Jump to content

Ninth Anniversary of The Station Nightclub Fire


Jahfin

Recommended Posts

I often refer to it as "the 9/11 of Rock n' Roll" as the first thing I do to this day when I enter a nightclub (or any venue) is to look for the exits. I still cringe when I think back to that night in 2003 when 100 people died at that Great White concert at The Station in Rhode Island. I feel for their families, the owners and Great White themselves. People love to point fingers and place blame but that is beside the point. That's not to say that no one is to blame because someone certainly was but the bottom line is, it could have happened anywhere or to any of us that frequently attend concerts. Nine years later, David Bettencourt, a filmmaker from Rhode Island, is making a documentary about that tragic evening which he hopes to have ready for release next year on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the fire. If you are interested in reading more about the documentary you can do so here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I often refer to it as "the 9/11 of Rock n' Roll" as the first thing I do to this day when I enter a nightclub (or any venue) is to look for the exits. I still cringe when I think back to that night in 2003 when 100 people died at that Great White concert at The Station in Rhode Island. I feel for their families, the owners and Great White themselves. People love to point fingers and place blame but that is beside the point. That's not to say that no one is to blame because someone certainly was but the bottom line is, it could have happened anywhere or to any of us that frequently attend concerts. Nine years later, David Bettencourt, a filmmaker from Rhode Island, is making a documentary about that tragic evening which he hopes to have ready for release next year on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the fire. If you are interested in reading more about the documentary you can do so here.

I remember,horrible.I do believe that GW manager and one the owners did do jail time over this.

RIP

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I live a stones throw from one of the most tragic night club fires in US history myself. The Beverly Hills Supper Club. May of 1978. 165 people died. I was only seven, but was related to two of the firefighters that were there, and knew someone from my school who lost both of his parents.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My wife has always had a list of "fire death traps" as she calls them that she will not attend concerts at. We didn't laugh at her, but did poke fun when debating weither or not to see a show at a particular venue. Then this tragedy happened....

It does not seem like 9 years ago either.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 years later...
  • 2 months later...

Memorial Park Opens at Site of Rhode Island Nightclub Fire That Killed 100

 

Hundreds gathered on Sunday at the opening of a memorial park at the site of a 2003 nightclub fire in Rhode Island that killed 100 people.

 

At least 500 people, including loved ones of the victims, local leaders and state officials, walked into Station Fire Memorial Park for the ceremony. The park was formally dedicated to the victims of The Station nightclub fire in West Warwick.

 

The Feb. 20, 2003, blaze began when pyrotechnics for the rock band Great White ignited flammable foam that lined the club's walls as soundproofing. It was engulfed within seconds. More than 200 people were injured.

170521-station-nightclub-fire-memorial-njs-607p_5088db8ef9e54585e140e7d0c1eb3b38.nbcnews-ux-2880-1000.thumb.jpg.6452780a1aeed3b6fc6e2f63bbce6a19.jpg

Survivors and relatives of those who were killed have worked for more than a decade to build a permanent memorial at the site, which for years was overgrown with weeds and dotted with handmade crosses, weather-beaten stuffed animals and personal memorabilia left by victims' loved ones.

 

Gina Russo, president of the Station Fire Memorial Foundation, was among the attendees Sunday. She lost her fiance, Fred Crisostomi, in the blaze and was severely burned. She has spent the years since then recovering and undergoing numerous operations while working to maintain her health insurance and trying to raise money to build the memorial and maintain it.

 

The one-acre park includes a courtyard, gardens and granite monuments with the names and birthdays of every victim.

 

Former Gov. Don Carcieri called the fire the "state's worst tragedy."

 

"Being here today...causes all the memories, all the emotions of that terrible night to wash back over us all again," he said Sunday. "The raw pain, sadness and heartbreak of losing loved ones so unexpectedly lives with us always."

170521-station-nightclub-fire-memorial-njs-608p_5088db8ef9e54585e140e7d0c1eb3b38.nbcnews-ux-320-320.jpg.8151551b2c4f01ba94d627e82434cde3.jpg

At the ceremony, 100 high school students each carried a rose for the victims. The service featured live music, and attendees were asked to remember the survivors, relatives of those who died and the first responders and people who helped that day. The victims' names were read aloud.

 

"My hope and my prayer is that this memorial can be a place of comfort and remembrance and healing, and I hope it can give you peace," Raimondo said.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/memorial-park-opens-site-rhode-island-nightclub-fire-killed-100-n762736

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very sad for sure.  The video and another of emergency communications (police and fire) is on Youtube.

I cannot imagine what the first EMTs on the scene thought when they saw the building fully involved....really amazing people doing really bad jobs....

It is just shocking how fast the place went up.  And allegedly, when it was just getting started, some fans tried to go out the rear exit and a bouncer stopped them and said "this door is only for the band".  Maybe he didn't realize how fast the place would burn down either.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...