Two years and change after a fatal inferno at the Station nightclub in West Warwick, Rhode Island, took the lives of 100 Great White fans as well as the band's guitarist Ty Longley, the U.S. Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology has issued a dozen building and fire-safety code recommendations as a result of the agency's investigation into the blaze.
The NIST, which has also been examining the 2001 collapse of the World Trade Center towers, called on organizations nationwide that develop fire-safety regulations and building codes to embrace these recommendations, released on Thursday (March 3). Among the recommendations are placing tighter restrictions on the use of flammable materials in nightclubs (such as wall coverings), improving access to building exits, augmenting the number of on-site fire extinguishers required in nightclubs, and mandating that both new and pre-existing venues install up-to-date sprinkler systems to better suppress fires.
The fire at the Station club was ignited when sparks from a pyrotechnic mishap during Great White's opening song lit flammable soundproofing foam that lined the club's walls (see "At Least 96 Dead At Rock Show Fire").
The NIST doesn't actually have regulatory authority — its findings are merely intended to help improve building safety codes. None of the results issued Thursday morning can be used as evidence in any pending criminal or civil court proceedings.
The report cites three factors that contributed to the rapid spread of the fire, which, before it was extinguished, consumed the entire nightclub: the hazardous mix of flammable building materials, the Station's lack of means to snuff the fire out, and the inability of the exits to handle the rush of concertgoers who tried to flee the building.
In addition, the document recommends requiring multiple passive and active fire protection systems, ensuring that fire departments have adequate staffing and equipment, researching human behavior in emergencies, researching the spread and suppression of fire, and developing computer models to aid communities as they consider changes to safety codes.
The NIST's recommendations could have far-reaching effects on nightclubs and live-music venues nationwide. Should fire and building codes be amended in the future, on either the state or local level, those officials might consider utilizing these suggestions as a blueprint to guide them through the process — which, in turn, would mean costly renovations for any nightclub, regardless of its size.
Rhode Island has already implemented many of the recommendations outlined in the report as part of its sweeping fire-safety law, which was passed shortly after the Station conflagration.
Sarah Mancini, whose son Keith died in the fire, told The Associated Press that she hopes the recommendations will be taken seriously, so that club environments in the future are safer. She said the report sheds some light on what happened to her son. "It just showed how horrible it must have been," she told the wire service. "They didn't stand a chance."
It was some comfort, she said, that investigators determined that the intense heat and toxic fumes from the fire meant that those killed inside the club died swiftly.
Several pending civil lawsuits have been filed against Great White, the Station's owners, West Warwick town officials, and companies even loosely affiliated with the venue. The most recent was filed on behalf of 146 people — including Longley's girlfriend — who were either injured in the blaze or related to those who perished (see "Major New Lawsuit Filed Against Great White, Others For Fatal Club Fire"). In a separate criminal suit, Great White's former manager, Daniel Biechele, and Station owners Jeffrey and Michael Derderian are under indictment on 200 counts of involuntary manslaughter. All three have pleaded not guilty (see "Great White Manager, Club Owners Hit With Criminal Charges").
