The Station Nightclub Fire: Who's Responsible? | Full Episode | Forensic Files

foreign [Music] he took nearly 24 hours to recover all the bodies from inside the ruins of
Rhode Island's Station nightclub horrible things happen to people for absolutely no reason the death toll was
far greater than anyone expected we went out on a Thursday night to listen to music
drink some beers and have a good time and a quarter of those people didn't get to go home ever
[Music] this is what I live with I don't hide it second and third degree burns over 34
percent of my body from the Heat I'm lucky I even have arms it was a neighborhood club for live
music the people who went to that club were regulars the headliner was Jack Russell's great white
[Music] you really had to work your way through the crowd it was packed I'm standing you
know three rows back from the edge of the stage we're just waiting and then it gets dark
the music starts the pyrotechnics went off I remember being a little shocked it just felt
really big and I just sort of noticed some flame on the walls on either side and then it
just kept it kept growing when that fire alarm went off that's when I said to myself this and I
remember the words this isn't this isn't good this is not going to be good this is bad
it went from 0 to 10 in what seemed like a second and then the building's you know completely engulfed
with the infinite here [Music] [Applause] literally laid there said God just take care of my family
because I knew I was going to die 100 lives were taken more than 200 people were hurt
it's hard to describe the level of Agony the state of Rhode Island is small and it feels like somebody knew somebody who
was in that fire or knew somebody who did and so the pain is very personal we realize there's very little we can
say that will provide Comfort to the thousands no one meant for this to happen Brothers Jeffrey and Michael
daddarians co-owners of the club are both charged with involuntary manslaughter what is your reaction to
the indictment taking responsibility for your actions goes a long way and you don't feel the brothers have ever
accepted responsibility true people who were key to understanding this tragedy had remained silent
sitting here talking to me I think we're sitting here talking to you because we wanted the full story to come out and
that for people who want to come to their own conclusion on what happened that night
[Music] foreign [Music] [Music] hopped out of bed grabbed my clothes grabbed my keys hopped in the car and
took off on February 20th 2003 at about 11 10 p.m Jody King got a call that something was going on at the station
nightclub in West Warwick Rhode Island but he didn't know what I gotta find Trace he was worried about his brother
Tracy who worked there as a bouncer as I went by the fire station fire trucks are
coming out now the question in my head is why are all these fire trucks leaving Jody arrived he saw the devastating
scene foreign and it was ugly the roof was caving in walls were caving in body after body in front of me
I don't even like to talk about [Music] the deadliest fires in a club in U.S history is should not have happened it
was completely preventable Scott James has written a book about the tragedy called trial by fire I decided I would
just start asking some questions describe the Station nightclub for me what kind of Club was this it was a
typical kind of roadside dive these are videos from prior performances taken inside the club it smelled like
spilled beer and stale cigarettes and everything was just a little bit frayed at the edge but it's
fun the night of the fire hundreds of people gathered at the station to see great white an 80s band now with some
new members led by singer Jack Russell known mainly for their hit once bitten twice shot
they had their moments and they played the Arenas that was in like the 80s but you know they have a following to this
day were you a fan of the band great white yes definitely Linda Saran was a regular at the station that evening she
had a girls night out with a friend while her young daughter was at a sleepover the night of the fire I got in
for free I was asked to work the merch table for the band so I was getting 40 bucks and two T-shirts
and I was paying staff pricing for beer because I knew a guy also there that night was Bates College student Phil
Barr who was home for winter break you know just have a beer see a concert Phil who was in his junior year had dreams of
a career on Wall Street and swam competitively for his college swim team I loved it it was really everything to
me at that time unlike many of the patrons there this was Phil's first time at the club he arrived early around 8 30
pm there really weren't that many people around early in the night so I actually got a really good sense of
the layout of the venue when people arrive they walk through this entrance and this kind of longish
hallway you'd see on your left a horseshoe shaped bar this was the main bar where you could get your drinks to
the right was this much larger space in front of a stage you have four exits there's an exit near
the stage we have an exit through the kitchen one near the bar and then the main exit that hallway where everybody
came through the station was owned by Brothers Michael and Jeff daderian they're
speaking out about the fire for the first time their story starts three years before
