And fascinating.
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.
`
`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
I've sat in the rain at Dead shows and in a tux in a Vienna concert hall listening to Mozart played on period instruments by musicians in full powdered-wig dress. Hard to say which provides better memories . . . . . . .
And fascinating.
Oh boy... do YOU ever have a shock coming, in about three to five years.
Word of advice: Either loosen the shackles a little, or learn to like cheap scotch.
Yes. I would agree. I like lots of good music. Thorogood, AC/DC, Black Crows, Creed, Big Country... just for starters.
One of the other reason I avoid Rock music is because the people who perform it are a bunch of liberal losers.
I don't happen to care about the political beliefs of musicians, any more than I expect them to care about the best way I would set up Cisco IOS to do GRE IPSec tunnels on a WAN. I build networks, and in my company there are many many liberals that use the networks I build. It would be senseless for them to "boycott" my network merely because a "conservative" built it. Unless they get in my face, I won't get in theirs. From musicians I only expect music.
I have better things to do with my money than support a bunch of drug addled liberals!!!!!
Like Ted Nugent???
Get real...
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