Posted on 02/28/2003 9:27:33 AM PST by freepatriot32
WEST WARWICK, R.I., Feb. 27 - A day after the tour manager for the band whose pyrotechnics ignited the fire that killed 96 people at a nightclub here testified before a grand jury, his lawyer said today that the manager had confirmed a week before the performance that the club ``wanted pyrotechnics.''
His comments came as Gov. Donald L. Carcieri reported that the death toll in the Feb. 20 fire was lowered by 1 to 96 after the state medical examiner completed examining all the remains. All the victims have been identified, the governor said.
Thomas G. Briody of Providence, the lawyer for the tour manager, Dan Biechele, also said today: ``Dan always sought permission from promoters or club representatives before pyrotechnics were used. When permission was denied, pyrotechnics were not used.''
Mr. Biechele, who has worked with Great White, the band that was performing at the Station nightclub, and other 1980's metal bands, appeared Wednesday before a grand jury in East Greenwich that is investigating the fire.
Last week a concert promoter in Florida said that Mr. Biechele set off similar fireworks at a concert in St. Petersburg this month without asking permission. Tim Bryant, the promoter in St. Petersburg for Great White's concert at the Pinellas Expo Center on Feb. 7, said that he was not aware the band would use pyrotechnics and that the band's tour manager, Mr. Biechele, added the equipment without telling Expo Center officials.
``I approached him afterwards and asked why we weren't informed of it,'' Mr. Bryant said. ``He just said it was low-line pyro and they do it at all the shows, that it's no big deal. And he pretty much walked away from me.''
Mr. Bryant also said that before the Feb. 7 show, his security chief had seen Mr. Biechele behind the stage connecting wires to a black box. He said he could not say what the box was used for.
Rhode Island records show that currently, 16 people hold licenses from the state's fire marshal allowing them to legally ignite pyrotechnics. No one from Great White, including Mr. Biechele, is on that list, nor are the Station's owners or managers, those records show. State officials investigating the fire said they believed no one from either group held such a license and that Great White's pyrotechnics show was illegal.
The Station's owners have said the band never asked for permission to use pyrotechnics and never informed anyone at the club that they would be used.
A lawyer for Great White's singer, Jack Russell, has also said the band had received permission from the Station's owners, Jeffrey and Michael Derderian.
Also today, the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology said it would investigate the fire, the number of people inside the club at the time and whether any illegal or unsafe materials caused the fire to spread as rapidly as it did.
An agency spokesman said its investigators would probably use their findings to make recommendations to fire safety groups for improvements in building codes.
About 60 people who escaped the fire remained hospitalized today, including 36 who are in critical condition.
While the type of flammability of the sound-reducing foam insulation that surrounded the stage is a major focus of the state's investigation into the fire, officials are also examining whether a recent safety inspection by West Warwick's fire inspector may have overlooked the foam, which state law requires to be fire-resistant.
On Nov. 20, Denis Larocque, the town's fire inspector who is also a Fire Department battalion chief, visited the club as part of the establishment's application for a renewal of its liquor license. He noted a few minor problems, such as a door that opened the wrong way, and an open gas can in the basement, and returned twice more before certifying the club in December.
Stephen Murray, the town's building inspector, had accompanied him on at least one visit, said Wolfgang Bauer, West Warwick's town manager.
The sound foam, commonly know as egg crating for its wavy surface, was not mentioned on the town fire inspector's November safety report, Mr. Bauer said.
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`Whether that was up there all the time or whether it came down at some times for inspection purposes, I'm not sure,'' Mr. Bauer said today. ``Whether we missed something, I don't know.''
``Did we make a mistake in this particular case?'' he added. ``Well, we're investigating that.''
Mr. Larocque and Mr. Murray each declined to comment on the inspection today.
Gary Keith, president of regional operations for the National Fire Protection Association, a nonprofit research group, said fire-safety inspections consist of a relatively standard checklist, and that seeing insulating foam on the walls of a nightclub would raise concerns about its flame resistance.
State fire laws prohibit any ``acoustical material'' that is not flame resistant from being attached to a building's walls. When there is doubt, the law requires a ``match flame test'' of a sample quantity. Any material that burns for longer than two seconds or spreads a match flame more than 4 inches is illegal.
If the foam was installed before it was approved by inspectors, Mr. Keith said, the inspector would typically write a violation notice and give the club time to fix it or close the club if the hazard appeared immediately dangerous
So Great White should be able to set off pyrotechnics requiring at least 15 ft ceilings on stages where the ceiling is less than 10 ft high, and any "reasonably safe" club should be able to handle this.
And these clubs should have everything made out of fire-proof materials so that Great White should be able to continue to show up and set of their pyrotechnics without permission...as several other clubs said they have done in the past.
I don't think so.
In any case we don't have to imagine anything when it comes to what killed these 97 people...we saw videos of Great White set off their pyrotechnics, which lit the place on fire and burned the building to the ground.
Sorry I was unclear. I didn't mean to say such pyrotechnics could be shot without consequence, rather that in a reasonably-safe club the consequences should not have been fatal. Having a club burn to the ground as a result of GW's fireworks would not exactly make them popular even if everyone got out, but there's no way anything short of lighting off a gallon of gasoline should have caused that sort of carnage.
According to another article, the foam had glitter applied, though it didn't specify the adhesive. Since some adhesives are exceptionally flammable this could have been a major triggering factor. Does anyone have any pictures that would show whether the glitter was applied in any sort of pattern? I'm wondering if earlier pyrotechnics in the club managed to avoid hitting any areas that were covered with inflammable adhesive.
Even in a well-constructed building, use of fireworks inappropriate to the venue would pose a significant risk of starting a fire, and even in a well-constructed venue there would be a risk that such a fire could cause severe damage to the building or even destroy it completely.
What is not so reasonable is that sparks from a gerb should be able to start fires that within about five seconds would be uncontrollable by people with class 2A fire extinguishers, and in less than three minutes would cause flashover.
Imagine, hypothetically, that someone were to crash a Yugo into the Empire State Building and less than three minutes later the whole building collapsed. Would you blame only the driver of the car, or would you also blame the building?
I saw a lot more than "sparks". It looked like a couple of freakin blow torches starting that fire.
Yes, it climbed the wall and started spreading across the ceiling rather quickly..but the band was still playing during the video..they were not trying to put it out until it was already out of control.
Anyone who's witnessed fires knows that they can flare up and spread incredibly fast...even without an accelerant present...and can kill a person quickly.
I saw a friend of mine catch fire, and it spread from his legs to the top of his head in a few seconds. He panicked and started to run, I knocked him to the ground and put him out in about 5-10 seconds. And he was still so critically burned that he spend over 2 months in the hospital..had to have skin grafts etc.
I don't know how unreasonable it was for this fire to spread so quickly in a open space.
But I do know the band is responsible for setting it.
Those weren't blowtorches. That was the back wall igniting from the sparks. Went up so quickly many people on the scene probably mistook the burning wall for pyrotechnic torches.
Would you agree that walls should not have gone up like that when exposed to sparks? Even if someone had tried to touch a lighter to the foam it shouldn't have gone up like that.
The Lord saw to it that I survived 50 or 60 Dead shows.
Does that count?
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