the fire either of you know anything about running a nightclub zero no no couldn't play an instrument the
dadarians bought the club as an investment Jeffrey was responsible for all of the marketing activities and I
was responsible kind of for the day-to-day both the brothers had other jobs Michael owned a financial services
business we're live in Wakefield tonight I'm Jeff dadarian Jeff was a local news
reporter every time for years he'd worked in Boston for channel 7. we're live in Attleboro this morning I'm Jeff
dadarian at the time of the fire he had just started a new job closer to home in
Providence at the local CBS station at night he allowed a cameraman to shoot footage inside the club For an upcoming
story about safety in public venues how ironic right right 48 hours is not showing any of that
footage but that night leading the cameraman around was bouncer tracy King a dedicated husband and father of three
young boys he was gregarious he was out there and he just loved being in the center Tracy liked to
entertain people with his unique talent a surgery to correct a childhood ailment
with his ears left him able to balance objects on his chin tracy King ladies and gentlemen I'm David Letterman twice
to do stupid human tricks you're gonna balance it on your chin yes all right when he walked into a room if there
wasn't a smile he'd start balancing stuff to get you uplifted and smiling that was his gift
Jody says his brother enjoyed working for the darians they were friends he trusted the club he trusted the owners
he trusted in his friends were you making money not really the dadarians say despite their love for the club the
business had peaked and they were in the process of selling it the club was sold
the club was sold it was already in contract purchase and sale had been signed but their plans for the future
would suddenly change as great white started their first song their tour manager Daniel beakley set
off four large fireworks called germs they are what they call 15 by 15. they go for 15 seconds and they go 15 feet
into the air so it was not a great decision to use these inside a nightclub that only has 12 foot ceilings
seconds later Flames appeared on the back wall most of the crowd thought it was part of the show and didn't move you
know people didn't react instantly but Jeff who was helping out at the bar says he and an employee tried
to get to the stage with a fire extinguisher we tried to get as far as we could we couldn't we couldn't make it
about 40 seconds after the song began great white stopped the show and all but one member of the band escaped through
the stage door exit that exit door would soon be engulfed in flames the fire alarm you hear it kick in and that's
when the crowd realizes this is a real danger and we have got to get out of there
hundreds of people ran to the only exit many of them knew the way they came in it's like a Riptide it's a surge of
bodies the fire was now out of control it had spread along the phone that lined the
walls and ceiling intended to dampen sound foam was raining down and the Flames are dripping from the
ceiling looked like it was raining black fire they only have about 60 seconds to get
out of that building if they're going to live [Music] this is what the station fire looked
like about 15 minutes after it began those who were trapped inside when the flame started knew they needed to get
out fast I remembered the smoke descended really quickly one of those people was Phil
Barr we kind of crouched down behind some of the people in front of us you could not see your hand in front of
your face that's how thick the smoke was once you could no longer see it was total pandemonium
Phil was located between the stage and the front door a lot of people moved back towards the main entrance it became
really clear that we were not going to be able to get out the front door [Music]
since I had been there earlier in the night I knew that there was at least an exit in the back bar room
that is the furthest exit away from the stage but it's a relatively straight line
I went around the people trying to push to the front door into the main bar room
I remember getting pushed from behind and I tripped over what I assumed was a bar stool
and I just kind of went down on my face it became very very hard to breed lying on the floor not far from the
Horseshoe Bar Phil lost consciousness the bar got quiet because people were dying literally and
all you could hear was the Roar of the fire and liquor bottles exploding Linda Saran and her
friend Deb were in The Atrium huddled together under a table I said you know what
we're running out of time and I knew the window was to my left so I said to Deb stay here I'll be right back
and I stood up I went over put my hands against the glass and I started kicking at that window
and it wouldn't break I went and laid down next to Deb and just waited to die did you have enough time
to form those complete thoughts yes I thought how terrible it was that my daughter was going to grow up without
her mom and I heard and out Deb went it was like what and then outside I went cold air washing over me an off-duty
police officer standing outside had heard her kicking at the window he got a tire iron from his car smashed
the glass and started pulling people out when I first went out the window I landed on the stairs I couldn't get up
and I said my hands won't work and that's when I noticed the black on my arms it looked like
