GREAT WHITE Death Toll At 95

February 21, 2003

The death toll has risen to at least 95 and may climb to more than 100 in a fire that swept through a Rhode Island nightclub after GREAT WHITE's pyrotechnics display, Gov. Donald Carcieri said on Friday.

"It would not surprise me to see a fatality number of over 100," Carcieri told reporters, adding that more than 160 people were injured in the blaze, including some critically.

Carcieri said identifying the bodies and supporting the victims' families are top priorities.

He said 60 people who had been at the club and escaped have come forward and that all 81 hospitalized victims have been identified.

Carcieri praised fire and rescue crews, saying the first responders "probably saved as many as 100 lives by pulling people out of there."

Standing outside the club site in West Warwick, Carcieri said it was "a sad, sad day for our state. ... It shouldn't have happened. It didn't need to happen."

Pyrotechnics used by GREAT WHITE ignited the inferno. Owners of The Station club have said they did not know the band planned to use fireworks. But GREAT WHITE lead singer Jack Russell said, "Our tour manager set that up with the club."

The band did not have the required city permit for such a display, officials said Friday.

Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick Lynch said he was dealing with "a potential criminal investigation."

Carcieri said the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms was involved in the investigation.

Officials estimated there were at least 250 people inside the club at the time of the fire.

Find more on

Prev More News Next

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).