MarcO Posted December 9, 2003 Report Share Posted December 9, 2003 from the New York Times: 3 People Charged in Connection With Deadly Night Club Fire By PAM BELLUCK Published: December 9, 2003 PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island, Dec. 9 — The owners of a night club and the tour manager of a heavy-metal band were indicted today in connection with a Feb. 20 blaze at the night club that killed 100 people and injured nearly 200. Several news agencies reported that the charges were involuntary manslaughter. The three — the club's owners, Jeffrey and Michael Derderian, and the band's manager, Dan Biechele — were arraigned this afternoon. The indictments are the first criminal charges to emerge from a nine-month investigation. Officials say the fire started when the band, Great White, lighted several pyrotechnic cones on stage, sending up showers of sparks, apparently into foam sound-proofing material that lined the walls. The authorities said the fire spread almost instantly to paneling and a low-hanging suspended ceiling. The Derderians, who own the Station, a club in the Providence suburb of West Warwick, had told investigators that the band had never asked for permission to use pyrotechnics and had never informed anyone they would be used. But lawyers for Mr. Biechele and the band's singer have said the club's owners approved the use of fireworks. The inferno was the deadliest night club fire in the United States in 25 years and one of the worst in the country's history, with the death toll exceeding that of the 1990 Happy Land social club fire in the Bronx, which killed 87. The fire spurred the state Legislature to adopt a new set of fire regulations, which Rhode Island officials have praised as the toughest in the nation. The new rules ban the use of pyrotechnics in all but the largest of public facilities — those that can accommodate at least 1,000 people. Previously, clubs of much smaller capacity were permitted to ignite fireworks if they first obtained a permit. The Station, the nightspot where disaster struck on Feb. 20, did not have such a permit. Kirk Semple contributed reporting from New York for this article. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shainhouse Posted December 10, 2003 Report Share Posted December 10, 2003 I'm afraid of Americans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schwa. Posted December 10, 2003 Report Share Posted December 10, 2003 I'm afraid of Great White Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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