Massive Club Fire at Great White concert

xpost

Jack White / manager / club owners - 10 years
Other band members - 5 years

PROVIDENCE, R.I., May 10 — Daniel M. Biechele, the man who ignited the pyrotechnics that led to the deaths of 100 people in a catastrophic Rhode Island nightclub fire in 2003, was sentenced Wednesday to four years in prison and three years of probation.
Eileen DiBonaventura, who lost a son in the Station nightclub fire, was in tears as she left the courtroom.

The sentence was less than half the 10 years prosecutors had requested, but more than the community service Mr. Biechele's lawyers had sought.

Judge Francis J. Darigan Jr. said he considered Mr. Biechele's background and obvious remorse, and the fact that his actions were "totally devoid of any criminal intent," in addition to the horrific result of the fire at the Station nightclub in February 2003.

"Mr. Biechele, the greatest sentence that can be imposed upon you has been imposed upon you by yourself, that is, having to live a lifetime knowing that your actions were a proximate cause of the death of 100 innocent people," Judge Darigan said. "Any attempt by me or anyone else to correlate any sentence imposed with the value of these lives, or any other yardstick that may be applied, I believe would be a dishonor to the memory of the victims of this tragedy."

Shortly before the sentence was pronounced, Mr. Biechele, 29, who was the tour manager for the heavy metal band Great White, which used the pyrotechnics in its performance at the nightclub, stood, sobbing, and spoke to the judge.

"I don't know that I'll ever forgive myself for what happened that night, so I can't expect anybody else to," said Mr. Biechele, who pleaded guilty in February to 100 counts of involuntary manslaughter caused by a misdemeanor, the act of setting off pyrotechnics without a permit. "I can only pray that they understand that I would do anything to undo what happened that night and give them back their loved ones. I'm so sorry for what I've done."

Families of some of the victims gasped and some broke into tears when the sentence was announced. One woman, Patricia Belanger, who lost her daughter, Dina Ann DeMaio, a waitress at the nightclub, shouted at Mr. Biechele's mother: "How do you like your son now? Now you're going to feel the pain that I feel!"

Outside the courtroom, Ms. Belanger said the sentence was "a joke" and said of Mr. Biechele's mother, "she'll get her son in four years, and they'll go back to being a happy family. What do we have?"

Gerard Fontaine, whose son Mark was killed and whose daughter Melanie was injured in the fire, said: "One year for every 25 people that died — it's crazy. You can do what you want in Rhode Island and get away with it."

But relatives of some other victims said the sentence was appropriate.

"I think it's a fair and just reaction," said Sarah Mancini, whose son Keith was killed. "He didn't set out to kill anybody. It was a horrendous accident."

Some victims' relatives and others in Rhode Island have said that more of the blame should be placed with the club owners, Jeffrey and Michael Derderian, who had installed sound-proofing foam that proved to be highly flammable.

Many also blamed the fire and building inspectors who failed to cite the presence of the foam during inspections. The Derderian brothers, the only others charged in the case, are under indictment on involuntary manslaughter charges.

The sentencing of Mr. Biechele followed two days of testimony from relatives of more than 30 victims, who offered accounts so anguished and raw that at one point Judge Darigan's clerk was too overcome to announce the next speaker.

Mr. Biechele broke down in tears Tuesday as the father of the youngest victim, 18-year-old Nicholas O'Neill, testified that his son would have wanted the family to accept Mr. Biechele's apology.

Mr. Biechele, of Winter Park, Fla., who recently married and works for a flooring company and takes night accounting classes, wrote letters of apology to each of the victims' families.

Despite Mr. Biechele's contrition, the prosecutor, Randall White, told Judge Darigan on Wednesday that Mr. Biechele should receive the 10-year maximum sentence under the plea agreement because his failure to get a permit for the pyrotechnics was "not simply an unwitting and innocuous oversight, but a deliberate and intentional decision not to abide by Rhode Island law."

"A child could have seen and foreseen the harm" of lighting pyrotechnics in the overcrowded club, Mr. White said.

"If this isn't the case that deserves a serious sentence," he said, "what one is?"

Mr. Biechele's lawyer, Thomas G. Briody, cited several factors that Mr. Biechele could not have been aware of, including the flammability of the foam and the lack of sufficient exits and fire extinguishers. "Daniel Biechele is the only man in this tragedy to stand up and say, 'I did something wrong,' " Mr. Briody said.

