Pyrotechnics Turn Deadly at Rhode Island Nightclub-Concert

[JQ Public]

I guess more have died at the hospital b/c they stopped recovering bodies for the day at the site after they annouced 96 deaths.

[j]

We've all heard the denials, the rumours, the finger pointing.

What I heard over the weekend has sickened me. Apparently 4 other clubs that have hosted this band are making the exact same claim that permission was not granted, nor where they even asked for permission to use Pyrotechnics at their club.

This leaves 2 possibilities.
1. The Clubs are telling the truth.
2. The Clubs are lying as a sort of fraternal bonding cover-up.

Which do you believe?

[Miss Mary]

j,

That's a tough call. One group's word vs. the other's. I will say from the very beginning as the lead singer was interviewed (I saw this interview as early at 6 a.m., hours after the tragedy), he stated the band had obtained permission to use pyrotechnics. His story hasn't wavered one bit. He does seem very, very sorry for using them too. So if you watched from the start of this terrible story unfold, you'd tend to believe the band. I can also see the band's manager requesting certain things (PA system, lighting, sound, etc.) and the club's management not fully understanding that pyrotechnics were to be used. Maybe the band's mgr. didn't actually say the word pyrotechnics? Who knows. It comes down to one conversation between 2 people. Whatever it was, it's a terrible miscommunication, at the very least.

Compounding all of this are the previous club's the band recently performed at. Their track record at these establishments doesn't help their case one bit - it does appear they went ahead with pyrotechnics knowing full well the club didn't give them permission (at a club prior to the RI one).

I read there might be a push to ban all indoor pyrotechnics nation wide. Makes sense to me. When I initially posted my harsh words on the boards, I was merely saying the band used very poor judgement in using them in the first place. Watching the video, the fireworks display seemed dangerous even before the ceiling caught fire.

[j]

Fox News had interviewed a Bouncer at the club who was positioned to the left of the stage as your facing it. He was standing next to one of the "rodies", and he says that when the pyro went out of control, he heard this guy say, (something to the effect of..) "I really f***ed this one up".

But again....a club affiliated member, so who knows.

[southerngale]

I saw one of the owners of The Station giving a press conference and he completely lost it. (as well as who I assumed to be his wife next to him.) He could not speak without crying...he appeared to be very sincere in everything he said. He said they had no idea that the band was going to use pyrotechnics and at no point did the band or any member of the band's management ask permission. He said it was a total shock to them when they saw pyrotechnics being used. He was very convincing. He was obviously all broken up...it brought tears to my eyes as well. He said that he lost friends in the fire. Anyway, I realize that nobody wants to take the blame here and I also heard the lead singer of Great White. He was adamant that they had permission, so who knows?

I did hear something about a videotape of another band using pyrotechnics at The Station but I don't know any details. I wonder if they got permission.

And then there's other clubs saying Great White used pyrotechnics without permission.

I wish everybody would just tell the truth and face the consequences. The victims' families deserve that.

The whole thing is just so tragic and so very sad!

[Rainband]

I agree all the families have left is to know what happened, even though it won't bring back their loved ones it may provide some sort of closure . I hope that this kind of tragedy doesn't happen again. I also hope that if someone did something wrong to cause this and that remains to be seen , they should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law ..IMHO

[sunny shine]

It is known fact and videotaped of four other bands using pyrotechnics at The Station. Bands have produced hard evidence, while those other night clubs have not provided any proof. WHY? Because Great White was denied the use of them in those other clubs, so they did not use them. Therefore, no solid evidence that Great White used pyrotechnics in those clubs, that just so happened to come forth in the club owners defense. I guess they thought their word was good enough.

I saw through the owners tears. Wouldn't you be crying knowing you made a bad call and people lost their lives? The fire marshall and the state of Rhode Island needs to cry as well. Had they enforced the proper fire codes or had more strict fire codes, then that building would have not have gone up in flames in only three minutes!! And certainly those people would have had more than 30 seconds to get out of the building. Not to mention the fact, that club had NO working security lights that are required to come on during a power outage, and yes that includes a fire.

