Station Club Fire as it was

[mnc51]

corrected amount of 462 people. My apologies.

[mnc51]

In regards to axiiomXD's comment. According to official reports, the club capacity at the time was set at 60. The club that night held 452 people. 100 died, 230 were injured and 132 were uninjured. Don't believe everything you hear,

[aqinthe]

When you go into a nightclub or crowded restaurant take a quick look around at the exits. Remember most of the time the best exit isn't the front door(s) as they will be packed with people. And when in doubt get out, don't stand around and wait.

[lynn1779]

This is the scariest s#@t Ive ever seen. I cannnot get over how they had no time to get out. Ive seen the video and it makes me cry so hard. I have the book that Gina Russo wrote regarding how she survived this fire. My heart goes out to all that this has affected.

[EdArmm]

Thanks for your educated opinion, I did have the actual footage & was forced to remove it as the legal case was pending. That said modeling like this is used every day by Fire Protection Engineers. What was your field of study & what type of degree do you have? I'm about to have my breakfast cereal and I suggest you get a cereal that has a high fiber content that may give you a great deal of relief, not just that it may have a new degree in the box to broaden your horizons.

[ClantonBrothers]

This vid is bunk. If you want to demonstrate the effectiveness of sprinklers on a fire like this, use actual footage side by side with actual footage. Your computer animation is a fucking cartoon that can be manipulated anyway the producer wants it to be.

[dieselchevette]

@ClantonBrothers this video was to show that the simulation of no sprinkers and real life no sprinkers are very similar. This was done to confirm the simulation software was accurate. There is a second video that shows what a sprinkler system would've done.

[MissLusyd]

As someone who is friends with several survivors and has spoken with a few of the people involved allow me to say this.

The nightclub was in the process of being closed down or investigated for allowing unsafe conditions.

Great whites manager insisted they were using pyros. But I can't say whether they were approved or not.

This fire took lives and ruined countless others. The club, the regulations, whatever you want to say is at fault don't blame the people. In a situation like that you ha

[axiiomXD]

From what I heard, the place was approved for 400 people...and that's about how many got out.

[EdArmm]

@axiiomXD

Not true, 

[axiiomXD]

@EdArmm Actually very true...

[corebare]

@axiiomXD - From what you "heard?" Well, going by what you "heard" then, everyone got out safely. Is that what happened? Even though your post if three months old, you still posted it years AFTER that nightmare of a fire. Actually, about 100 people died in this horrific fire. And before you keep defending the club owners by making statements like this one, watch the video again. I don't think the people burning alive and screaming in agony were among the 400 "who got out."

[axiiomXD]

@corebare I'm not defending anyone. In fact I am pointing fault at the club owner. I heard this from the fire marshal of my town, thank you very much. The place was only approved for 400 people and they jammed a couple hundred more than that in there. Had the club owners actually been responsible and STOPPED letting people in for what the building was approved for, than maybe this fire wouldn't have been so fatal.

[batvette]

@axiiomXD your comment made perfect sense, he seems to have some anger issues.

[lucancherby]

A lot of people blame the sound insulated foam that was put on the ceiling of the club but what about the moron(understatement) that decided to put pyrotechnics inside a building with such a low ceiling?

[batvette]

@lucancherby Imagine if you bought a house and to make more money the builder cheated and used cardboard for the fireplace instead of bricks... now when the inevitable happens people could say "oh, you idiot, what kind of moron starts a FIRE inside a HOUSE?" Well people start fires inside houses all the time, as long as the fireplaces are built to code we have no problems

[corebare]

@batvette - What a terrible analogy. You're seriously comparing setting a fire in a fireplace to setting off 15 foot pyrotechnics under a 12 foot ceiling covered in foam? You don't need a permit to start a fire in your fireplace....

[batvette]

@corebare It's a good analogy in the context of the band's manager not knowing the building had non code materials used in it. Pyrotechnics were regularly used in nightclubs all the time with no fires.

