[joak]

i was shown this when i went through the fire academy.

that building was a fucking death trap.

[pizzahack]

That's why I don't listen to glam rock.

[deliverance_]

Originally Posted by fire3006 ↗

I work as a firefighter in Ohio and have heard and read numerous things about this incident. The side and rear exit doors were chained and locked so no one could sneak in from the outside, thus leaving only one entrance and exit point. Also the club was over occupancy levels and did not have an operating sprinkler system. The owner of the club was criminally charged and received jail time. Also over $175 million dollars has been offered as settlement to victims and family members. Horrible horrible incident. I am a fan of this website but to laugh at these victims is pathetic. Burning alive or being on the bottom of a pile of people trying to escape and being suffocated that way is an awful way to die. For those that laugh, I hope you aspirate vomit in your sleep tonight!

Thanks for your insight mate, I also completely agree.

[adamf11]

I live about 15 minutes from where that club was, I actually had an extended family member die in the fire. Now I work as an EMT and my partner who I am working with as I type this was there that night. He has told me stories of transporting people who were so burned there was no way to tell man or woman, and also the pile of dead bodies outside the door of the club when he arrived on scene.

[machineguneddie]

Im still amazed at the one guy that lived who was on the bottom of the pile at the door. he had the insight to roll on his side so he would be able to breath as the bodies piled up on top of him.

sorry, its a .pdf http://www.charlydmiller.com/LIB08/2...reSurvivor.pdf

A survivor's story: Saved by a pileup While the nightclub burned around him, Mike Vargas was trapped by a pile of patrons two feet from the door for more than an hour. 03/10/2003 BY CATHLEEN F. CROWLEY Journal Staff Writer Pinned under a mound of people, Raul Michael Vargas survived The Station fire with endurance, willpower and luck. "Mike" Vargas, 31, of Johnston, estimates he was trapped for more than an hour as the nightclub burned down around him. People on top of him and next to him died or were severely burned, but Vargas was pulled out and literally walked away with a few burns on his leg and scalp. "There was no way I should have gotten out of there," Vargas said. His story of survival is astonishing, but rescue workers at the fire say it happened. Only the length of time he was trapped is murky. "We did pull people out of that pile," said Warwick Fire Chief Jack Chartier. "There were some that were deceased and some that were alive." Chartier said time moved so quickly that night, he couldn't pinpoint how long it took to find the last survivors. But Vargas's estimate that 60 to 90 minutes passed before firefighters rescued him was quite possible, Chartier said. Vargas, who was born and raised in Toms River, N.J., lives in Johnston with his wife, Melanie A. Vargas, 32, a dental hygienist, and son Bryan M. Vargas, 10. Vargas manages the General Nutrition Center in Johnston. Vargas went to The Station alone the night of the fire to see his seventh Great White concert. "They put on an unbelievably entertaining show just by their music alone," he said. He wasn't drinking. Vargas said he doesn't drink or smoke and has never taken drugs. Athletic and health-conscious, his lean face and muscular body attest to his lifestyle. Vargas bumped into a few friends at the club, including Andrea and Steven Mancini, who were working at the club, and Dave McGinn.
3
As the night progressed, the small club became crowded. When Great White started playing around 11 p.m., Vargas was standing a few feet in front of guitarist Ty Longley. The lead singer, Jack Russell, waited in the wings for a dramatic entrance. The crowd was going nuts, Vargas said. Russell came on stage and, just before he began to sing, sparks flew from a pyrotechnics machine behind him. "As soon as I saw the flames, I knew it wasn't part of the show, but I wasn't worried," Vargas said. "I thought they'd put it out and they'd go on with the show." But Vargas said no one emerged with a fire extinguisher and he didn't see anybody pull a fire alarm. "I realized they were going to let it burn," he said. "I didn't think anything bad. I was just like 'I've got to get out of here.' " He turned and began moving toward the main door, but some patrons were standing still, eyes fixed on the stage. "I just picked people up as I went so I wouldn't trip over them," he said. Embers from the fire started to burn through his Lycra ski cap. He brushed off the hat and kept moving. As the mass followed the most direct route to the doors, Vargas detoured around a free-standing wall, and rejoined the river of people on the other side. The force of the crowd behind him was growing. He almost made it to the exit. Vargas said he tried to stay upright by putting his hands on the person in front of him, but the pressure from behind overwhelmed him. He fell to the floor, two feet from the door. He rolled over to his side and curled up into the fetal position. Instinct told him staying on his side would protect his spine and airway. "People were piling up on top of me and I could feel the press of people," he said. He forced himself to stay calm. "If you freak out, I'm going to die," he told himself. He could breathe in cool, fresh air. He wasn't even hot. But he couldn't move. "It felt like a football pileup," he said.
4
Vargas said he wasn't concerned about dying, though images went through his head of someone telling his wife and son that he died. He prayed to his father, who was killed in a construction accident in 1994. "I wanted to stay calm. I didn't want to move because I didn't want the pile to topple on me," he said. "I had air and I didn't feel any heat. I wasn't crushed or feeling crushed. I was in a relaxed state. I just felt calm and focused." Vargas didn't let his mind race either. "I wasn't saying 'When are they going to get here to get me?' I broke it into steps," he said. First he waited for the sound of sirens. He heard them and knew he was one step closer to rescue. He heard the firefighters talking, then he felt the water from the fire hoses. But a comment Vargas overheard from one firefighter nearly unglued him. " 'Oh my God. They are all dead,' " he heard. "That got to me." Until then, Vargas did not comprehend the devastation. "I knew it was bad because we were stuck there, but I didn't know how bad," he said. The calls for help from people around him had faded. Vargas himself remained silent. "It didn't make sense for me to scream. What were the chances they would hear me screaming from underneath the pile? Plus I had to conserve as much energy as possible," he said. Finally, he felt the load above him lighten as firefighters searched for survivors. He saw a firefighter's boot and reached for it. The firefighter gripped him and wouldn't let go, Vargas said. It took a couple of tugs and Vargas was freed. "A few people were still alive. They were screaming," he said. "All around me people were dead." Vargas stood up and walked out. "My plan at that point was just to go home," he said. "I knew if I looked back I would be really messed up. When you're up high, don't look down. Same thing. I thought 'Don't look back.' " Halfway across the parking lot, rescue workers steered him onto a gurney and took him to an ambulance. An emergency worker took his vital signs and asked for the time for the medical record. Vargas remembers it as 12:35 a.m. -- about an hour and a half after
5
the fire broke out. According to Miriam Hospital officials, Vargas was first evaluated in the emergency room at 12:50 a.m. Vargas suffered four third-degree burns on his left leg, the largest about the size of a potato. He is still coughing up soot from the smoke he inhaled and sleeping is difficult. He said he sees visions of the dead and burned. A few days after the fire, he returned to The Station. Vargas said everything was charred black except the patch of red tiles he had been lying on.