People need to lay the blame on who it needs to be blamed on. And that is the state of Rhode Island, the Fire Marshall and the inspectors who passed that club knowing it was a fire hazard. Had there been any other factor that started the fire in that club, the same results would have applied.


Miss Mary... ALL bands, including country bands, use pyrotechnics and explosions in their shows. Bands have been playing venues for years and years with this type display. That club has only been lucky thus far. I find it odd that all these other bands have video proof they used that display in the Station, but now that tragedy struck, the club denies they granted permission. Hmmm...I guess all those other bands did not have permission either then.

[Miss Mary]

Sunny shine >>Miss Mary... ALL bands, including country bands, use pyrotechnics and explosions in their shows.<<

Agree with that statement, to a point. Not ALL types of music or bands use pyro. I prefer alt rock, myself. Even though I'm in my mid 40s now, I'm more in the know, that not in the know, IMO. Hubby and I follow many local, original bands and sometimes take in music fests that attract national acts (most recently, John Mayer last May). Afghan Whigs came out of Cincy, another band that doesn't use pyro. Although Dulli always had a cig dangling from his lips, LOL!

Don't write me off, I'm more informed that you think.

No more opinions on this terrible RI tragedy. I quit. You have the floor j! Have at it.....

[j]

Mary...

I'm going to withhold any further comments (after this one ) for two reasons.

#1 --- Not enough evidence yet to prove who is at fault, but I'm leaning toward holding not only the band, but the club, and the State of RI officials whose jurisdiction this falls under. Briefly I offer the following reasons for each:
A) The Band -- Personal responsibilty for your actions. They knew the pyro they would use would reach the ceiling, enough said.
B) The Club owners -- Whether they agreed to it (the pyrotechnics) or not, they are legally and morally responsible for the safety of their patrons, certainly to the degree that they have control over. A little research into the habits of this band, what their show consists of, and references from venues of previous shows, would have raised the flag. (All this of course is contingent on their claim that they did not grant permission, and that other clubs had the exact same claim of pyro w/o permission by GW).
C) State of RI and officials responsible ---- Proper fire codes, occupancy limit enforcement, and basically getting their heads out of their a***es instead of waiting till its too late.

2 --- Sunny has debated her side with some serious proof, while mine is mostly conjecture. I respect her opinion.

[Amanzi]

This is truly a terrible thing to happen, especially to a nation who has lost so many other lives in such a short time.

I have not caught all the interviews and details of this tragerdy, but I will state that when I watched the video of the band playing inside the club my husband and I both looked at each other and shook our heads, any person with any kind of brain can tell just from looking at that video, that ceiling is WAY, WAY to low to allow any kind of pyro. As far as I am concerned. It would be like me letting off a few for the fourth of July in my living room, it was a very very bad judgement call.

People are going to point fingers and holler and shout the odd's at each other. The facts will only come out in a few months, and maybe these poor families will get some kind of answer and justice.

It takes a tragerdy like this, and the incident at the Chicago club to make the public aware, that public buildings need to be inspected on a regular basis to ensure public safety (especially after 9-11) All public buildings should have ample fire exits and the management should be trained to deal with public safety, especially where there are large numbers of people gathered.

But that's just my two cents worth

[sunny shine]

A) The Band -- Personal responsibilty for your actions. They knew the pyro they would use would reach the ceiling, enough said.

Maybe so, but if that building had been up to proper fire codes and the building been replaced with fire retardant materials, it would have been slow to burn and could have been put out more quickly.

How could the band know that? They were given permission, so assumed it was fine.

[sunny shine]

That particular type of theatric is the most common used. There are such things as defects and I believe that this particular one had a defect. I have NEVER seen the afterburner go into a mode like the one at that club did.

You can actually put your hand over those sparklers and hold them there and not feel heat nor get burned.