Finger-Pointing Over Deadly U.S. Nightclub Blaze

Reuters ^ | 2/24/03 | Svea Herbst-Bayliss

[Chancellor Palpatine]

WEST WARWICK, R.I. (Reuters) - Finger-pointing over blame for the blaze that killed 97 people here intensified on Monday with a lawyer for the band whose pyrotechnics ignited the nightclub fire saying one club owner was there when the display was being set up.

As pathologists labor to identify some of the remains taken from the blackened ruins of the wood-framed club, a lawyer for the heavy metal band Great White said club co-owner Jeffrey Derderian was at the club when the band set up.

"We don't want to point fingers, but I think that it's very important to assist the investigators in this case ... to be candid, to be truthful and that's exactly what the band is trying to be," attorney Ed McPherson said in an interview with ABC's "Good Morning America."

McPherson had said earlier that the co-owner Michael Derderian approved the use of the fireworks about a week before the tragedy, although he conceded nothing was put in writing.

Michael's brother Jeffrey has said neither the band nor its agents had asked permission to use pyrotechnics. A former club employee, Melissa Warner, told Reuters on Friday that owners had often allowed fireworks to be set off in the club.

The Rhode Island Attorney General, meanwhile, said the Derderians have dodged his office's questions.

"Michael Derderian did not respond to our questions and Jeff Derderian has not responded to our questions since speaking with our office in the early hours on Friday," Attorney General Patrick Lynch said.

NEIGHBORHOOD VISIT

Douglas Champlain, who lives across the street from Michael Derderian's yellow split-level ranch home in Narragansett, Rhode Island, told Reuters he saw two state police cruisers and a crime scene truck pull up to the house around 6 p.m. on Sunday.

"The activity went on for about 2 hours and then they left. I did not see if they took anything out of the house," he said.

Lynch would neither confirm nor deny that a search took place at Michael Derderian's home.

Fire marshals again on Monday combed through the charred remains of the club and left with a number of brown paper bags.

Both Lynch and Rhode Island Gov. Don Carcieri have promised an exhaustive probe of last Thursday's blaze at The Station club, saying criminal charges will be filed and the case might be taken to a grand jury.

Carcieri, who received a sympathy call from President George Bush this morning and has asked for federal funds to help pay for disaster, vowed on NBC's "Today Show": "We will get to the bottom of this."

Carcieri, visibly angry that this tragedy occurred, said the speed with which the fire spread "indicates something was wrong on the interior of that building" although tests to determine whether sound-proofing materials were fire-resistant had not yet been completed.

Fire officials said no permits for pyrotechnics had ever been issued to the club but said the wooden structure, built in the 1940s, did not have sprinkler systems.

IDENTIFICATION CONTINUES

Pathologists and dentists worked around the clock at the state's medical examiner's offices in Providence about 15 miles away to identify remains of the victims.

By Monday, 55 of 97 victims had been identified. The band's guitarist Ty Longley is among the dead.

Nearly 200 club goers were rushed to Massachusetts and Rhode Island hospitals and many remain in critical condition.

At Rhode Island Hospital, Dr. William Cioffi, the hospital's chief of surgery and a burn specialist, on Monday began skin graft operations. He and seven other surgeons will be working most of the week to remove burned tissue and replace it either with skin from other parts of the body or biological dressings.

Cioffi said most of the patients who are in their 20s to 40s were burned on the face, hands, arms and torso as they fled the blaze. Many of the patients expect to be in the hospital for two to three months.

"Probably half of those patients still have a chance they will not survive their injuries," he said, explaining infection is a main killer among burn victims.

[Chancellor Palpatine]

Looks like the death toll goes up, and authorities didn't buy the sob story.

[Chancellor Palpatine]

ping

[Catspaw]

It doesn't matter who points the finger at whom. They're all going to get sued, and they're all going to be charged criminally.

[Chancellor Palpatine]

Also, with 200 in hospitals, there is no way the local fire marshal can claim it wasn't overcrowded with a straight face.

[PhiKapMom]

Also heard this morning on one of the cable news outlets that several bands before this one had used pryotechnics in their shows in this venue and had the pictures to prove it!

[Chancellor Palpatine]

The big question is how many will be charged with crimes (it will be a given that the owners are ruined for life financially).

