Station Nightclub Fire Essay

he Station nightclub fire occurred on Thursday, February 20, 2003, in West Warwick, Rhode Island. This fire was the fourth deadliest nightclub fire in all of U.S. history. The fire was caused by pyrotechnics set off by the tour manager of the headlining band Great White, which ignited plastic foam that was used as sound insulation in the walls and ceilings surrounding the stage. A tremendous fast fire with intense black smoke engulfed the club in less than five and a half minutes. The fire was fast to ignite with rapid growth. Unfortunately, the black smoke made escaping impossible. In addition, there was exit blockage that further made evacuation impossible. The toxic smoke, the heat, and the stampede of people toward the exits killed 100 people, while 230 were injured and another 132 fortunately escaped uninjured.

Under the State Attorney General’s office and State Fire Marshal, an investigator from the State Fire Marshal’s office and a statewide task force of law enforcement agencies, as well as investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms was formed to conduct the thorough examination of the fire. The scene was processed and witnesses were interviewed by the members of the investigative team were done. In the days following the fire, representatives from the National Institute of Standards and Technology operating under the National Construction Safety Team Act visited the scene and to also gathered preliminary information that would lead to a full report on the fire. The fire report was then released in June 2005. On December 9, 2003, a state Grand Jury gave indictments against the two owners of the nightclub and the manager of the headlining act. Each were charged with 200 counts of manslaughter. On February 7, 2006, the band manager plead guilty to 100 counts of involuntary manslaughter in a plea