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GREAT WHITE Nightclub Fire Update: The Station Owners Face Another Charge

February 21, 2005

The Associated Press is reporting that Rhode Island state prosecutors have charged the owners of The Station nightclub with installing a second flammable substance at the club.

In court briefs submitted on Friday (Feb. 18),prosecutors contend Jeffrey and Michael Derderian put in a material called Celotex SoundStop in the West Warwick club, despite the fact there were visible warnings on the product about its flammability, according to The Providence Journal.

A fire at the club two years ago killed 100 people and injured 200 others.

The Derderians purchased and installed the wood-fiber material between March 1 and July 1, 2000, and installed it on the inside of the club, according to the brief. Prosecutors allege the Celotex in some places formed the backing for the flammable polyurethane foam on the club's ceiling that's blamed for accelerating the fire.

The Celotex is manufactured by Knight Industries of Northfield, Ill., according to The Journal. The company's Web site describes Celotex SoundStop as "fiberboard made of 97 percent organic materials including recovered hardwood or sugar cane fibers." It is sold in places including Providence, East Providence and Fall River, Mass.

Jeffrey Derderian's attorney, Jeff Pine, said yesterday he's prohibited from commenting on evidence in the case.

Kathleen Hagerty, the attorney for Michael Derderian, did not immediately return a phone message left yesterday.

Attorneys for some of the fire's victims told The Journal they hadn't been told about the Celotex discovery by the state.

The Derderians and Daniel Biechele, the former tour manager for the band GREAT WHITE, pleaded innocent in December 2003 to 200 counts each of involuntary manslaughter.

Their criminal trial isn't expected to begin until January 2006 at the earliest.

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