a ladder of those black jelly bracelets from the 80s hanging in rings around my wrists
[Music] and I took a good look and I said oh I'm burned I couldn't hear alarms I couldn't hear
noise I couldn't hear screaming anymore Phil Barr says when he came too he felt excruciating pain near
the base of his spine and burning on his face I don't like to talk about it but I
remember feeling weight on top of me and I'm pretty sure I crawled out from under
another person to pull myself up I ran across the room and I ran face first into the wall
and I felt the door and I just heaved my shoulder into it and I fell down the stairs out that door
Phil was now outside but he felt like his lungs were on fire it was getting harder and harder to breathe I could
feel tightness and constriction in my chest some bleeding I could notice in my throat
[Music] also outside was club owner Jeff daderian he says he managed to escape through the front door before a stampede
of people got stuck in the narrow hallway and blocked the exit I remember we were trying to get people
away from the building like get away from the building happening so fast fast fast that's all I
just can keep seeing in my head and the the roof and just everything just passed too fast
Jeff called his brother Michael who was in Florida he's completely out of it out of it I couldn't understand him
or understand the magnitude of what was going on there and I'm saying to him did
everybody get out did anybody die you know and he's like he don't know he's like he don't know you don't know
doesn't know anybody see Tracy I have to find him at the scene Jody King was desperate for
information about his brother began to fear the worst I spent the next five or six hours
going back and forth in the parking lot talking to firemen asking firemen can you please pull the sheets back for me I
don't care what I'm going to see the Saran and Phil Barr badly injured were transported to a local hospital
we have 39 confirmed fatalities but we're still in the process of searching the rubble it is now well over 50. we're
now at 65 and it may be higher come in they want to talk to you and I'm like okay the night of the fire Jeff
gave a statement to the local police and another one to an investigator with the
attorney general's office remember I'm still in Florida Michael also spoke via phone to an investigator do you feel
oh my goodness we're in trouble no no no why because in my mind I had nothing to
hide if I had nothing to hide then why why wouldn't you why wouldn't you talk to them and tell them what you knew or
what you didn't know [Music] foreign Jody King finally got the news that his brother Tracy's body had been found
in the months and years that followed Jody also learned about Tracy's heroic last moments
he ran in and came out nine times in 90 seconds [Music] how do you know that he went in 9
to 9 different families have come up to me and said thank you for having a great brother he threw my
wife my cousin my uncle my sister out a window what a great brother you have you should be proud
I am proud [Music] he's after the fire victims families and survivors face the harsh new reality
Phil Barrow woke after three weeks in a medically induced coma and was told his lungs had been badly damaged when you
come to you're in a hospital room yep my dad was in the room I can't speak everything was sore and
hoarse I picked up the pen and a very weak you know kind of handwriting I wrote I hope to make progress every day
where'd that come from don't know [Music] true to his words Phil fought to breathe
on his own and men ever so slowly he learned to walk again but even more than walking Phil wanted
to return to swimming I asked my pulmonologist you know when can I get back in the pool he was very kind about
it but he said I don't ever see you competitively swimming again I refused to accept that as
the outcome about a month after the fire Phil went home from the hospital and the following year he was able to
accomplish The Impossible and rejoin his swim team he had an unlikely friend rooting for
him I want to ask you about Phil Barr how'd you meet him my Hospital roommate he and I took turns
driving the respiratory therapists crazy in some ways it's almost like being in war together like you feel that kinship
that you know God I really hope this guy makes it and yet the point in time I don't even think I
knew his name like Phil Linda had also spent three weeks in a medically induced coma second
and third degree burns over 34 percent of my body from the Heat I literally baked alive
then as it heals the scarring tightens up so before I knew it this finger was contractured down in this position and
the rest of them were all bent backwards because the skin had tightened up so the
only way to pick up a can of soda would be to do this guy had no control over my muscles and that's when it starts to
hit you all that you've lost and that's when the despair sinks in that's when you make a decision am I
gonna sit here and cry about this my friends were dead and my other friends are severely injured I no longer
look like myself but I made a choice I'm gonna do this Linda was one of the more than 200 who
were seriously hurt in the fire a staggering hundred lives were lost almost immediately the finger pointing
started rock and roll supposed to be fun not deadly you know the morning after the