[Chancellor Palpatine]

Yep - it is "don't ask, don't tell" - that way everybody always has deniability.

[ken5050]

There won't be a trial...they'll cop a plea, because they'd be petrified, and insane, to go before jury..besides you'd have to move the trial out of state.....as far a civil charges..there probably isn't a whole lot of assets..the club owners couldn't be stupid enough to own it in their own name, could they?..and the band has next to nothing....If you recall, the Fire Marshall said that the club had been inspected just last december, and all was fine, that it complied with the code, so I'll fearlessly predict that the civil lawyers, in a search for the"deep pockets" will file a huge lawsuit against the municipality...it'll end up tearing the community apart...

[Chad Fairbanks]

Douglas Champlain, who lives across the street from Michael Derderian's yellow split-level ranch home in Narragansett, Rhode Island, told Reuters he saw two state police cruisers and a crime scene truck pull up to the house around 6 p.m. on Sunday.

"The activity went on for about 2 hours and then they left. I did not see if they took anything out of the house," he said.

Lynch would neither confirm nor deny that a search took place at Michael Derderian's home.

Why am I getting a hinky feeling about this part?

[Chancellor Palpatine]

Looking for construction records, books and insurance policies, my guess.

[PhiKapMom]

Makes me ill! After one of the owners made that speech to the press and then to find out that these people have had pyrotechnics in the club before was really disgusting!

[Chancellor Palpatine]

What you didn't hear in that sobfest were the words "we'd have never approved it".

He hopes he can get by with loose recollections with the "we didn't approve it" thing.

[Revolting cat!]

An article in this mornings' WSJ (sorry, no link) says that indoor fireworks are quite common nowadays, with civic associations and, yes, churches, having their fun with them. News to me! Insanity! There is even an industry association dedicated to the cause (read: a political lobby to prevent any laws against it!) Is there a place where we stop our thrill seeking? Sheesh!

[Revolting cat!]

Heard it from my barkeep last night:

Q: What's worse than dying in a nightclub fire?

A: Dying in a nightclub fire while listening to Great White!

[Catspaw]

If it's a state charge, they're not going to be tried in another state--but I note that the victims are from RI, Conn & Mass, & the band crossed state lines, so I'd bet the US Attorney is pouring over his statute books to see if he can come up with something to charge them with (it's going to be something, because everybody's got to get in on the act).

Yup, sue 'em and sue 'em big. And that "'em" is anyone they can reach, including the municipality. I could make a mint just being the process server.

[PhiKapMom]

I noticed the same thing you did. Someone also said today they were getting ready to sell the club. Wonder if that led to the new acoustics which were highly flammable?

[Chancellor Palpatine]

It sounds like you couldn't come up with a better accelerant if you sprayed gasoline on the walls.

I came up with a tinfoil theory earlier that had them putting this stuff up in plain sight of everyone, and if they couldn't get it sold, they were going to have a tragic electrical fire in the near future - unfortunately, it got lit a little earlier than they expected.

[ken5050]

RI is soooo small..a change of venue would almost have to be out of state..but you couldn't, could you? is that possible? where's a lawyer when you need one..it'd be an easy argument for the defense atty to make...that you couldn't find an impartial jury.....but as I said..it won't be a problem because it'll never go to trial..to risky for the defendentas..they'll take a plea..problem it, even if it's ONE year for each count....well, times 97, or more...that's a whole lot of time...suing the city/municipality will be a different kettle of fish...they'd go for a HUGE number, it'd bankrupt the town...in a sense, they'd be suing themselves...BTW..what would be the basis for federal charges?

[meyer]

An article in this mornings' WSJ (sorry, no link) says that indoor fireworks are quite common nowadays, with civic associations and, yes, churches, having their fun with them. News to me! Insanity! There is even an industry association dedicated to the cause (read: a political lobby to prevent any laws against it!) Is there a place where we stop our thrill seeking? Sheesh!

Interesting. I'd bet there's a procedure that must be followed when using indoor fireworks as well, which I don't think was followed in this case.

I didn't know that Churches would be using pyrotechnics. I know that candle-light services on Christmas Eve are quite common (which also has the potential to be dangerous), but I hadn't heard of pyro.

[ken5050]

Civil lawsuits can use and accept polygraphs...it'll be interesting...