[corebare]

@batvette - If "The Station" owners ok'd the pyro's, then the bands manager might not be responsible. Then again, the ceiling was about 12 ft right? (very low) And the manager shld've known the pyros were set at 15x15 correct? So, look at the video. The pyro's were so misplaced they caught the ceiling on fire! - I owned a club back when "Great White" were actually popular. And CA regulations would never have allowed me to let off pyros and my ceiling was 16 feet high. But maybe I'm wrong.

[batvette]

@corebare well I'll just say that I've been to too many live performances to even begin to count since around 1978 (I'm 48 now) but it's at least 200, and having a pot of blazing fire go up in front of the band never made me appreciate their music more, or make them sound better or even have a better time that night.

Usually just made the retard faction yell a little louder or throw up.

Still listen to a little GW, Old Rose Motel etc.

[corebare]

@batvette - What's your argument? And I'm 42 year old, so what? You said, "having a pot of blazing fire go up in front of the band never made me appreciate their music more." So? What's your point? What does that have to do with The Station fire, in which the pyro's went off BEHIND the band? I'm sorry, I'm just having a hard time understanding the point you're trying to make. "Listen to a little GW, Old Rose....? What does that have to do with ANYTHING that I've said?

[batvette]

@corebare calm down, you seem to be lashing out at anyone and everything here. I'm just saying I could live without pyrotechnics, okay? And as for what you said well it's just silly actually, maybe that's why I let it drop like the led balloon it was. You said the pyrotechnics were SO misplaced they set the ceiling on fire. Oh that makes PERFECT sense if one were completely misrepresenting the story and ignored the ceiling was covered in non fire code approved insulating material!

[corebare]

@batvette - Who needs to calm down?

[batvette]

@corebare caps is shouting. and your reply to the other guy about people screaming in agony and burning really takes it down the road to sillyville- we can assume your declaration that 100 people died is not news to anyone. not trying to get personal as it's not necessary but my perception of the content has been "angry" and "irratiional" and "looing for an argument when none really exists".

there is blame to spread in almost every direction in this tragedy, arguably even some of the victims.

[corebare]

@batvette - We speak A different language. And yet you keep going.

[batvette]

@corebare (explaining) watching the original video, it is disturbing how so many people just stood there unconcerned for so long, and worse when it became obvious real trouble was on hand, some people outright obstructed the flow- one lady is standing right in the middle of the hall calling her boyfriend. Everyone is looking BACK at the fire instead of out the door as if they are the only ones who have to get out. I also never saw any employees of the club grab a fire extinguisher. Inexcusable.

[corebare]

@batvette ....and going and going.

[kort77876]

@corebare They didn't know that they would use pyros. Thats why it all happened.

[EdArmm]

@journeyquest1 You think a hundred dead people is a joke, get a life putz.

[nyo7]

My dad was there, and he told me alot about this fire. He was one of the ones that got out by the side exit. But he was also one of the people helping get the people that fell and getting trampled on, get out the door way. He said there was about 6 people helping people get up and still didnt get them all up out the way. He also said that the ceiling was melting, dripping burning plastic on everyone. People would feel that and freak out and thats how most died. Very Horrible.

[PurplePearl69]

One thing often overlooked- although it has been reported that the building was exempt from sprinkler laws because of "grandfather" laws, the fact is that when it changed from a restaurant to a club, it had lost that exemption. It was also dangerously overcrowded and walls and ceilings were coated in flammable materials that filled the room with black, toxic smoke and dripped melting, burning plastic onto everyone inside. Bathrooms proved to be a death trap with no escape at all.

[analyzingfunny]

@PurplePearl69 My heart goes to you. Someone posted somewhere that the entire, not just the stage area was covered in roofing tar like substance with some sort of metallic spackle that made it glow? Is this true? Someone else said there was some sort of old foam on the ceilings of the entire place.This just reeks of corruption. I want the facts to write a new paper.

