An Immediate Lesson from the Horror and Tragedy in Rhode Island

JeffHead.com ^ | February 21, 2003 | Jeff Head

[Jeff Head]

Tragedy and Abject Horror in Rhode Island

People trapped at the front door of The Station as the fire approaches ... and then The Station fully engulfed

Here is a first hand account that was apparently posted on www.metal-sludge.com by an eye-witness to the senseless and horrific events at The Station Night Club in Rhode Island on February 20, 2003 where 100 or more people died.

From metal-sludge: This email was just sent into us by Sludgeaholic George D. It's a chilling account of what he experienced at the Great White show last night.

My name is George D. I was at the Great White show on February 20th at The Station in Rhode Island. I would like to share with you my personal account of what can only be described as a tragedy. I warn you that my descriptions may be upsetting, but it affected me immensely. I was standing approximately 5 rows back from the front of the stage. If you've seen the video footage, I was one step behind the camera man as the tape begins. The band took the stage around 11PM. A small fireworks display ignited. It was a fan-like display. It lasted about 10-15 seconds. When it died down I could see that the back wall had started to catch fire. The walls that surround the stage area were covered with a foam, egg-crate, sound-proofing material. At the site of the first flame I knew something was wrong.

I made my way towards the only exit I knew of, the front door. The exit was approximately 500-700 ft. away from my position. I could hear people laughing and cheering at the flames, I assumed they thought it was part of the show. I was yelling at people to get out the door as I made my way out of the club. I looked over my shoulder and saw that the flames had shot up the sides of the walls and were now engulfing the ceiling. It was spreading FAST! At first the crowd was calm, but as the flames spread, I found the space around me shrinking. People were now panicking and rushing for the front door. The club was filling up with toxic smoke as I cut a sharp left to get out the door. I could not see anything at this point. I began choking on the smoke. I could not see the exit, but I knew it was in front of me. The flood of people finally pushed me through the door. I made my way to the parking lot.

I looked back and saw the stage section of the club engulfed with flames. The other half of the club was filled with black smoke. I could hear people screaming and windows breaking. I saw people breaking the windows and diving out. I returned to the building to help get the people out. When I returned to the front door, I could not believe what I was looking at. There were 35 or so people stuck in the door way. They were stacked in rows on top of each other, at least 7 rows high. Black smoke was pouring out above them. You could see that there were people behind them as well. A small group of people were pulling at the people in the pile to try and move them. I jumped up on the ramp and grabbed an arm. I pulled and pulled with all my strength just to try and move them. There were others helping me, but we could not move anyone. The smoke was getting really think and starting to choke me. I continued to pull. The smoke was just too much for me, I had to let go of the arm. It was the toughest decision I had to make and I am still trying to cope with it. I stepped away from the building as I watched the smoke start to cover my view. It was at this point I dropped to my knees and prayed. I am not as religious as I could be, but I needed to do it. I thanked my God for saving me. I prayed for the people still trapped inside. As I got up to leave, I saw the most horrifying image.

The flames had made there way to the doorway. The people on the top of the pile were on fire. There was nothing anyone could do for them. I watched as the fire grew around these poor, helpless people. I broke down right there. I could see them suffering and there was nothing I could do. I left the club as the Fire Department arrived. I did not want to get in their way. I drove down the street, but had to pull over, because I was so distraught. I called my wife and told her how much I loved her. I called everyone that I love and told them that I loved them. I spent the whole night thinking about what had happened. I did not sleep. Everytime I thought about it, I cried. I shook all night. I still shake a little as I type this. It upsets me everytime I repeat my story. I regret so much that I could not help more. However, I am so glad to be alive.

I know it people say it all the time, but I ask that you remind your loved ones how much you love them. You really don't know if it will be the last time you see them. I feel blessed that I have a loving family and dear friends. I do not blame Great White or The Station for what happened, it was just a tragic accident. I can only image the grief and suffering that these people are going through. My prayers are with the injured. My prayers are with the families of those who did not make it. I am comforted in knowing that the deceased are in a better place.

George D.

[Jeff Head]

We live in very disturbing and dangerous times. The individual who wrote this account was observant of their surroundings and acted upon those observations sensibly and immediately when danger was apparent rather than waiting, dallying or seeking to enjoy himself further. It saved this person's life as they so directly and emotionally related.

Our society faces similar dangerous circumstances. We must remain vigilant and observant or, like the poor souls in this very real, very horrific event, we as a whole will be burned, terribly disfigured and possibly destroyed. We cannot remain dead and unobservant of what goes on around us in these times ... we cannot fail to act sensibly and quickly when we see danger ... either as individuals or as a society. The Mid-East and the Far-East represent terrible danger right now to us all here in 2003, as surely as those initial flames climbing the walls represented great and emminent danger to those people in the Night Club in RHode Island.

