The Station Nightclub Fire - Feb 2003

[jaybo]

its bad enough having the pyro display in a space like that but not to have someone with a fire extinguisher ready is unreal, not that it would have helped one it was lite. truly sad and unavoidable

[UnknownZombie]

you know, i kinda dont feel bad for the victims. they all stood there while the wall was on fire, i could hear people shouting "your on fire", looking around dumbfounded. it really shitty way to die

[Cool_Dog_Group]

I remember watching the video of the nightclub burning down when I was a bit younger. Our school was pretty blunt with us, so they showed us the whole video one day when we were having a fire safety assembely. One thing about that video that still haunts me to this day is how abruptly the screaming stops from inside the building. Even as a young teen, I knew that most everybody in the building was either dead or unconcious from oxygen deprivation at that point.

[Markhamed]

you know, i kinda dont feel bad for the victims. they all stood there while the wall was on fire, i could hear people shouting "your on fire", looking around dumbfounded. it really shitty way to die

Testimony from survivors say they didn't realize that the fire wasn't part of the show. Our intrepid cameraman, you'll note, is one of the only people to go charging toward the door. This, I think, is because he was quite familiar with nightclub safety, since that's why he was filming the piece.

I do feel sorry for them. Very sorry. Many people came to the club to have a good time, and ended up scarred for life or dead. One of the differences between The Station and most other disasters is the demographics - of the 100 fatalities, the oldest victim was 45. 99 were Caucasian, one was Hispanic. Most were middle-class. Additionally, at least five of them were killed going back in trying to help those trapped inside. Not that any of this really changes anything. But most of these things you see on DR happen to nameless Thai/Indian/Chinese/Brazilian people, with whom we do not have great identity, as they are not like us. We subconsciously put price-tags on life, and third-world residents do not have high prices. These people were just like us. We could have been in that fire, this could happen at any club or any concert, and it could happen tomorrow. Fire departments are not trained for dealing with it. So that's why I think it's worth investigation.

One of the survivors gave a very interesting account. She was badly burned in the fire, and only survived because she was at the bottom of the crush. She stated that, as she was trying to escape, she saw a sea of people with their heads on fire. It was then that she realized her own head was burning, too. The last thing she remembers is collapsing onto the wooden floor. Her fiance, who ultimately died, saved her life by pushing her forward toward the door.

Originally Posted by Cool_Dog_Group

I remember watching the video of the nightclub burning down when I was a bit younger. Our school was pretty blunt with us, so they showed us the whole video one day when we were having a fire safety assembely. One thing about that video that still haunts me to this day is how abruptly the screaming stops from inside the building. Even as a young teen, I knew that most everybody in the building was either dead or unconcious from oxygen deprivation at that point.

That's cool that they showed it at your school. I learned that there's such a thing as fourth-degree burns, which is when the flesh burns so deeply that it actually peels away and reveals bone. Most of the survivors of the crush had fourth degree burns on their scalps, and had many surgeries to repair it.

I was surprised to learn that there even were survivors, considering we're watching this burning mountain of people. Pretty intense.

[kinolau]

It's pretty messed up watching this. I can remember co-workers telling me about it when the 1st shift was coming in at work since they knew I was from the area. I know the dark haired girl waving the peace sign at 2:00 in the first video. She got out safely. I didn't know any of the victims that died in the fire.

[tallblonde]

It happens so quick!

[JGT4]

What kind of assholes set off fireworks like that in a tiny club? Stupid fucks

[JGT4]

You see how the people are piled on top of each other? The same thing happened when the Word trade center attacks happened on Sept. 11th 2001. If you look at the photos of that, you can see people piled on top of each other coming out the windows. A lot of people fell because they were literally pushed out the windows in a panic.

[LadyCPlum]

Everyone who died is remembered (just flat out should not have happened), but Ty was a huge blow to those of us who are such huge Great White Fans.

[MorbidFascination]

To my knowledge, no one survived by hiding in the walk in cooler. I wish I knew that for sure.

You are correct, no one was found in the walk-in cooler.

The body found in the Office is believed to be that of waitress Dina Dimaio, who was working her 30th birthday that evening. It is said that she ran back to grab her belongings, and never made it out.

The 2 bodies in the Ladies' Room are thought to be of victims Katherine O'Donnell and Bridget Sanetti. One of the first 911 calls that came in was from Bridget, stating she was in the bathroom and the club was on fire. She had gone back there, with her friend, right before Great White came on stage. You can actually hear her uncle, Rick Sanetti, screaming for Bridget in the video outside of the club.

The "bouncer" (I use this term very lightly here- he was really just a regular of the club who was there to "help out" that night) who was blocking the stage door exit was reportedly Scott Vieira, who is seen in the still photos next to the box of pyro with a cig dangling out of his mouth. His wife, Kelly, is seen near him... she has dark hair and a white shirt on. She died later in the hospital from her injuries.

I've also done a ton of research on this topic, as I have a personal connection to it, as well as a general interest since I lived in the area. I know people who were lost in the fire, friends who lost loved ones... I could talk about this all day.