[hmcgill911]

@PurplePearl69 To me, it shouldn't matter if a building is exempt or not. Bottom line, if I was an owner, I would want to protect my investment AND protect those that were involved. It's all about safety. I would have paid the money to have then install the sprinklers AND I wouldn't have allowed pyros and surely not foam insulation that would increase the spread of fire. People are just greedy.

[Silks]

Wow. Once the two sources connected, that shit spread fast. I'm surprised more people didn't die in this fire.

[RampinUp46]

One word: Damn.

[floydsmydog]

there is an erorr and they wont let me watch it

[cremington10]

wow, add 200 people trying to get out and u see how they all went to where they came in,should have never happened,but ive been to concerts like that and didnt think

[humbuckersNcoke]

From what I saw on the news in the following days, the soundman at the Station warned several people not to use pyro, that something like this could happen. If only they had listened.

[JIMFoamy1]

dude, not here.

[SteveWard3928]

After the first minute that smoke is every where except really close to the ground. i imagine with panic all around most were standing trying to feel a way out. They surely could not see. And this shows you how most die of smoke inhalation other than being burned. Maybe with the exception of those that could partially breathe outside air.

[1f5sda]

The Cocoanut Grove fire is said to be the WORST nightclub fire in history. The Cocoanut Grove fire killed 492 people, one of the victims was cowboy actor Buck Jones. This fire killed 100 people, including guitarist Ty Longley. May they all RIP!

[Noodle999]

On face value the exits were just about sufficient for the occupancy level. The issues were the fire loading causing an exceptionally fast fire development, constriction of the main exit route (not the same width as the final exit making the larger size of that final exit almost pointless), and visitors being unable to find other exits.

As I understand it the band comandeered the exit adjacent to the stage as their own private entrance, thus denying its use? A lot of factors were involved :(

[buddyboy55]

The smoke always gets you first. You can't breath, and you can't see to find the exits.

[EdArmm]

zereoue, I don't know what qualifies you to speak about the accuracy of the experiment, which was not an experiment but a simulation. Also there was another door on the opposite side of the building that most people did not know about. Finally it is the nature of people to exit the same way they came in.

Bottom line, had there been automatic fire sprinklers the body count would have been drastically lower!

[aeromarv]

Amen. There were 4 exits (front door, behind stage, at bar, in kitchen). NIST investigations, simulations, and experiments showed had there been sprinklers, tenable (survivable) conditions would have been maintained and oxygen concentration maintained to prevent most if not all deaths. I'm 1/2 way through my master's program in Fire Protection Engineering and this is a huge case study for all students.

[EdArmm]

If you would like to pratice in NY City with one of the worlds leading FPE firms send me an email.

[buhagiar898]

@aeromarv its true there were four fire exits...but they where single doors and i think they should have been double.....also the front door is not designed well...its had a front double door but to get to it there was a single door....it was to narrow to get out...i think the front area should have had wide spaces.....i am doing a course in fire escape design.....i pray for the victims and their families

[buhagiar898]

@aeromarv its true there were four fire exits...but they where single doors and i think they should have been double.....also the front door is not designed well...its had a front double door but to get to it there was a single door....it was to narrow to get out...i think the front area should have had wide spaces.....i am doing a course in fire escape design.....i pray for the victims and their families

[slickjilly]

@aeromarv :Well that is a worthwhile endeavor my friend. What a sad thing. So preventable. I cannot fathom how nobody thought it might not be a good idea to have fire in a crowded,congested, intoxicated place. I am sure they would give anything to go back and have a do over, but good God almighty what a senseless tragedy. One thing I have heard about these kinds of things is that people tend to want to leave the same way the enter, which is not always the best way.

[lrd9999]

I agree that sprinklers would have made this fire much less lethal, but I cringe when the mention of a fire like this automatically jumps to a discussion of sprinklers. The violations in that building (packing foam on walls and ceilings, exits that open inward) suggest such an indifference to common sense and safety by both the club owners and fire inspectors that it's an open question whether rules on the installation and maintenance of sprinklers would have been enforced any better.

