The Station Nightclub Fire - Feb 2003

[MorbidFascination]

The fire was caused by pyrotechnics that were set up too close to the walls of the drummer's alcove. The cheapskate owners, instead of purchasing fire-proof sound-proofing, had purchased the soft egg-carton stuff, which is unbelievably flammable as evidenced by the video. However, the manager of the band Great White, which is playing at the moment of the fire, did not clear the usage of the pyrotechnics with the owners.

I also wanted to add, there is great debate as to whether Dan Biechle (GW's manager) got permission from the club owners to use the pyro. There is tons of documented proof of pyro being used in the club by other bands in the past, quite frequently, actually. When Biechle's laptop was siezed as part of the investigation, it showed that there was a check mark under "Pyro?" on his venue spreadsheet, indicating that he had indeed gotten permission to use it. The owners (The Derderian brothers) only cared about one thing, and that was getting as many people in the club as possible. Safety was definitely one of their lesser concerns. Not only was the soundproofing foam they put up flammable, but they had spraypainted black over it, and there was also a layer of foam blocks underneath THAT that helped fuel the fire. The blocks of foam had been installed by the previous owner though.

[HouseAtreides]

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.

I'm shocked that they showed it at your school. I watched the video for the first time on the 10th anniversary of the incident, so I was about 23, and I was traumatized by it. I couldn't get the blood-curdling screams of the woman out of my head. Then I imagined myself and my loved ones being there, and myself escaping and running around in a panic looking for my mom and dad, only to hear them burning in the pile at the door...*shudder*. Just made it even more upsetting. Now I'm hypervigilant and plan on buying fire extinguishers for every room in our house.

Out of all the gore videos I've watched, both on here and on other gore sites, nothing has affected me like the Station Nightclub fire video. Nothing.

[Harpua]

When I was starting a job at a hospital in Los Angeles, we had to get a "fire card" certification. We had to learn how to pull fire extinguishers and stuff, but we also had to watch the long version of the video. I had trouble sleeping after seeing it. I even emailed the instructor about how powerful seeing that video was. It still is.

[Cool_Dog_Group]

Originally Posted by HouseAtreides

I'm shocked that they showed it at your school. I watched the video for the first time on the 10th anniversary of the incident, so I was about 23, and I was traumatized by it. I couldn't get the blood-curdling screams of the woman out of my head. Then I imagined myself and my loved ones being there, and myself escaping and running around in a panic looking for my mom and dad, only to hear them burning in the pile at the door...*shudder*. Just made it even more upsetting. Now I'm hypervigilant and plan on buying fire extinguishers for every room in our house.

Out of all the gore videos I've watched, both on here and on other gore sites, nothing has affected me like the Station Nightclub fire video. Nothing.

My dad being a trauma suergon, I had seen quite a few photos ge had taken of patients so I knew that gore wouldn't be the thing that affected me. It was just the raw panic and fear. I was thirteen or fourteen when I first watched the video. So it was four or five years ago. I remember tons of parents got pissed off at our school afterwords because a kid had a panic attack about it. The station nightclub fire is one of the reasons I never went clubbing or to any really crowded area with fire.

[Chaddy92]

<****** width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/TgR3Q4H7fMA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></******>

[Chaddy92]

Unsure why the Youtube video didn't embed, apologies. It is to the documentary about The Station.

[shavedkitty]

I highly recommend the boof "Killer Show" by John Barylick.It is well worth the price.Very well written, a real standout for that genre of non-fiction.It's not bogged down with a lot technical jargon and the author uses just the right amount of snark.

[shavedkitty]

wtf is a BOOF? Yall have to excuse me,we are in storm mode here with an impending foot or more of snow due.Broken shovel,no milk or bread.Got to get out,need those milk sammidges.Husband is going to have to clear the drive on his knees-the handle of the shovel broke in half and everyone is sold out.

[MorbidFascination]

Originally Posted by shavedkitty

I highly recommend the boof "Killer Show" by John Barylick.It is well worth the price.Very well written, a real standout for that genre of non-fiction.It's not bogged down with a lot technical jargon and the author uses just the right amount of snark.

I agree, this is an excellent, factual account of the Station Fire. It gets a little dry when John Barylick details all the legal proceedings, but even that's fascinating. My boyfriend got me a signed copy of the book for Christmas.

[MorbidFascination]

Originally Posted by 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.

Kinolau- I pm'd you... :)