FIRST HAND ACCOUNT OF FIRE AT GW CONCERT(WARNING - GRAPHIC ACCOUNT)

www.metal-sludge.com ^ | 02/21/03 | George Dionne

[FreeTally]

Wow, this is chilling.

[anniegetyourgun]

"I do not blame Great White or The Station for what happened, it was just a tragic accident."

Does anyone mind if I do?

[Huck]

How awful. Words fail.

[aShepard]

The exit was approximately 500-700 ft. away from my position.

I doubt it. The place only had a capacity of 300 occupants with all the tables removed. Certainly there wasn't about two football fields to the main exit!

[justshutupandtakeit]

Wow is right. I hope I am never in such a tragic predictment.

[Texas_Jarhead]

man, how tragic

[FreeTally]

Remember, this is an account of a person who is no doubtedly grief-stricken. Lets not argue about insignificant details. He probably meant 50-70 feet, IMO.

[JoJo Gunn]

I don't mind. On the contrary, mind if I help you?

Such sheer stupidity, setting off that stuff in a place with a low ceiling.

I suspect there's going to be some hard looks taken at places like this. Wish I now owned a company that makes mirror balls.

[A Navy Vet]

Peace find you, George.

[Monty22]

There is something *not right* about this fire. A gasoline soaked rag would barely burn 700 feet across instantly.

I dunno what's going on, but this story is weird.

[sam_paine]

I don't mind if you do, but think about what you might be saying.

I think this is a tragic accident---even one that could have been prevented.

Building codes, liability waivers, fear of lawsuits, none of that could guarantee that this wouldn't happen.

I'm not taking up for anyone that could've prevented this tragedy, though I will surely get harassed for this post, but in my world, I can't find a discrete culprit for every single thing that happens. Some things are "accidents". This eyewitness seems to grasp that.

[FreeTally]

The other threads are full of blame and finger pointing, and its been argued about all day. I request that we have a little respect for the deceased and this person and leave the "blame game" out of this thread.

[sam_paine]

Such sheer stupidity, setting off that stuff in a place with a low ceiling.

Not really. Had this stuff hit standard fire-retardant sheetrock, no problem. That there was some highly flammable soundproofing covering the walls made this a fire trap no matter what eventually ignited it.

[CIBvet]

I've played a ton of these little clubs (plywood-palaces) and to think anyone would even consider allowing a sparkler to be lit, much less any level of pyro, is just insane and completely irresponsible.

Enter the lawyers.

[SarahW]

Some kinds of polymer foam are extremely flammable. It's fuel. Its fuel full of air.

[keithtoo]

Wait a minute. He says the exit door was 500-700 feet away from his original position.

1. If that club was that large, why were only 175 people in attendance? It would have been almost empty.

2. The club didn't look 2 city blocks long in the pix I've seen

[Freedom4US]

500 to 700 feet??? No way, the whole building couldn't have been more than 200 feet, tops. Just thinking out loud here.

[JoJo Gunn]

Excuse me, but just where did I urinate on the graves of any of the dead?

[headsonpikes]

"Wow, this is chilling."

A little close to the bone. Fire can be terrible.

The survivors will have had an attitude adjustment.

[EggsAckley]

I too have played many of these places, and thinking back now, I realize how truly dangerous some of them were. Arrgghh! How naive I was!