Killer Show: The Station Nightclub Fire (56 page)

63–64
Raul “Mike” Vargas, thirty-one, had come
Witness statements of Raul Vargas, February 22, April 24, and April 25, 2003; Cathleen F. Crowley, “A Survivor’s Story: Saved by a Pileup,”
Providence Journal
, March 10, 2003.

64
Tribute band Human Clay was represented
Witness statement of Michael Kaszmarczyk, February 26, 2003; witness statement of Cara DelSesto, May 8, 2003.

64
Earlier on, after the pyro ignited
Grand jury testimony of David Stone, April 4, 2003; deposition of Joseph LaFontaine, New England Custom Alarms, in
Gray et al. v. Derderian et al
., CA No. 04–312-L, USDC–RI, April 4, 2005.

11.
CAUSE FOR ALARM

65
New or old, most utilize
Houston Fire Department, Continuing Education, June 1999.

65
Fire sprinklers were not originally calculated
“History of Fire Sprinkler Systems,” APi Fire Protection Group Inc., 2003.

65
One prime example was a fire at the Fine Line Music Café
David Chanen, “Warm-up Act Sets Fine Line Afire; No One Hurt,”
Minneapolis Star-Tribune
, February 18, 2003; Chris Riemenschneider, “Nightclubs Put Safety in Spotlight,”
Minneapolis Star-Tribune
, February 19, 2003; “The Need for Sprinklers in Nightclubs,” Northern Illinois Fire Safety Advisory Board, 2007.

65–66
Over the course of their development
John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York, Department of Protection Management, Division of Fire Science Course Materials,
Introduction to Fire Science
, Section 6, Unit 3, Automatic Sprinkler Systems (Flannery Associates, 2002).

66
In 1806, Englishman John Carey
“History of Fire Sprinkler Systems.”

66
Henry S. Parmelee was the president of
“Fire Sprinkler,” Wikipedia,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_sprinkler
.

66–67
It’s no small irony for the victims
“History of Fire Sprinkler Systems”; “Fire Sprinkler.”

67
Why, then, wasn’t this Rhode Island–born boon
Mark Arsenault, “The Codes,”
Providence Journal
, December 15, 2003.

67
A sprinkler system for the club
Grand jury testimony of Detective Roland Coutu, November 5, 2003.

67
and far less than the $65,000 they spent on The Station’s sound system
Grand jury testimony of Paul Vanner, May 21, 2003, p. 27, lines 20–26.

67–68
The National Institute of Standards and Technology
“Draft Report of the Technical Investigation of the Station Nightclub Fire,” National Institute of Standards and Technology, Technology Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, March 2005.

68
While fire
suppression
may keep conditions tenable
Guylene Proulx, in discussion with the author, August 29, 2008.

68–69
What fire detection existed at The Station
Deposition of Joseph LaFontaine, New England Custom Alarms, in
Gray et al. v. Derderian et al.
, CA No. 04–312-L, USDC–RI, April 4, 2005.

69
When Dan Biechele set off the pyrotechnics
Witness statement of Robert W. Rager, March 13, 2003.

69
Great White stopped playing thirty-six seconds post-ignition
Brian Butler videotape.

69
Whether a nightclub’s staff responds
Grand jury testimony of Scott Vieira, March 26, 2003, p. 25.

69
Management of the Fine Line Café
Riemenschneider, “Nightclubs Put Safety in Spotlight.”

69–70
Whereas the Fine Line Café’s management
Witness statement of Francis Canillas, March 11, 2003; witness statement of Shamus D. Horan, February 25, 2003; witness statement of Daniel Davidson, February 22, 2003.

70
As reconstructed by the
Providence Journal
Providence Journal
list of Station occupants from known dead, survivors interviewed by
Journal
, identified by other survivors, identified by attorneys, confirmed by relatives, confirmed by hospitals, persons who gave statements to police, photographers in club with confirmed photos, and survivors identified in another’s statement to police; published at
www.projo.com/extra/2003/stationfire/list/
.

12.
I’M WITH THE BAND

71
Mike Iannone had come to The Station
Witness statement of Michael Iannone, October 27, 2003.

71–72
The Derderians solved both problems
Witness statement of Scott J. Vieira, March 1, 2003; grand jury testimony of Scott Vieira, March 26, 2003.

72
When Mike Iannone saw the pyrotechnics erupt
Witness statement of Michael Iannone.

72–73
Fred Crisostomi, a painter
Witness statement of Gina M. Russo, November 21, 2003; Angie Cannon, “Looking for Answers in the Ashes,”
U.S. News & World Report
, February 12, 2004.

73–74
The Station’s approach to providing concert security
Grand jury testimony of Scott Vieira, March 26, 2003.

74
But someone did direct Rob Feeney
Witness statements of Robert P. Feeney, March 11 and April 7, 2006; Jennette Barnes, “Survivor Is Coping with Loss, Injury,”
New Bedford (MA) Standard-Times
, February 15, 2004.

75–76
John Gibbs and Kevin Dunn had driven
Witness statement of John Gibbs, March 1, 2003.

76
Stephanie and Nicole Conant
Witness statement of Stephanie Conant, February 23, 2003.

76
Another individual with unfettered access
Witness statements of John R. Arpin, February 21 and 28, 2003; grand jury testimony of John R. Arpin, April 24, 2003.