[Jow5328]

The foam was fully legal for what it was being used for (sound proofing). The pyro, however, was not for that club. What this sim and the partner sim are trying to show is that the presence of sprinklers would have considerably lowered the body count.

[lrd9999]

In all the stories I've read it was implied that neither the foam nor the pyro were legal. According to the Boston Globe, the Keverians could chose between melamine foam, which would have been legal with a decent fire rating, and open-cell polyurethane packing foam, which burns like gasoline and isn't legal for any construction in most places. They chose the latter (1/2 the price) and spray painted it black. The fire chief was supposed to flame test any foam found during inspection, but didn't.

[Jow5328]

You are right. After I posted that reply, I read the same story as you. It is true that the foam they used is illegal for construction (polyurethane is generally found in furniture). And the pyro was illegal as well as I stated in my previous comment. The fire chief did make a huge mistake not flame testing it.

[lrd9999]

The amazing thing is that Jeffrey Derderian (got the name right this time), when he was at channel 7 in Boston, did a story on the hazards of foam in furniture, and how to avoid the most flammable types. It's hard to imagine what was going on in his head while this stuff was being installed.

[Jow5328]

That is quite amazing. Thats a good point as to what in the world was going through his head while the foam company was installing the polyurethane foam.

[hmcgill911]

@lrd9999 I agree. I think the thing that really stuck in my mind was watching the Seconds from Disaster, had the doors opened outward, the force of the people would have kept them doors opened.

[zereoue]

Another thing about this experiment, the set up is inaccurate. I'm not sure if it is to the exact way the club was set up but there are some parts that are missing. The hallway next to the right of the stage, the tables and pool tables that were also to the right of the hall way that had the plexiglass windows.

[zereoue]

There were two fire exits in the Station. I spent two summers in Rhode Island, playing clubs and halls. I got to play there many times and there was TWO fire exits. One behind the stage, leading to the back of the club, and the front door. The reason why so many people died was because of the one exit.

The windows on the front of the club were made out of plexiglass which made them indestructible. Thus, the only way out was the front door.

[sandinmyface]

Just saw a video of the fire from start to finish, someone had recorded everything, my workplace use this video for fire training purposes here in the UK, im a 220lb man and i cried, how that fire took hold i could not believe, so many people having a good time 90 seconds later just carnage.My prayers go out to anyone affected by this.

[rowdyrob06]

yea i cried at that video too. it was horrifying watching all the people jammed and stuck in the door and then the camera coming back to the same doorway, just seconds later, completely engulfed in flames. and, i too weigh about 200 lbs. =P

[Jmaurice28]

so this club had no sprinklers? who would allow that place to operate without sprinklers

[isaacallin]

fire is the worst pain....

[mjpalumbo89]

was it overcrowded, or lack of exits? or both? Such a sad event.

[truck2112yes]

I think almost everyone , in a panic, tried to exit thru the front entrance.Ever since this tragedy, I always look for multiple exits in ANY building I go into.I think burning would be the worst way to leave this earth...

[hipyshit]

i'm a survivor of the station!we had less time then that.the foam was on the ceiling too with a drop ceiling

[cooltwisted123]

hey man I'm sorry that happened i watched that aftermath 5 years later thing on vh1 classic i hope your doing well

[hipyshit]

you have allots of upe and downs from survivors guilt but as long as i help my brothers and sisters from the fire I'm great

[evan181]

wow are you serious i hope your better and had know long term effects that must have been terrifying

[jimmyhd1969]

Sorry you went through all of that! It should never have happened!

[robynsegg]

I am so sorry for your suffering & pain. God bless.

[kgfilms]

Terrifying

[ProfessorIgor]

god... those people had less than a minute to escape.... what a horrible disaster that was...