R.I. Governor wants FEMA to Foot Bill in Nightclub Clean-up

The Providence Journal ^ | 03/04/03 | BY MARK ARSENAULT

[TaxRelief]

Journal State House Bureau

Governor Carcieri is seeking a meeting with the Bush administration this week to make his case that The Station nightclub fire is worthy of federal disaster assistance.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency last week denied the governor's request that the Feb. 20 fire -- which killed 98 people and injured about 190 -- be declared a "major disaster" under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief Act. Such a designation would have brought federal aid to help pay for the fire response.

The state probably will appeal the decision, Carcieri said yesterday. "I'm trying to see if I can get down there to Washington and make the case personally," he said. "I want to understand where they're coming from. Often in these cases, it's how you tell your story. If the president will see me, I'll go see him, obviously," Carcieri said. He may also pursue a meeting with FEMA Director Joe M. Allbaugh, a former campaign manager for President Bush who served as Bush's chief of staff when he was governor of Texas.

Carcieri had already planned to be in Washington on Saturday for the Washington press corps' Gridiron Club dinner, he said. Allbaugh denied Carcieri's request for a disaster declaration in a Feb. 27 letter, which notes that the state had received federal assistance from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which sent 25 pathologists to Rhode Island to help identify bodies recovered from The Station fire, the fourth-deadliest nightclub fire in U.S. history.

The Stafford Act, Allbaugh wrote, "requires a major disaster declaration to be based on a disaster of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities" of the state and local governments. The Station fire "does not meet the statutory threshold to warrant a major disaster declaration," Allbaugh wrote.

Carcieri agrees that the federally provided pathologists were "a huge, huge assistance. They are the only reason we were able to get those identifications done as rapidly as we did," he said. But "I'm not giving up in terms of seeing what additional help we can get."

State budget officials have not yet calculated the cost of the fire response, but it is easily in the millions, Carcieri said. "Whether it's $5 million or $10 million, I don't know. It's certainly in that ballpark," he said. "It's still too soon to know how much; I'm giving purely a guess at this point."

The state has 30 days to appeal the FEMA decision.

[TaxRelief]

It's the I'm a victim mentality on a new level: the state level. Now, even states don't have to take responsibility for their own actions (ie, bad inspections). Yes, the nightclub fire is a horrible tragedy, but with a Rhode Island State Budget of $680MM does RI really think they should be nickle-and-diming the rest of America? Bad habit. Bad attitude.

[Wolfie]

Nightclub clean-up? What's a dozer operator charge per hour?

[OpusatFR]

Oh balony.

Are there no insurers? Are there no owners?

Looks like they are trying to bail someone out.

[Bikers4Bush]

Sorry for all those people dying but this is not a FEMA issue.

[mr.pink]

Pretty insulting that they'd even have the gall to ask....IMHO.

[Phantom Lord]

When will the nursing home that burned down resulting in 10 deaths ask for FEMA funds?

[anniegetyourgun]

Truely, Mr. Pink...the gall. They will victimize the victims again by making their families foot the bill, since FEMA has no money that doesn't come from we the people.

[Pete'sWife]

Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie

[Mr. Bird]

State budget officials have not yet calculated the cost of the fire response, but it is easily in the millions

I'd like to see an itemized list of costs on that one. Millions? Please.

[HamiltonJay]

I questioned this request from the get go... RI is such a pathetic state that it can't even afford to deal with a single structure fire without federal assistance? Please, everyone knows RI only exists so the MOB could have a state of their own... why would anyone go to the fed for financial assistance on something like this? It is a tragic thing, but hardly a federal disaster.

[mabelkitty]

The Derdorian Brothers have friends in high places. I bet they skate out of prison time, too.

[First_Salute]

Y' wouldn't happen to recall a story told here, about waiting for decisions to be made in Washington, D.C. about where to put out the fires? Something about how the National Fire Department of Lawyer Home Boy Job Security would end up taking over all the local fire departments?

Well, the above is the first supplicant.

As predicted, fire departments across America will lose their sense of community because they are the spirit of the community to defend itself in exchange for "federal funding," the usual sap which draws politicians to the hive.

[TaxRelief]

*Clean-up* probably includes everything from emergency response, detective work and medical costs to actual demolition. My guess, though, is the Derderians will be responsible for the demolition work, unless they are in jail, of course.

[freekitty]

This is so stupid. Since when is this a federal issue? I swear, our government just goes along and bends and fits the laws or no laws to their sole benefit. I am really sick of these idiots.

[Dick Bachert]

Yeah. Sounds like a major load of MALE BOVINE EXCREMENT to me.

[mr.pink]

I support the Feds assisting with forsenics if need be in identifying the poor souls lost, but beyond that, this is a state matter and and a state responsibility.

[Wolfie]

Yeah, I was making a funny. But seriously, kudos to the Governor for giving it a shot. This thing has captured the emotions of the American public at large. He just might swing it. Good for his constituents if he can spread out the cost to all of us.

[gridlock]

Except for the pathologists, which have already been provided by the FedGov, what is the big need here? The investigation is easy, it was all caught on tape! The clean-up is easy, raze the structure and dozer the ground smooth. The insurance settlement is going to be sizable, but that is not the FedGov's business.

I think RI is trolling for a big FedGov payout like we saw for the 9/11 families. $500,000 for each victim, or something like that. I thought at the time that this was a terrible precedent, and this business just confirms that belief.

[DCPatriot]

So let me understand this.....

You cram 100 people in a room the size of one-half of a basketball court; set it afire, and because 98 are burned to death, you want the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT to pay for it?

Liberalism SUCKS!

[pointsal]

What!!! Get a grip Governor! That's your problem....do not look to the Federal government to deal with you local issue. It's your state's right not to monitor the nightclub facility's physical condition. By the way, who collected the fee for the license and/or building permit? Was it the Federal or Local goverment?