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
This is an extremely offensive statement as is the link you offered up front.
So the Jews that died in that nightclub are in hell!?!
Maybe in the future bands will be a little more careful about where they play. This band had enough of a following to be playing in a bigger, safer, venue.
It seems to me the fire marshall should really bear a lot of the responsibility. From the description of the insulation, it doesn't sound like it would even hold up to bright, hot lights...or an electric malfunction.
It's like "Yeah, we're reckless and dangerous - but they let us!"
There is plenty of blame to go around. Where were the guys with fire extinguishers, just in case. A couple of good, industrial grade CO2 extinguishers in the right hands could have put out the fire in nothing flat, at the point when it was just starting.
It's just unbelieveable that there were no adults present!
You mean, like people who use Free Republic's email system to slander people?
I hope you do, I really hope you do know how to discern those kinds of people and not be used by them. I would hate to think you had a shared value system with that kind of person.
Oh, don't worry. I don't.
Where in the bible does it say that everyone deserves to die? Also, when a baby is born it comes to the word with a sin, but this sin is taken away as soon as the baby is baptized. So it is free from sin, and since a baby that has been baptized can not sin, does the baby deserve to die when it does?
"he pretty much walked away from me.''
These are weasel-words.
In the first lawyer's disclaimer, he obfuscates, using "When" in a place which should have held "Every time", or at least "Whenever". The statement here could be used "truthfully" if the band didn't use pyrotechnics the one time they were specifically asked not to, even if they went ahead twenty other times without having gotten proper authorization.
In the second, did "pretty much walked away" leave a tacit the impression between the parties that the band would go ahead with the pyrotechnics without protest from the Club? From what's been stated, the reader can't know, but the speaker sure could be leaving behind a misleading impression with his testimony. There could be quite an iceberg under the tip about which we're being "informed."
Obviously, both parties were aware of the pyrotechnics, yet no one had a state-required license. Are we admitting ignorance of the law as some kind of excuse here? Since when?
Promoters, advocates, lawyers! Grrrr.
HF
Where did you see that? I agree with you if this is the case....
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.