76–77
One family that might disagree
Witness statements of Donna Cormier, March 1 and April 28, 2003; grand jury testimony of Donna Cormier, July 21, 2003.

77–78
Photographer Dan Davidson had stopped
Witness statement of Daniel Davidson, February 22, 2003.

78
Davidson took four photos
Photographs by Dan Davidson, February 20, 2003.

78–79
Behind him, David Filice bends
Grand jury testimony of David Filice, March 4, 2003, p. 40.

79
Nine days after the fire, Donna Cormier reviewed
Witness statement of Donna Cormier, March 1, 2003, pp. 10–12; grand jury testimony of Donna Cormier, July 21, 2003, pp. 36–38 (identifying “shaved-headed” man in Davidson “
Boston Herald
photo” as bouncer who tried to turn her family away); witness statement of John Arpin, March 3, 2003, lines 96–98 (identifying himself as the man “with the bald head” in Davidson “
Boston Herald
photo”).

79
According to the Rhode Island Department of the Attorney General
“The Station Fire—List of People inside Building at Time of Fire,” Rhode Island Department of Attorney General; witness statement of John Lynch, February 28, 2003, p. 16, line 17.

79
At least one person
chose
not to use the stage exit
Witness statement of William Long, February 28, 2003; Mike McAndrew, “CNY Native Barely Escaped Deadly R.I. Nightclub Fire,”
Syracuse (NY) Post-Standard
, March 9, 2003.

79–80
Linda Fisher didn’t work for Great White
Witness statement of Linda Fisher, November 6, 2003; witness statement of Mark Knott, February 28, 2003; Tom Mooney, “Saving Lives at the Open Gates of Hell,”
Providence Journal
, April 13, 2003.

80
Bill Long was somehow pulled
Witness statement of William Long; McAndrew, “CNY Native Barely Escaped Deadly R.I. Nightclub Fire.”

80–81
Rob Feeney and Donna Mitchell had not been given
Witness statements of Robert P. Feeney, March 11 and April 7, 2006; Barnes, “Survivor Is Coping with Loss, Injury.”

81
He later identified Scott Vieira
Witness statement of Robert P. Feeney, April 7, 2006. According to his witness statement, after getting out of the hospital, Feeney searched the Internet and came upon pictures of the Station Fire. He located a picture that had been published by
Rolling Stone
magazine. It was one of the Davidson photographs depicting an employee smoking a cigarette, wearing a black T-shirt marked “Event Security,” standing near the stage door. Feeney positively identified this man as the person who had placed his hand on Donna Mitchell’s shoulder and instructed her to use the front door. Feeney’s statement recites that he later came to learn the identity of this male as Scott Vieira. He was shown Station Fire Davidson photograph 22003.032jpb (the photo that had been published in
Rolling Stone
) by Detective Roland Coutu, and Feeney again confirmed that this was the photo he had located on the Internet and that the person in the black T-shirt in the foreground was the person who told Donna she had to use the front door. Also, captioned Davidson photo appearing in “Rock Band Great White Offers $1 Million to Settle Fatal Nightclub Fire Suits,” by Eric Tucker, Associated Press, in the
Western Star
, September 2, 2008, Canadian Press, identifying Scott Vieira as the cigarette-smoking bouncer. Also, in a witness statement taken from John Arpin on February 28, 2003, Q. 92–108, Arpin identified the cigarette-smoking bouncer wearing the Station T-shirt in the Davidson
Rolling Stone
photograph as Scott Vieira.

81
Gina Russo needed no photographs
Gina Russo with Paul Lonardo,
From the Ashes
(West Conshohocken, PA: Infinity Publishing, 2010), 137.

81
Other survivors reported
See, e.g., witness statement of John Gibbs, March 1, 2003.

81
The cheerful giant, who once balanced a canoe
Memorial Biography of Tracy King,
Providence Journal
, March 20, 2003.

13.
FIGHTING FOR AIR

82
“Fire is an exothermic oxidation reaction
John D. DeHaan,
Kirk’s Fire Investigation
, 5th ed. (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentiss-Hall, 2002), 21.

82
“self-sustaining chain reaction requiring combustible fuel
Ibid.

82
Fire requires about a 16 percent concentration
Ibid., p. 24.

82
We require 12 percent
D. A. Purser, “Toxicity Assessment of Combustion Products,” in
Society of Fire Protection Engineers’ Handbook of Fire Protection Engineering
, 3rd ed., ed. P. J. DiNenno (Bethesda, MD: SFPA, 2002).

82
Room air has only 21 percent
DeHaan,
Kirk’s Fire Investigation
, 23.

83
Fire can be defeated in the battle
John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York, Department of Protection Management, Division of Fire Science Course Materials,
Introduction to Fire Science
, Section 2, Unit 1, Fire Behavior (Flannery Associates, 2002).

83
Few of us realize, however
DeHaan,
Kirk’s Fire Investigation
, 22.

83
Wax melts, undergoes pyrolysis
Ibid., p. 26.

83
The process was aided by the low-density
“Report of the Technical Investigation of the Station Nightclub Fire” (hereafter, NIST Report), National Institute of Standards and Technology, Technology Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, §4.3.

83
Heat can be transferred in three ways
DeHaan,
Kirk’s Fire Investigation
, 33.