Will we remain unobservant? Will we laugh at the danger somehow thinking it is a "part of the show"? Will we continue to allow the danger to grow both there abroad and right here at home through pourous borders, allowing most of production to be unwisely shipped off-shore and either remaining ignorant to what we face or ignoring it?

If we do, we will be in grave danger of being terribly hurt, maimed or destroyed by the threat that quickly grows around us.

Let us learn the lesson illustrated by this senseless and horrific tragedy before an even greater one engulfs us all. As the individual who was eye-witness to the carnage, but escaped alive ... let us be observant, let us act sensibly but quickly ... and let's try and help as many others as we can to escape the looming flames.

Jeff Head
February 21, 2003, Emmett, Idaho
Engineering Consultant and Author
The Dragon's Fury Series
A Tale of the potentially emminent World War III

[Jeff Head]

When I read this individual's horrific eye-witness account ... I could not stop thinking of the similarities to the dangers we all face ... so I post this to you all to relieve myself of the burden pressing on my mind over this.

Pardon me if it is too graphic, or too soon ... but I had to relate it and get it down on "paper".

[EternalVigilance]

Very apt analogy, my friend.

[harpseal]

There is a course conducted for some of the high school students in the area whereby they learn some basic personal security strategies including in every public place the first thing one should look for is all the exits. They also learn about staying away from dangerous places etc. There are a couple of yound people from Westbrook, CT who took such a personal security class combined with shoot don't shoot training that made it out unbirned from one of the side exits.

[Ciexyz]

Most moving commentary. And I agree with your observations about the perils all around us. It's like we're standing on the brink. But here on FR, at least we have our eyes opened.

May God be with the families of those victims.

[harpseal]

Unbirned = unburned

[skr]

Thank you for posting this. May those who escaped and tried to help be blessed with peace.

[harpseal]

Clearly this is a very relevant thread and it is neither too soon nor inappropriate. Warwick, RI is less than an hour away by I 95. Some Great White fans from teh local area were at this night club. They made it out uninjured getting out the kitchen exit.

[Jeff Head]

Your screen name says it all with regards to the point of the analogy.

The person giving the account was vigilant ... and tried to awaken some vigilance in others as he escaped ... and then vigilantly tried to help those who waited too lonmg.

Would that we all could do the same ... both individually and as a society.

[Arkinsaw]

True enough. A lot of those people probably stayed where they were for a few more seconds because in the back of their mind they thought that someone in authority would take care of the problem, that someone in charge would put out the fire and it would be a laugh. I'm sure, those that stood there could not imagine that they were on their own.

[Ciexyz]

I'm forwarding this page to my circle of Net friends.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Sounded like the whole joint was a tinderbox. Old construction?

[Kevin Curry]

There quickly comes a point called flashover in the life of a fire spreading inside a structure. Deadly, highly combustible gases build up from partial burning, and these gases soon fill the entire structure. Suddenly the pent-up heat ignites the gases with a whoosh and the fire is out of control--especially in an old wooden structure as this apparently was.

The structure was rapidly building toward flashover the moment the flames were spotted on the back wall. There was no time to spare at that point.

[Jeff Head]

Such education, if taken to heart saves lives ... and particularly the lives of those who received and took to heart that training/education/counsel.

It's application in an emergency such as this are clear ... its application in many other, less-obvious areas of life are legion.

Best to you my friend.

[eddie willers]

Bump

[Jeff Head]

I had to share it ... as I read the main thread at post 303 and saw this account ... it was like a fountain welling up inside me.

[HiTech RedNeck]

And... if they were messing around with fireworks in a tinderbox why didn't the stage crew at least have fire extinguishers and a water hose ready. Duuuuuuuuuuumb.

[Lady GOP]

We cannot remain dead and unobservant of what goes on around us in these times ... we cannot fail to act sensibly and quickly when we see danger ... either as individuals or as a society.

Good post Jeff and very much agree with your observations.

[Jeff Head]

There was no time to spare at that point.

Amen ... and this observant individual recognized it and acted.

There is little time to spare on the world stage right now and we must act with the same sense and urgency.

[Jeff Head]

I'm sure, those that stood there could not imagine that they were on their own.

That they were ... and they had been conditioned to hesitate ... or worse, to not recognize the situation when it was painfully and immediately upon them.

Thus the terrible and horrific lesson for us all.