fire the lead singer of great white Jack Russell claimed the brothers had given the band permission to set off the
fireworks we never do anything without asking the permission first no permission was ever requested by the
band or any of its agents to use pyrotechnics at the station and no permission was ever given the following
day the brothers responded at a press conference many people didn't make it out and that is a horror that will haunt my
family and I for the rest of our lives we have an investigation ongoing and we need help we need answers and I'm trying
to get them Rhode Island attorney general Patrick Lynch opened an investigation and convened a grand jury
to determine if anyone should face criminal charges certainly there are people that we're looking at ultimately
we may Target now in private practice Lynch says he looked into a host of people I don't think anybody in anything
that they did wanted anybody to die that night or get injured but does that mean it's not a crime the
answer is no one of the angles Lynch investigated was the dadarian brothers they were
running the operation They promoted the event so it was very quickly they were in the circle of people we should look
at over the course of the investigation what did you learn about the way the brothers ran their business looking back
on it I would say they ran it as a side business an attempt to maybe make some extra money with a callous utter
disregard for those that work there and assembled there the biggest question was why had the
fire spread so quickly to satisfy noise complaints from Neighbors The Brothers had installed
foam along the club's walls and ceilings as it turns out the phone they used was
highly flammable the type of foam was equal to gallons of gasoline it was Liquid Fire who's responsible for
that foam going up on the wall Jeffrey and Michael daderian Lynch also points out that the exits were a safety issue
inspection records showed that just three months before the fire the dadarians had been cited by the local
fire marshal for having a secondary interior door by the stage that opened inward which violated regulations they
were told to take it down but the night of the fire it was up to help cut down the noise Not only was the door up which
it shouldn't have been opened inward which it shouldn't have shouldn't have it was covered in foam it was also on
fire and that door being up there is no question that that increased the likelihood that many many more would
perish in December 2003 nine months after the fire Jeff and Michael daddarian were in
court each charged with 200 counts of involuntary manslaughter plead not guilty around a hundred for
criminal negligence and a hundred for misdemeanor manslaughter not guilty your honor great white's tour manager Daniel
beakley also faced the same charges he had failed to get a license for the pyrotechnics from the state of Rhode
Island permits from the local fire department they blamed three they should have
blamed more there are other people who should be responsible in February of 2006 three years after
this Station nightclub burned down many in Rhode Island were shocked to learn that instead of a trial a plea deal had
been reached with Daniel beakley the tour manager for the band great white I don't know that I'll ever forgive myself
for what happened that night so I can't expect anybody else do beakley pled guilty to a hundred counts
of misdemeanor manslaughter and was sentenced to four years in prison he was granted parole and then released
after 22 months there is so much pain and heartache that happened on our doorstep Michael and Jeff daddarian pled
no contest to a hundred counts of misdemeanor manslaughter and agreed to a deal there's so many things that factor
into the decision to do that it would have been horrific to have people go through this and then we've got the
pressure from the judge saying that you know you're going to go to jail for 30 years apiece the brothers plea deal
stated only one of them would go to prison the brothers decided that because Jeff had young kids Michael would go
he spent 33 months in prison while Jeff had to do 500 hours of community service
we never knew the whole story because the trial never happened so everything really never came out
there are so many people still to this day angry that the case didn't go to trial do you understand that we do
understand that and that's that's that's why we're here with you and 18 years after the fire the brothers say they
want to set the record straight and reveal new information if you have a message that you want the
people of Rhode Island to hear there were plenty of ways to get it out long before now I don't know about that I
don't know first of all I don't know how you would how would you accomplish the detail and the amount of new information
in a news conference or you know a commercial or something that we would try and do on our own
for the dadarians the full story begins with the issue of permission the brothers have always maintained that
they never gave the band permission to use pyrotechnics was there a contract yes did the contract specify the use of
pirate Technics did not these contracts are pretty specific so I would think that the pyrotechnic
provision would be in there just like we need to have you know 12 M M's I mean you know and they need to be Brown
