Band Lawyer Says Nightclub Wanted Pyrotechnics

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.''

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

...and some people owe the band an apology, imo.

Uhh, think again...

Band's Use of Pyrotechnics Checked

By STEVE STRUNSKY
Associated Press Writer

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -- The investigation into the Rhode Island nightclub fire now involves at least four states where club owners say the band Great White used pyrotechnics without permission. Authorities say sparks apparently hit the ceiling during a concert in Maine just two days before the tragedy.
The band's stage show is believed to have started Thursday's fire at the Station nightclub in West Warwick, R.I., that left nearly 100 people dead. The band has said it had permission to use pyrotechnics, a claim disputed by the club's owners.
Club officials in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Florida and Maine also say the band failed to notify them it was going to use pyrotechnics at shows earlier this month. Investigators have met with club officials in at least three of those states.
Special effects at Great White's show last Tuesday apparently caused sparks that touched the ceiling of Russell's club in Bangor, Maine, state fire marshal Sgt. Stu Jacobs said Monday.
Discarded canisters used during the performance indicated a minimum ceiling height of 15 feet was required. Jacobs said the ceiling was actually 10 feet and the 30-inch stage further reduced clearance.
The fountain-type special effects shot sparks into the ceiling, witnesses told investigators, but there was no fire because the suspended ceiling tiles were flame resistant, Jacobs said.
Three of the canisters used in Bangor have been turned over to the fire marshal's office. Investigators don't know if they're the same type as the ones used in Rhode Island, Jacobs said.
The club's owner, Alex Gray, told authorities the special effects were used without consent, said Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety.
Band management officials said last week the band always checked with event managers before using pyrotechnics. And managers of other venues where the band played this year said Great White complied when asked not to use the special effects.
Domenic Santana, owner of the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, said he told New Jersey State Police investigators Great White used special effects without permission at their Feb. 14 show.
Santana said the band's contract and other documents did not mention pyrotechnics and that stage managers didn't see the effects when they set up the band.
Sgt. Kevin Rehmann, a spokesman for the New Jersey State Police, confirmed the interview with Stone Pony employees but refused to discuss details.
Rui Farias, director of marketing for the Pinellas Expo Center in Pinellas Park, Fla., also said the band used fireworks at a Feb. 7 show without informing the venue or promoter, Past 2 Present Productions.
"If they would have brought up the pyro to use we would have OK'd it," said promoter Tim Bryant, adding the size of the 5,000-seat venue minimized the risk. "At a nightclub, it should never have been used."
Bryant said he had been contacted by law enforcement officials from the West Warwick Police, Rhode Island State Police and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms.
The band also allegedly used pyrotechnics without notice at its Feb. 13 show in Allentown, Pa., according to Crocodile Rock Cafe owner Joe Clark. It could not immediately be determined Monday whether investigators had questioned cafe officials.

A) In a they said/they said dispute between a club owner and a band, I do not automatically take the word of a club owner. In fact, I trust them less than I trust the musicians.

AND - the article you posted indicated that improperly used pyrotechnics did not start a fire in another club because the material surrounding the stage in THAT club was fire-retardant.

B) The back wall of the stage was lined with cheap, highly-flammable packing material as a substitute for acoustic foam. Is that the band's fault? NO. Is it a fire code violation? YES.

Maybe you need to think again.

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