GREAT WHITE - Station Fire Update: Prosecutors Told Grand Jury It Could Only Indict Derderians And Band Manager
February 2, 2007, 17 years ago
The following report is courtesy of Tracy Breton from Projo.com:
When it came time for grand jurors to consider bringing criminal charges in connection with The Station nightclub fire, prosecutors submitted only three names: Jeffrey and Michael Derderian, the owners of the club, and Daniel Biechele, the tour manager for the rock band who touched off the fire.
West Warwick fire inspector Denis P. Larocque, who had inspected the nightclub several times before the fire, but had failed to cite the Derderians for deadly polyurethane foam that lined the walls and ceiling of their club, never became a subject of the grand jury's deliberations when it came time to consider indictments.
According to grand jury testimony released yesterday by the office of Atty. Gen. Patrick C. Lynch, while reviewing evidence in connection with the Feb. 20, 2003 fire that killed 100 people, the grand jurors asked prosecutors to bring in an expert witness who could provide information about fire investigations, including an explanation of state and local fire codes, what type of inspections the Town of West Warwick was supposed to do, if there was a difference between an annual inspection and a license transfer application and "whether there were any standards for inspections, checklists or national standards."
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