GREAT WHITE - Nightclub Fire Victims Mourned In Service

February 15, 2009, 15 years ago

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The Associated Press is reporting:

The survivors of a nightclub fire and relatives of the those who died in the 2003 blaze gathered Sunday to recite the names of the dead and honor them with 100 seconds of silence, one second for each victim.

Ken Fletcher, whose stepdaughter Tracy Romanoff died in the fire nearly six years ago, said the tragedy was "something you're never going to forget."

Some mourners noted that the number of people coming to pay their respects has shrunk as years go by. Lawsuits resulting from the fire also have delayed work on a memorial at the lot where the club once stood.

"They don't show up for any of these ceremonies," said Jane Sylvester, whose son Jason died in the fire.

The Station nightclub in West Warwick caught on fire Feb. 20, 2003, when pyrotechnics used by the rock band GREAT WHITE ignited packaging foam used as soundproofing on the building's walls and ceiling. More than 200 people were injured.

The service, now an annual tradition, comes as survivors and victims' relatives await their shares of a $176 million settlement reached with dozens of people and companies, including brewer Anheuser-Busch and Clear Channel Broadcasting, that were sued after the fire.

Lawyers wouldn't say how much individual clients would receive, but expected the range of payments to be from about $20,000 to several million dollars. A plan for distributing the money must still be approved by a judge.

The fire resulted in criminal charges against the band's tour manager, Daniel Biechele, who served less than half of a four-year prison sentence for involuntary manslaughter. The club's two owners, Jeffrey and Michael Derderian, pleaded no contest to the same charges for illegally installing the soundproofing foam.

Michael Derderian will be released on parole later this year, but his brother was spared jail time.



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