The Station Nightclub Fire

[JerseyMatt]

When someone buys a building, there is no plan review and inspection, like for a new building. I don't think this is ahj oversight, as the ahj had no responsibility to inspect upon purchase.

The NFPA Assembly Occupancy committee, of which I am a member and simply by longevity the senior member having joined in 1987, had a special meeting as a result of this, and heard a lot of experts. I had also visited the site since I lived not too far from it.

Prior to the changes made at that meeting, sprinklers were not required in that building.

I believe the pyro is the biggest culprit, and that indoor pyro should not be allowed. The great age of theatre fires ended promptly with the development of the electric light bulb and passing of open flame and arc lighting. Indoor pyro has just reintroduced the ignition source. Take away the pyro away and we never hear if the Station.

It's really hard to find info on anything prior to the fire anymore, because the search engine crawlers are swamped with 12 years of references to the fire and the laws/regulations stemming from it. It has since been purged but there used to be an article in the Providence Journal archive that had an inspector go on the record saying all nightclubs in RI with a capacity over 300 were required to have sprinkler systems since 1976. The building was turned into a club in the 80's (voiding the grandfather clause), and had an OL of 406, so they would have been required to install a sprinkler system. Even if they weren't required to have an inspection before opening, it's a glaring omission that a fire marshal should have caught at some point over the years. Just like the tinderbox foam, lack of fire extingushers, yadda yadda. The place "passed" a fire inspection like two weeks before the fire.

 

[BillConnerFASTC]

The NIST report states fire sprinklers were not required. fire.nist.gov/bfrlpubs/fire05/PDF/f05032.pdf

NIST report by engineers or journalist - take your choice. We changed the code in the emergency session so sprinklers would be required.

Without pyro, no story. Maybe without the highly flammable foam, no story. Occupancy was also over what had been permitted and added obstructions, like where they collected admission, hindered egress. The band also purposely blocked the egress by the stage.

If you look at large loss of life fires, especially in assembly occupancies, inadequate, obstructed, and unmaintained egress is a common cause of injuries and deaths. The added requirements for management is really the more important change than lowering sprinkler thresholds.

 

[Les]

Honestly, IMO, I think that way too much blame is placed on the pyro operator for that show. I mean, it was his screwup that caused the initial ignition, but it was the sub-par construction and safety systems that caused the fire to spread out of control so quickly.

[necroquote]
I believe the "pyro operator" deserves the blame he received. After all, he wasn't a real (licensed) pyrotechnician at all, let alone pulled a permit. A crime (well, several) was committed and lots of lives were lost as a result. Even the most rudimentary knowledge of pyro would have prevented this fire. An inexperienced and unlicensed driver plowing in to a crowd of people would be a similar analogy to use, and my guess is that they would be held accountable for their actions as well.

Don't get me wrong, the place was a deathtrap to begin with. But the root cause was the fact that 1.4g pyrotechnics were illegally used. No real pyrotechnic operator worth his salt would have touched the place with a ten-foot pole.

 

[What Rigger?]

According to metalsludge.tv, somebody was trying to sell the burned remnants of Great White's instruments and backline on Craigslist. http://www.metalsludge.tv/?p=48396 Looks like the listing got pulled, but still, if true these people are the worst of everything.

Also, be advised: Metal Sludge may be NSFW on any given day.

 

[Robert]

It is a horrible thing to know that the so many people died doing something they loved and that I love as well. I've worked on so many tours and shows and have seen some strange stuff, but safety was always my priority.
So on a more constructive note: Know your exits. I teach my students to realize that the way you come into a venue is not necessarily the only way out. Perhaps you vaguely remember the airline talk that reminds you that the nearest exit may be other than the one you came onto the plane through. For us old folk we remember the movie of lemmings following each on off a cliff. Thanks Walt Disney for that screwed up memory. Thus comes the term "Lemming Effect," each one following the other. I've worked after-hours clubs that I purposely walked until I found another exit. I told the band what the deal was as well. Tell your friends and student to look for the exits! Tell them to move fast and with purpose the moment they feel something is wrong. That little voice is your friend. There were so many people who could have used a different exit if they had only known to look.
Nothing excuses the circumstances that let this happen. It's a screwed up tragedy and so many were hurt horribly by it.

 

[BillConnerFASTC]

Good points but in planning, keep in !Ind a !majority of the occupants will try to egress the same place the came in. Probably lack of familiarity and uncertainty the other ways outs are open and clear is a major factor. Tests in the UK demonstrated this. A lecture room with normal entrance at foot of tiered seating and emergency exit at top, and no matter where the smoke bomb was placed, almost all occupants tried to get out main entrance. Not many years ago fire and building codes were changed to assure main entrance could accomodat at least 50% of occupants.

 

[teqniqal]

For a well-documented read about this horrific incident, obtain a copy of the book "Killer Show' by John Barylick. He was the lead lawyer that sued on behalf of the injured and dead, and his analysis is an amazing story. Although available via several book sellers, the website for the book is: http://killershowbook.com

Sadly, almost exactly ten years later there was a similar fire in a Brazil nightclub named 'Kiss'. Over 250 person perished in just a few minutes. Very similar circumstances. More info at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiss_nightclub_fire