according to author Scott James Great White had reportedly used a large pyro display without permission at other
clubs including just days before the fire at a show in New Jersey and the nightclub operator there was so angry
when he saw what had happened in Rhode Island he went public and he even made public the contract that he had with
great white that showed there was no evidence of fireworks that were going to be part of the show
then there's that interior inward swinging door by the stage the former Attorney General Patrick
Lynch says was responsible for loss of life the night of the fire I don't think there's any question that had that door
not been up a significant number of people would have survived that door was meant to block the noise
from the neighbors and so when the fire inspector came in and said that that door had to come down the door the door
did come down but then the door would go back up when it was going to be a loud night it didn't have a lock on it there
was nothing that would make it so you couldn't get out of it and according to the brothers it was one of the first
exits used when the fire started that door was opened immediately and that's where the van went out but that door
became impassable almost within seconds because clearly there's foam that's burning at 1800 or 1500 degrees and then
it just got engulfed in front you weren't approaching that area at all and then there's the foam the fire
spread so quickly because rather than fire retardant sound foam on the wall of the club
was highly flammable Packing phone that is correct undisputable the brothers sent a fax to the phone company
specifically asking for sound phone but what they received was highly flammable Packing phone the brothers say
wait a minute we ordered sound phone how is it our responsibility if they gave us the wrong phone first of all I
think it's pathetic disgusting and unsettling to think that they're even speaking now the foam that they put up
had a direct impact on the survivability of the bulk of the people that were assembled that night vegetarians say
that in the three years they owned the club no one ever questioned the safety of the phone
and they're quick to point out the club was inspected by their insurance company
and multiple times by the local fire marshal Dennis Lorac find the deficiencies you have to correct the deficiencies and
then signs off so that you can get your liquor license that happened in 2000 that happened in
2001 that happened in 2002. the brothers have since learned that the fire marshal
should have tested the foam on the wall the field test is Crystal Clear you take
one square inch of the phone you hold it up with a roach clip and light it on fire with a wooden match that's what the
code says that specific did he do that zero right none of the inspections and then follow-up inspections if he had
done that then he would have obviously have said to us take this stuff down this is
flammable you can't have this when The Rock testified before the grand jury he claimed he never saw the foam the
brothers however find that hard to believe considering the foam covered the wall ceiling and even the inward
swinging door he cited as a violation did he do his job perfectly absolutely not according to Lynch under Rhode
Island law the fire marshal could not be criminally charged unless there was evidence of bad faith or malice while
troubling while concerning maddening it doesn't mean that somebody should be charged or can be if the brothers are
relying on the fire marshal to tell them whether or not they can continue to do business and he says you can isn't that
an important fact in determining who's at fault again any reference in this conversation
about what the brothers say I I I take a step back and think I don't really trust it
but many including the brothers feel strongly The Rock should also have been charged why is it okay that the fire
marshal is allowed to miss something or make a mistake and what he did was just in oops but what we did was Criminal
and why wasn't the foam company charged the brothers say there was evidence that
the grand jury never heard [Music] two years after the fire at the station nightclub the dadarians learned about a
piece of evidence they say it's important that was never presented to the grand jury
this eight page facts sent to the Attorney General's office anonymously just months after the fire entitled the
fire the phone they got this fax and it went on to describe the business practices of the foam company
investigators eventually discovered the facts was sent by Barry Warner a former employee at American foam a company that
had sent the dadarians the packing foam made of flammable polyurethane Warner lived next to the station and had met
the brothers he writes up this long almost a Manifesto about all the things that he thinks are wrong in that phone
company that led to this tragedy he wrote this is a company that is well aware of the dangers of polyurethane
foam this is a company that did little to educate their employees about the limits of polyurethane foam fact they
did the opposite when the phone came was there anything on the packaging that indicated that it was highly flammable
zero no nothing but when Warner was called before the grand jury he was not asked about the allegations he made in
the facts they didn't even bring up the facts to him they didn't even let him talk about it Mr Warner's facts wasn't
