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Here is video taken inside a Russian Night Club that caught on fire as a result of a Pyrotechnic display that went off inside the building. The plastic ceiling caught on fire, filling the nightclub with noxious smoke almost immediately. At least 107 people died, and 130 others injured . . . (VIDEO)

One brother gets jail, the other probation The brothers who owned The Station nightclub, where a fast- moving fire on Feb. 20, 2003, killed 100 people, have agreed to plead no contest to involuntary manslaughter charges, effectively ending the criminal prosecution against them. In exchange for their pleas, Superior Court Judge Francis J. Darigan Jr. has agreed to a sentence that calls for no jail time for one of the brothers, Jeffrey A. Derderian. Michael A. Derderian, 45, is to serve four years in prison followed by three years of probation. He also will have an 11-year suspended sentence, which...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A former rock-band manager whose pyrotechnics caused a nightclub fire that killed 100 people was sentenced Wednesday to four years in prison. Daniel Biechele, 29, could have gotten as much as 10 years behind bars under a deal he struck with prosecutors in February, when he pleaded guilty to 100 counts of involuntary manslaughter. excerptLink

PROVIDENCE, R.I. --A judge set a May 1 trial date for one of three men charged in the 2003 nightclub fire that killed 100 people, eight of whom lived or worked in Connecticut. Daniel Biechele, the former tour manager for the rock band Great White, faces 200 counts of involuntary manslaughter. He lit the pyrotechnics display that ignited flammable foam lining the ceiling and walls of The Station nightclub in West Warwick.

LOS ANGELES -- The rock band Great White will perform up to three songs at a benefit concert tomorrow, nearly nine weeks after a deadly blaze erupted while they were playing in a Rhode Island nightclub. The fire killed 99 people. Great White's guitarist Ty Longley was among those who died. Survivors of the group agreed to perform one song at West Hollywood's Key Club to raise money for a memorial fund in honor of Longley. It's unclear what songs the group will play. Proceeds will be donated to a charity overseen by Longley's parents and earmarked for his pregnant...

Three days before this year's Grammy Awards ceremony, 97 people died, and 187 people were injured (43 critically), in the deadliest nightclub fire this country has seen in a quarter-century. One of those presumed dead is Ty Longley, a guitarist with Great White, which was playing when the place ("The Station") caught fire. Great White is a heavy-metal band that was fairly popular a dozen years ago. Its cover of "Once Bitten, Twice Shy," from the double-platinum album, …Twice Shy, was nominated for a Grammy in 1990. Although the fire was at a small club (capacity: 300) in little West...

R.I. Nightclub Death Toll Rises to 98 By MICHAEL WEISSENSTEIN, Associated Press Writer PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The death toll from one of the nation's worst nightclub disasters rose to 98 after a woman who had been hospitalized died from her burns, hospital officials said Sunday. Kelly Viera died Saturday at Boston Shriners Hospital, said Victoria Brady, a spokeswoman for affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital. Viera's age and hometown were not immediately released. Sunday morning, 51 people remained hospitalized in Rhode Island and Massachusetts with injuries suffered in the Feb. 20 fire at The Station nightclub in West Warwick. Thirty-three were in...

Last week's butcher's bill: Nearly 100 dead at a Rhode Island nightclub because an infantile band played with matches. Over 20 dead after a stampede in an overcrowded Chicago nightclub. Over 130 dead after a subway conductor in South Korea fled a burning train without opening its doors. With all our concern about weapons of mass destruction, a lot of small masses die when small precautions are ignored because of selfishness, overlooked because of laziness or forgotten because of panic. Some club owners esteem dollars over safety and admit more fans than fire codes allow. Then those fans don't take...

The investigation into Thursday's catastrophic fire in West Warwick broadened yesterday with a law enforcement official saying police had searched the home of a co-owner of The Station nightclub and subpoenaed three members of the band Great White. Ninety-seven concertgoers died Thursday night and 187 were injured when the band's opening fireworks sparked one of the worst nightclub fires in U.S. history. Law enforcement sources said that state police and West Warwick investigators had searched the Narragansett home of Michael Derderian on Sunday and seized records relating to the club. Investigators also seized and impounded the band's tour bus. They...

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,...

By TOM MOONEY Journal staff writer Updated 1:36 p.m. / The owner of American Foam Corp. in Johnston says The Station nightclub in June 2000 purchased $575 worth of common egg-crate packing foam for soundproofing, but it was not fire retardant. The fire retardant foam would have cost twice as much, according to Aram DerManouelian, who said the club wanted "the lowest grade, the cheapest stuff." "They had a choice, and they bought general purpose egg-crate foam," said DerManouelian. "It kept the noise down, but whoever figured they'd put flame on it? Jesus. For a $575 invoice, here we are."...

Those Suing Over Nightclub Fire May Not Find Any Deep Pockets An investigator sifts through the ashes of The Station nightclub in West Warwick, R.I., on Saturday. It burned down Feb. 20, killing 97.(Robert E. Klein/The Associated Press) THE ASSOCIATED PRESS     PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- As families of the dead and injured struggle with their grief after one of the country's deadliest fires, some are starting to look for compensation. Lawyers say it won't come easily.     Rhode Island lawyers estimate at least $1 billion worth of lawsuit claims will be filed in the coming months. But they're not as...

The owners of The Station nightclub in West Warwick did not carry workers' compensation insurance as required by state law, News Channel 10 reported Wednesday. Nearly 100 people were killed when fire destroyed the club the night of Feb. 20. News Channel 10 reported club co-owners Jeffrey and Michael Derderian could face civil penalties as high as $1 million for failing to have the insurance. Workers' compensation is required of any business in Rhode Island that has one or more employees, regardless of whether they are full or part time. When a worker is hurt on the job, workers' compensation...

Great White Testifies, Gets Sued Tuesday was a busy day for Great White--and the band's lawyers. Members of the '80s heavy metal outfit finally began testifying before a Rhode Island grand jury and faced the first of what is likely many wrongful-death lawsuits blaming the band in part for the deadly nightclub fire two weeks ago. The families of two of the victims are suing both Great White and club owners Jeffrey and Michael Derderian, claiming they're responsible for the inferno that killed 98 people and injured close to 200--one of the worst blazes in the U.S. in more than...

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...

WEST WARWICK, R.I. (Reuters) - Finger-pointing over blame for the blaze that killed 97 people here intensified on Monday with a lawyer for the band whose pyrotechnics ignited the nightclub fire saying one club owner was there when the display was being set up. As pathologists labor to identify some of the remains taken from the blackened ruins of the wood-framed club, a lawyer for the heavy metal band Great White said club co-owner Jeffrey Derderian was at the club when the band set up. "We don't want to point fingers, but I think that it's very important to assist...

Blaze, smoke engulf victims within seconds 02/22/2003 BY JENNIFER LEVITZ and ZACHARY R. MIDER Journal Staff Writers WEST WARWICK -- A fireworks display exploded into flames at a small-town nightclub, killing at least 96 people, injuring another 180, and turning a carefree night of rock 'n' roll into the worst disaster in Rhode Island since the Hurricane of 1938. There were up to 360 people in The Station in West Warwick around 11 p.m. Thursday as the band, Great White, launched into its first song, "Desert Moon." Pyrotechnics ignited on the back of the stage. Within 20 seconds, the club...