The Station nightclub was the scene of a fire that killed 100 people
in February.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – The Station nightclub was above its legal capacity when it caught fire on Feb. 20, killing 100 people and injuring nearly 200 others, according to an investigation published Sunday by The Providence Journal.
The newspaper puts 412 people inside the club when a band’s pyrotechnics ignited highly flammable foam used around the stage as soundproofing.
That figure exceeds the limit of 404 set by the town of West Warwick, and is greater than the number officials have said were in the club when it burned. In public comments just after the fire, Gov. Don Carcieri estimated the crowd at around 350, but since then the state has called that number into question.
Attorney Jeff Pine, who represents club owner Jeffrey Derderian, declined comment when contacted by Journal reporters. Kathleen Hagerty, the lawyer for Derderian’s brother, Michael, did not return a call seeking comment.
The attorneys didn’t immediately return messages left Sunday by The Associated Press. A spokesman for the attorney general also did not return a phone message left Sunday.
The 412 names were compiled from interviews with lawyers, survivors, relatives of survivors and hospital officials. The list also includes the 100 people who died, as identified by the governor’s office.
State officials have refused the Journal’s requests for names of the survivors, claiming that making the information public would violate the privacy of people who were at The Station.
The state has kept all details of the fire secret as a grand jury weighs whether anyone should face criminal charges.
The capacity of the club has become a key issue for investigators as they try to determine whether The Station, equipped with four doors, had the correct number of exits. Many of the victims perished when they became trapped as they tried to leave the building.
Casey C. Grant, assistant chief engineer at the National Fire Protection Association, said enforcing the capacity limit for a building can be a matter of life and death.
“It’s a very important number. It’s one of the prime factors in making sure people can get out safely,” Grant told the newspaper. “If we’re exceeding that, we’re flirting with danger.”
Grant said occupancy limits are calculated to be the “worst-case” scenario of how many people can escape safely in an emergency.
The NFPA recently adopted new regulations requiring crowd managers at all places of assembly and mandatory “life safety evaluations” every year at venues with festival seating and a capacity of 250 or more. The regulations are only recommendations.
Rhode Island’s new fire code, adopted in July, requires a crowd manager at gatherings of 300 or more during special “amusement” events.
Crowd management specialists say evaluations expose a venue’s shortcomings and a crowd manager helps direct people to an available door.
Under the fire code that governed The Station, inspectors could use three different formulas to determine the capacity, according to William Howe, chief of inspections for the state fire marshal.
In March 2000, when the Derderians took ownership of The Station, West Warwick Fire Marshal Denis Larocque calculated the capacity of the club at 258 when the tables and chairs were in place. He raised the limit to 404 when furniture was removed. The higher number required a firefighter on duty, according to town documents.
On Feb. 20, the Derderians hired a police officer to stand watch, but not a firefighter. One month after the blaze, when questioned about the failure to hire a firefighter, Hagerty said the Derderians never expected the club to reach or exceed capacity.
AP-ES-09-21-03 1211EDT
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