The Deadly Station Nightclub Fire: A Preventable Tragedy

Abstract

The Station Night Club Fire that occurred in Rhode Island in 2003 Introduction One can define an accident as an unfortunate incident or an event that happens by chance. One cannot foresee an accident as it happens unexpectedly and unintentionally without apparent or deliberate cause. However, there are instances that an accident occurs as a result of negligence. Nevertheless, whether an accident occurs unintended or out of negligence leads to damages and injuries with deaths in severe cases. The station nightclub fire in Rhode Island in 2003 is an excellent example of an accident; thus, it is essential to analyze the legal issues surrounding this accident to understand its cause and impacts. When the station nightclub fire is mentioned, it is good to note that it is a fire accident that occurred on the 20th of February 2003. It was a night like any other at the station nightclub, and many were set for the night's performance. As Harrington et al. (142) argue no one plans for an accident; it happens unintentionally, leading to damages and injuries. Could this be the case with the station nightclub fire? Great White Band served as the stations' nightclub headlining band on the night of the fire accident. Daniel Biechele, the Great White tour manager set off pyrotechnics which ignited acoustic foam on all sides of drummers’ alcove backstage. Pyrotechnic are cylindrical devices that produce controlled spray of sparks; thus, if exposed in a building, they can lead to severe fire accidents, as the station nightclub fire signifies. The question now remains on whether the pyrotechnics were the leading cause of fire in the nightclub. Could Biechele be a principal cause of the station nightclub? The pyrotechnics would not have ignited themselves; thus, it was unfair to call them the principal cause but rather view the tour manager as the main culprit that led to the massive destruction and injuries attributed to this fire. It started like a joke or part of the entertainment but ended up claiming over a hundred lives. When the audience saw the flames in the air, what came into their mind was that the flames were part of the song they were performing. The audiences’ assumption remained coined around the fact that the Great White songs music video shows flames blazing around the band members (Harrington et al., 143). The fact that the band was enjoying a live performance assured the audiences that their live flames were only meant to entertain them as they believed that the igniter had total control over them. Unfortunately, the flames did not end after the pyrotechnic ended; on the contrary, the entire stage got engulfed by flames. At this point, the audience noted that the band had no control over the flames, but it was too late to succeed in escaping without an injury entirely. To this effect, one can argue that the tour manager serves as the principal cause of fire at the station club, with fire being the main accident that leads to many casualties instantly and on later dates. Paying attention to the clubs' infrastructure, one can confirm that the building was not fit for holding such an event since it lacked the basics of responding to the fire accident. The 4454 square feet was built in 1946. During the night of the fire, the capacity that the building should have accommodated exceeded by 58. Such an increase implies that this nightclub's management failed to control its audience attendance for profit maximization. The law required the station nightclub to sprinkler a system before holding the event. However, the station nightclub allowed hundreds of audiences for the Great White performance without minding what would happen if an accident emerged. If only there were sprinklers within the station nightclub, then...