95 people Gone

Gotta VENT!

I tell ya....watching the TV has been so depressing today. The fire at the Rhode Island Club is unreal! I have been listening all day. I feel so badly for the families who lost their children in this horrible fire.

What really amazes me is how FIRE, in any way shape or form, can be used inside a building like this! The media keeps reporting that Pyro-technics are SAFE then they turn around and say they are NOT SAFE... The band doesn't want to be held responsible...the club owner doesn't want to be held responsible....the BUTT covering is starting to get nauseating! Does it really matter any more?

It will be interesting to see how this mess unfolds, however, WHY proper permitting wasn't done and also WHY an inspection wasn't done prior to this concert. So far it appears to be a "communication problem"—causing almost 100 people to perish in less than an hour?

So disturbing!

i agree with you kim - its awful and thats the second nightclub to have a lot of deaths in a week. whats going on???

What's sick is...I believe that it really is a communication issue....Great White is saying that they had permission to do the pyro-technics and the club owners say, "No they didn't." — it really bites me that a STUPID mistake (no matter who asked/or didn't ask) killed a large majority of kids in the "prime" of their youth.

Now I'm rambling…

There was a news crew there at the time, videotaping. They were doing a story on safety in nightclubs how ironic is that??

I watched this on the news tonight and the sight of the people piled up on top of one another trying to get out of the front door was so sad. Apparently people were not even aware that there were 2 or 3? other exits. Most of the people that died were found at the front door.

I don't know....if you are going to do something like that (use Pyro-technics), don't you think it would be wise to have the means to stop a fire should one start accidentally ? I think it's the bands responsibility to have extinguishers right beside them, just in case and....it's the bar owners responsibility to make sure there are some there (supplied by either party).

Yeah....I can see plenty of finger pointing now. No one is going to take responsibility for this.

It's sad...... Those poor families.

What brought me the most shivers, was one newstation played the messages of people who were calling their loved ones and friends and leaving chilling messages on answering machines, some, even as they were dying. What a waste- what a tragic waste.

It makes me absolutely sick to even think about something this horrible!! I feel so sorry for all the parents who lost their kids in that fire!

Just the other day there was a similiar incident in a music cafe in Minneapolis MN. One of the bands was using pyro-technics without permission which caused the ceiling to catch on fire. There were 120 people in the music cafe at the time. Fortunately, everyone managed to escape and there were no injuries.

Has anyone ever explored the nightclub scene on a regular basis?

I was into clubs when I was in university. We would go every Friday and Saturday night. In Toronto, many times city regulations were not monitored and I'm quite surprised I was not involved in any 'mishaps'.

I remember going to one club on New Year's eve. The club was packed way beyond capacity and there was no regard to safety. I left early because I could barely breath!

Many city regulators are paid off by the club owners to go easy on them because of infractions. It's there own little mafia going on. So if this is happening here in a city of close to 3 million people, it's going on across the globe.

Now when I see the last two club disasters, it doesn't shock me one bit. People have to open there eyes and realize they are taking their safety into their own hands when they go out for a night of fun and clubbing.

I'm just glad I wasn't one of the statistics.

Kass...it's been years since I've been in a huge nightclub. I can imagine how hard it would be during a tragedy such as this. I can definately see your point here.

Out here, in Apple Hill, I think I'm okay. Should I be out at the village bar and something happens, I'm almost 100% sure that all 3 of us customers would make it out ok!

Yikes! Sorry....I forgot the bartender! Ok....all 4 of us!

I am so sad. I live about 40 minutes from where this happpened in Warwick RI, and I also was watching all day. The local channels here all had news crews here and we got an even "closer" feel than the broadcast channels like CNN showed. I saw on Channel 4 a women showing a picture of her daughter who was amongst the missing. It was heart wrenching.

I hope and pray that justice is served in this case. It was such a tragedy that could have been prevented.

Kass, you're so right about night clubs and not going by the code. This place wasn't big, though. It had a capacity of 300 and was so small that they weren't required to have sprinklers, or apparently any fire protection system.

I personally think that band is getting a really bad rap about all this. They let the tour manager make all the arrangements. They have to trust their tour manager, so if their manager says it OK to do pyro, they do it. Although, I think the roadies should have known better than to set it up where they did with that P.O.S. eggcarton type sound proofing they had up. I also can't believe that stuff would pass fire code, because (obviously) it is highly flammable. If it wasn't the pyro, it could have been a loose wire or bad connection on an amp, a cigarette butt thrown behind the band, heat from the equipment, anything.

It is a horrible tragedy. What makes me as angry as anything is the blame game that all the parties are playing. I mean, the first thing out of the club's owners' mouths was "We didn't give permission for the pyro." In other words - Don't sue us! Sue the Band, they have lots of money! I have met Great White before, and they are one of those bands who truly does care about their fans. And remember, their guitarist is among those still missing....

I saw an interview with a city official, and he said it was up to the club owners to apply for the permits. I can't believe that the person that set all this stuff would not have checked for flammable materials in the vicinity of where the display was to be set. You could see on that video that showed the fire starting that there was a foam drop ceiling. The club had passed a fire inspection in December. It seems to me that whoever didn't get the permits, and the person that set up the display share responsibility for this tragedy. I felt so bad for Jack Russell doing those interviews this morning. I have never been a fan of their music, but I think they are going to get blamed for this, and that's just not right.

far far far too bad. How could this happen? And what about the fire code? We are much all to educated to have this happen: are we?

I was watching coverage of this and they even did an interview with the lead singer of Great White....this is so very sad.........no....not just sad....horrific!!!! That something like this could happen is sickening! Someone needs to be held accountable for this! But noone is taking the blame, they all are just pointing fingers at the other guy. I pray for the families of the people who lost their lives in this horrible tragedy.

I never even heard of this band. This thing will be tied up in court, for years and the only ones, who will profit, are the lawyers. Betcha Johnny Cochran is on his way, right now.

i was watching the local news, the band was in Winston Salem and now they are investigating whether they broke the fire code. It is just so awful, all those lives lost. And for what?

There are places that are made to adhere to the fire codes. I was in a crowded bar in Kansas City, MO, once, and the fire marshall actually came in and took a head count to make sure they were not over their limit. I had heard that they do that often there, but only actually saw it once. If everywhere were so strict, this kind of thing wouldn't happen.
I am feeling less sorry for the band, though. I saw several club owners interviewed say that no one from the band, or their representatives told them they did the pyro show, and had shut it down. It is completely insane to do a show like that in such a small venue!

Wow...I just went to Great White's web site and they have this posted on the HOME page:
Due to the tragedy that occurred in West Warwick, all dates are currently on hold and our prayers go out to everybody affected by this event.

Haven't heard much reaction from these guys. Their show is supposed to be touring in North America this year...not that they feel like entertaining after something like this....I've got a feeling that this is going to be the most expensive problem they have ever had.

I heard the lead guitarist's dad talking to a reporter (on the phone) yesterday and he was about to catch a plane to go meet his son. He was so optimistic— Have they mentioned if the guitarist is officially gone?

What a tragedy. Can't seem to take my eyes off of the story.