[BLACKOUTx4500x]

This makes me so sad everytime I see it. Does anybody know how many people were actually INSIDE at the time it went up in flames?

[machineguneddie]

Originally Posted by BLACKOUTx4500x ↗

This makes me so sad everytime I see it. Does anybody know how many people were actually INSIDE at the time it went up in flames?

462

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Station_nightclub_fire

[kellyhound]

Very tragic. Hadn't seen this one before

[gimlet]

Originally Posted by fire3006 ↗

The side and rear exit doors were chained and locked so no one could sneak in from the outside, thus leaving only one entrance and exit point. Also the club was over occupancy levels and did not have an operating sprinkler system.

I think the Wikipedia entry said there were four exits, but the crowd rushed the entrance. Perhaps you have some additional info. not on WIKI or you have confused this fire with another. IIRC, experts say look for the closest exit, NOT NECESSARILY THE ONE YOU ARRIVED BY, in every building in case there is a fire.

I am no fireman, but weren't the cars and vans parked really close to the entrance? The firetrucks couldn't get very close. Aren't there laws about leaving a fire lane cleared? Also, the reaction of the firemen in the video seemed slow, but its hard to see from the camera position. I expected to see them charge the entrance with a hose blowing water, but it seemed to take a minute or so to start spraying water.

I had a car catch on fire, when the fireman arrived he was spraying my car almost before he hit the ground jumping off the truck.

The victims were older than I expected, the 5 or 6women on the list of deceased victims I read about were mostly mothers with kids

[Pelle]

"Great white", fucking nazis. Bet they all deserved it!