80s rockers in favor of a southern-based blues-rock sound. They scored their biggest hit, "Once Bitten, Twice Shy," in 1990.
The song was nominated for a Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance and the album from which it came, Twice Shy, sold more than 2 million copies. The band even secured a slot on the Monsters of Rock tour with KISS and Iron Maiden.
During the '90s, however, the band fell into obscurity with the onslaught of grunge and took to the club circuit.