The club owners will probably seek a deal since the court was lenient w/ the band manager, but it's hard to say which way it will go. If the owners choose a trial and it shows they knew the soundproofing was flammable and they knew Biechele was going to light off pyrotechnics they could get who knows how long in the can.

To get some perspective, RI doesn't have a full-time state congress, they all have other day jobs. Not sure how common that is but I was kind of surprised when I heard it.

Hmmm let me guess the other 8 states; North Dakota, South Dakota, New Hampshire, Delaware, Maine, etc.

(By the by, states with full-time legislatures = Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. This is according to Jeff Jacoby in yesterday's Boston Globe, writing on an unrelated matter.)

Jon, I remember reading articles on the evictions, I think they were all in the Phoenix though.

Duh. I meant ... you know what I meant.

Colin by "correct me if I'm wrong" I didn't mean "please tell me to look it up"!

Then you go and have your arguments over what IS intention, and your "what's the difference between recklessness and negligence", and then the reasonable man shows up, and I quit the law three years ago today.

The unedited version of the fire footage has leaked onto the net. (posted without comment except that I'm astonished at how damn fast the fire is)
http://www.metalsucks.net/?p=4231

It makes for even more disturbing viewing with that "all4humor.com" tag in the corner the whole time.

That makes me nauseous.

Very frightening :(

no thanks

i ain't going near that video : /

The Wikipedia page has a pretty good run down of the whole thing. Most interesting are the diagrams the club's exit doors, and where victims were found.

Between this and the revisit of the MGM Grand hotel fire after the Monte Carlo fire, I'm *always* making note of exits.

That reminds me of the footage of the Bradford City football ground fire that was (possibly still is) on Youtube, it's unbelievable how fast these fires spread, especially when they're in a complete fucking firetrap like that place.

the advert on the left is in bad taste

http://www.metalsucks.net/graphics/eko160x600.gif

Just for something positive:

http://www.bates.edu/x72231.xml

^ {POSTER I WENT TO HIGH SCHOOL WITH NAME HERE} and I went to high school with him. nice guy and a really interesting music fan. I remember him liking Earth Crisis.

That reminds me of the footage of the Bradford City football ground fire that was (possibly still is) on Youtube, it's unbelievable how fast these fires spread, especially when they're in a complete fucking firetrap like that place.

I have to do a yearly fire safety course at my work and it's one of the things they always show. I've seen it several times now and still can't believe how rapidly it spread.

Ugh. I just watched the Bradford City fire footage and can't get past the spectators jumping up and down and mugging for the camera.

Yeah I watched that Bradford fire as part of a H&S course a year or two ago. It's insane how fast it spreads.

he did like earth crisis, jon!

he was a wonderfully cool guy, brought really excellent porn to motivate the entire relay team on the new england regional swim championships. we swam the 200IM together: he butterfly, me breast

The unedited version of the fire footage has leaked onto the net. (posted without comment except that I'm astonished at how damn fast the fire is)
http://www.metalsucks.net/?p=4231

-- Elvis Telecom, Thursday, 7 February 2008 16:41 (Yesterday) Link

I got as far as the camera person leaving the building and then
panning back to the people who were quite literally piling & spilling out of the exit. Then I had to turn it off. Anyone else unable to watch it all the way through?

Yeah, I started watching it, then decided it was pretty sick.
Though I was able to watch this:

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=860c9b9f3b&p=1

he butterfly, me breast

This is a not so excellent porn.

Good article about the swimmer, thanks for the post.

Survivors of RI club fire awaiting settlement cash
By ERIC TUCKER, Associated Press Writer Eric Tucker, Associated Press Writer Thu Feb 12, 10:49 am ET
CRANSTON, R.I. – Linda Fisher's medical expenses have grown to a half-million dollars in the six years since a fire tore through a Rhode Island nightclub, killing 100 concertgoers and injuring more than 200.

The other costs of the fire aren't as easily calculated: Strangers still gawk at the web of scars up and down her arms. Her reconstructed hands make it hard to grip a soda bottle or shuffle a deck of cards. She has fierce itching pangs that even now can make her cry.

As the six-year anniversary approaches next week, Fisher and more than 300 other survivors and relatives of those killed are waiting for their shares of a $176 million settlement intended to help cover mounting medical bills, with the largest payouts going to those most severely injured.