presented to the grand jury correct I I can't remember honestly why wouldn't it be
you're telling me it wasn't and I don't know that it wasn't 48 Hours has confirmed the facts was not presented to
the grand jury regardless Lynch points out that daddarians still chose to take a plea deal instead of going to trial
the defendant has every right to go to trial and say hey if it's this mysterious facts that it's
trying to be referenced today 18 years later hey this is important American phone said Warner's claims
about the company are false and while they weren't charged in the criminal case survivors and victims families sued
them in civil court for not warning the dadarians the foam they sent them was flammable
the company paid a hefty settlement and they weren't the only ones at least 64 others were also sued including the
state of Rhode Island cited for the fire inspector's failure to report the flammable foam during multiple
inspections in the end the survivors and victims families settled for a total of
176 million dollars great white was part of the lawsuit and settled for one million dollars Jack
Russell declined our request for an interview 18 years later there is no consensus
among survivors when it comes to blame Linda still places much of it on the daderian brothers
they have said they were sorry but never once do they say we screwed up if they stood up and said
small business owners we were inexperienced we took shortcuts we screwed up I would forgive them in a heartbeat to
people who feel that the two of you have never said we own this what do you say we say that
we're sorry for all of it and if we could change it we would you know a day doesn't go by that we don't think about
it in some way shape or form so to the people who think we don't own it I'm telling you we do own it okay we own it
every day we own it every day does that mean you feel a sense of responsibility we feel a sense of guilt about what
happened in the sense that you're you carry the guilt of knowing that these people aren't here
anymore and these people are hurt for the rest of their life there isn't a guilt in terms of like that we knowingly
did this or or or or you know caused it but there's a guilt of that that we it happened on our watch happened on our
watch as a human being how do you not feel some sort of responsibility for that pretty girls
I could have missed it all I could have missed my daughter's High School graduation
the birth of her children I could have missed that my friends that didn't survive that
night have missed that Linda will forever wear the scars of that horrible night but she refuses to
live in the past I think a lot of people miss out on the moments not you no not anymore
being a survivor of the Station nightclub fire is a piece of who I am it fuels you ready set here we go today
Phil is married and the father of two little girls getting another opportunity to live my
life came with enormous responsibility that's not just about hitting the next goal but doing something really
meaningful [Music] because so many people that were there don't have that opportunity
[Music] 2017 a memorial was open to honor the 100 innocent lives that were tragically
lost in the station fire including tracy King who died saving so many others I'm so proud to say he's my brother
hey Trace that's my buddy my parents taught us a lot a lot of things one of them is Never Say Die never give
up miss you Grace Tracy died never giving up [Music] [Music] thank you [Music] a mother and her daughter held hostage
threatened with death by Dynamite if she didn't rob a bank but when the suspects
went on trial they falsely accused her of being The Mastermind did you feel like you were on trial I 100 felt like I
was on trial 48 Hours next on CBS and streaming on Paramount Plus foreign

Club owners open up for the first time after deadly fire kills 100. "48 Hours" contributor Jim Axelrod reports. Watch more full episodes of "48 Hours" on Pluto TV.

Crime. Social justice. Impact. "48 Hours" investigates the most intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all areas of the human experience including greed and passion. "48 Hours," which premiered in 1988, has developed a rich history of original reporting and impact journalism that has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, caused cold cases to be reopened and solved, and along the way changed lives.

Brief Summary

Survivors recount the devastating Station nightclub fire, discussing personal loss and the legal aftermath for the club's owners.

Key points

The Station Nightclub Fire. A tragic fire at a Rhode Island nightclub claimed 100 lives and left many injured.
Tracy King's Heroism. Jody King learns of his brother Tracy's heroic actions during the fire.
Investigation into the Fire. The investigation into the nightclub fire reveals negligence and safety violations.
Plea Deal Reached. Instead of a trial, a plea deal was reached with tour manager Daniel Beakley.
The Foam Controversy. The brothers claim they received highly flammable foam instead of fire-retardant material.
Memorial for Victims. A memorial was opened in 2017 to honor the 100 lives lost in the fire.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

Horrible things happen to people for absolutely no reason.

0:15WatchFeb 20, 2024

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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