Massive Club Fire at Great White concert

Well, sure. That's the headline, and the hook. The last line of my short blog entry is, "The band was the past-its-prime and ill-reputed Great White, but I cannot bring myself to make snarky jokes about people who were burned alive."

So, yeah.

My thoughts exactly!

"man, what happens if there's a fire'."

Every time I walk into CBGB's I think that.

And yet, you did, in your "hook". do'h!

Those large pyrotechnics never should have been there. That much is clear.

The footage of the flames engulfing the speaker cabinets on the edge of the stage is pretty staggering. I can't imagine how those poor folks caught in the scrum must've felt.

Don't hate on Great White. They were actually way less goofy than the hair bands. They were just a bunch of fun dumb guys who liked zeppelin and mott the hoople.

What the fuck are you talking about?

People have long known that it's a dump. But never before now have I considered what a deathtrap it is.

Whaddya mean? You're watching the footage aren't you? Fun in that they're not the worst band ever to walk the earth. Dumb in that they set the place on fucking fire.

Do you have a concept of how these things work? Even a band as washed-up as Great White has management who arranges this shit. They're the ones setting up the shows; at that point there should be a conversation along the lines of "do you have a pyrotechnics license"; "yeah, what do you have?"; "blah blah". Somewhere, this discourse broke down. Either the management misrepresented their stage show, or the club lied about their capacity to handle same. Or lied about the license. Who knows at this early stage. But don't accuse the band of "killing people" for Christ's sake.

I know I'm going to check to see where the exits are at shows from now on (and never be too far from one..)

..wouldn't a place like that have been required to have a sprinkler system?

Only thing is, when I was thinking of problematic deathtrap nightclubs in the city, I wasn't thinking of these places.

i know they've undergone renovations since the last time i was there (almost 2 years ago) but wasn't there an emergency exit out to the back alley from the pool room?

A friend of mine nearly died that day of dehydration.

Oh, and get this.. the headliners were the Charalambides.

I had nothing to do with the addition, but the guy who was the main booker wanted to do their label/booker a favor I guess. Noble, but it turned out to be rather awkward and bad. (Thankfully, that was the only bad moment of all the shows, and have amazing respect for the folks who kept that all-ages venue alive)

Anyway, the World Inferno Friendship Society did a variety of pyrotechnics inside a venue that was an ALL WOOD ART SHACK!

Smart, guys. Really smart. Thanks for stinking up the place, too. Hope you guys are now banned from playing shows ever again.

"Remember this next time someone tells you 'there is no such thing as bad publicity'."

Ouch. No kidding. The owner of the Stone Pony apparently wants Great White impaled in the sun. I think a lot of people are feeling that way about this.

In all cases.. :(

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?

Still, it still sounds kinda unfair saying that some dead people were worth more than others. Why not just give the same sum for everyone?

Even worse than the time they've had to wait for these checks will be the reality of how little each of them get after all the lawyers, "analysts", etc are paid for their work.

"There's a pivotal scene in Jennifer's Body where a rock band is playing at a bar. During its first song, a fire breaks out on-stage, and quickly engulfs the entire place, with many patrons burning to death. The scene is basically a small-scale reenactment of the tragedy that occurred in Rhode Island in 2003 when 100 people perished at a Great White gig. It's crass, thoughtless, and unnecessary, but at least it's consistent with the movie as a whole."

: /

That movie looks like a complete turd.

The band said they would never play the song "Desert Moon" again. "I don't think I could ever sing that song again," said lead singer and founder Jack Russell.[4] Guitarist Mark Kendall stated, "We haven't played that song. Things that bring back memories of that night we try to stay away from. And that song reminds us of that night. We haven't played it since then and probably never will."[5] The band has since resumed playing the song.[6]

omg

flashes of "I vowed to my father I would never use hamster style again."

Almost ten years. Some good news:

http://news.providencejournal.com/breaking-news/2012/09/owner-donates-station-land-to-memorial-foundation.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/01/us/memorializing-100-who-perished-in-rhode-island-nightclub-blaze.html?hp

http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/27/world/americas/brazil-nightclub-fire/index.html

Saw that. Pretty horrible. Have a friend from there, well from the town where the hospital is.

An accordionist who had been performing onstage with a band when the blaze broke out was among the dead, drummer Eliel de Lima told Globo TV.

Ten years ago tomorrow.

And ten years ago today. The Providence Journal's special features

Overviews of all the victims via the Boston Globe

The Station Fire Memorial Foundation.

The video with he hand transplant was heartbreaking and would have been regardless of where the guy got burned.

Also inspirational.

Great White's Jack Russell to play first New England show since Station fire

So Great White decided to play a show in North Dakota with zero social distancing and zero masks and needless to say Twitter is dragging them for it...

17 years ago, 100 people died in the Station Nightclub fire after
Great White’s tour manager lit pyrotechnics inside the small club during a show. One of the band’s biggest hits is called “Once Bitten, Twice Shy.”

Who had this on their 2020 bingo card? https://t.co/43iHWZ98fT

— Billy Jensen (@Billyjensen) July 11, 2020

Do people not remember what happened last time Great White ignored public safety guidelines? https://t.co/aBfayZH1OZ

— Warner Bros. Re-Release Cop Killer (@MetalShayne2000) July 12, 2020

Great White really pumped to add another entry to the “Tragedies” section of their Wikipedia page huh https://t.co/LZWVQY3OUE

— Casey Malone (@CaseyMalone) July 11, 2020

Eh, nothing bad has ever happened to the audience at a great white concert before, right? https://t.co/DRzujyU0lf

— Brendan Kelly, provocateur/total dildo (@badsandwich) July 11, 2020

Great White in 2003: Kill 100 people by bringing too much pyro to a small club.

Great White in 2020: Hold my beer. https://t.co/YV8YyVt8eT

— Metal Injection (@metalinjection) July 12, 2020

Whoa. I'm genuinely shocked by this.

All the simpering apologies for their reckless pyro antics that got 100 people killed in 2003 feels like a bunch of hot air now. This is beyond irresponsible. Fuck @GreatWhiteRocks.#ClassicRock #GreatWhite #HairMetal https://t.co/nnBMtK8cgZ

— Play That Rock’n’Roll (@playthatpodcast) July 12, 2020