"There are people who have lost hair, their hands, ears, noses, fingers, arms, their jobs, their homes," said Fisher, 39, who spent three weeks in a drug-induced coma and suffered second- and third-degree burns on one third of her body.

"Anyone who was in that building that night, for what they went through, they deserve a million dollars each," she added. "The worst injured? There's not enough money to give him."

The settlements resolve lawsuits arising from the Feb. 20, 2003, blaze at The Station nightclub in West Warwick, which began when pyrotechnics used as a stage prop by the 1980s rock band Great White ignited foam used as soundproofing around the stage.

The band's tour manager, Daniel Biechele, served less than two years of a four-year prison sentence; the club's two owners pleaded no contest to involuntary manslaughter charges — one will be released on parole this year while the other was spared jail time.

Dozens of companies and people who were sued after the fire, from club owners Jeffrey and Michael Derderian and members of the band to Anheuser-Busch and Clear Channel Broadcasting, agreed to settle over the last year and a half rather than risk the costs and uncertainty of a jury trial.

Lawyers won't disclose how much individual clients will receive but say payments will range from about $20,000 to several million dollars. The victims can either collect their money in lump sums or installments.

Fisher said her lawyer has told her she'll be eligible for about $1 million, but expects a large chunk of that to go toward attorneys fees and repaying the state for medical care. She intends to use her share for a down payment on a new house with her fiance and for a Labor Day weekend wedding celebration.

Fisher said there's no fair way to compensate the survivors for the severity or permanency of their injuries. And while she's relieved that lawsuits over the fire ended without a trial, she doesn't consider the total settlement sum at all eye-popping since it'll be divided among so many people.

"It's not winning the Powerball," said Fisher, who lost her job as an assistant toy store manager after the fire and now works part-time at a candle shop and collects a monthly Social Security check. "We're not going to buy new cars, we're not all going to buy mansions."

Gina Gauvin, a single mother of three who lost her right hand and all the fingers on her left one down to the knuckle, said she plans to use her share to buy a new house for her family. Her injuries have left her permanently disabled, and she's been struggling to make ends meet.

"I'll just be happy once I receive my settlement, to be able to not have to worry about asking for help from anybody and being self-supportive," Gauvin said.

As they have done every year since the fire, scores of survivors and victims' relatives plan to gather at the fire site Sunday for an annual memorial service. It is decorated with crosses, photographs and other mementos, but a permanent memorial with a park, courtyard, garden and 100-string Aeolian harp is planned for the lot.

There are still a few legal hurdles before victims of the blaze will get their settlements.

The money is being distributed according to an intricate formula devised by a Duke University law professor, Francis McGovern, who has met with the survivors and relatives of those killed. The formula, which is awaiting a judge's approval, awards points based on a victim's age, education and income, and bases survivors' totals on their medical expenses — which range from zero to over $3 million.

Rhode Island Gov. Don Carcieri has proposed delaying paying the state's portion of the settlement — $10 million — until the next fiscal year because of an ongoing fiscal crisis. The cash-strapped town of West Warwick has asked for help to pay its own $10 million portion.

The entire process irked Diane Mattera, who said she felt like her late daughter, Tammy, 29, was reduced to an arbitrary mathematical calculus.

"I've always said from Day One, the money doesn't mean anything to us," Mattera said. "Her life meant more than points."

I feel for those people but RI is broke as a joke, son

10% unemployment

some public schools only have enough money to make it to april

here's some more world class irony, courtesy of RI: not enough staff are available to review the 1,200 applications that were received for 40 open positions at the state unemployment office. the positions were created to process the massive flood of unemployment benefits claims.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — More than 1,200 people applied for 40 new jobs at the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training to help process a glut of unemployment benefits claims. Department Director Sandra Powell said there are so many candidates for the $19-an-hour jobs the agency needs help from another department to sort through applications.

^ omg

The money is being distributed according to an intricate formula devised by a Duke University law professor, Francis McGovern, who has met with the survivors and relatives of those killed. The formula, which is awaiting a judge's approval, awards points based on a victim's age, education and income...

Wtf does this mean??!

They try to make the settlements (a financial matter) in some way proportionate to the financial loss effected by the death.

Ah, okay, I thought the victims who survived were given compensation based on their age, education, and income too.

The first three minutes or so of that released video is something I can never unsee. Why do I click links?