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    Crosses At The Station Nightclub Fire Site Mark Place Of Remembrance

    West Warwick — More than 100 crosses stand side-by-side, arranged in a circle that outlines the perimeter of what once was The Station nightclub.

    It has been more than five months after a terrible fire raced through the building killing friends, husbands, daughters and mothers, and the site has evolved into a place of remembrance.

    A fence no longer keeps mourners at bay. A West Warwick police officer no longer guards the area. Private investigators combing the site for evidence no longer pick through charred debris that was hauled away weeks ago.

    It's a sad place, where visitors kneel in front of the small wooden crosses, praying, pausing, leaving photographs and well-wishes. Several people come each day to pay their respects in a place that now resembles a cemetery — complete with candles, flowers, a “Welcome” mat marking the former entrance to the club and, of course, the crosses.

    “Coming here keeps you close,” said Brenda Arnold, who lost two friends in the Feb. 20 fire.

    Armed with a box of freezer-size Ziploc bags, Arnold sets out to protect from predicted rains the pictures, trinkets and notes placed in front of Skott Greene and Richard Cabral's crosses.

    She begins to tell the stories of her two friends — how they arrived at The Station that Thursday night, how their deaths were “senseless.”

    Greene, 35, was a tattoo artist. He was put on the guest list for the Great White show after the band's lead singer, Jack Russell, received a tattoo from Greene earlier that day. He invited Cabral, 37, of Attleboro, Mass., to the show.

    “It's still a shock,” said Arnold, who lives in Warwick. “So many people taken so fast, so senselessly.”

    The fire started mere seconds into Great White's first song, when a burst of pyrotechnics ignited highly flammable foam surrounding the club's stage. It engulfed the building in about 3 minutes, trapping concert goers as they tried to flee.

    The blaze killed 100 people and injured nearly 200 others, and prompted the state to revamp its fire codes so more older buildings are required to have sprinklers and other safety precautions.

    At the base of Cabral's cross, sit two garden gnomes, a nod to Cabral's love of the ceramic miniatures. Like the others, it was built with discarded shards of the club's floor and labeled with stickers and Magic Markers.

    A few spaces down, John Lennon-style glasses rest on the cross of Great White guitarist Ty Longley. A guitar pick hangs in a plastic bag, near an inscription that has a drawing of a heart followed by, “Heidi + baby.”

    The band is launching a 40-city tour Tuesday in Sterling, Colo., to raise money for victims' families and survivors.

    “There's not a minute that goes by where this doesn't, you know, you don't think about this, how can you not?” Russell said Tuesday on CBS' “The Early Show.”

    The band, along with the owners of the club, event promoters and product manufacturers have been named in civil lawsuits stemming from the blaze. A grand jury is investigating the possibility of criminal charges.

    While the lawsuits are pending, the site at 211 Cowesett Ave. has been kept from becoming a permanent memorial, though the town, many survivors and the property owner, Triton Realty Inc., endorse the idea.

    Triton said it is willing to donate the site to West Warwick, but plans have been put on hold because if Triton is held partly responsible for the deadly fire, the property could be part of any damages awarded from a lawsuit.

    West Warwick Town Manager Wolfgang Bauer said a committee designing a memorial has met a couple of times but until the legal issues are resolved, work can't go forward.

    So until then, family and friends maintain the site, which has been packed down with dirt.

    Bead necklaces hang from the crosses, while cigarettes, flags, balloons and 16-ounce cans of Budweiser rest at their bases. Next to a couple of folding chairs is a note that says, “Dad: We are all going to sit and remember you.”

    Inflatable guitars are tacked to Steven and Keith Mancini's crosses. The cousins played in the band, “Fathead,” which opened for Great White.

    At night, the ring of crosses glow, lit up by solar-powered torches recently installed at the site.

    “It's a bit eerie,” said Arnold. “But it's beautiful, really. Families sit and connect. For such a small community, this was such a huge loss. We can't forget. We won't.”

    http://www.theday.com/eng/web/newsta...A-D2963A6B290F

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    Thank you for posting this. It's been on TV alot lately with the band touring again, and it's all I've been able to think about. I guess I am still grieving. I can't believe it's already been five months because it still feels like I just heard the news.
    I went to the site before they took everything down, just stood there in the rain for a very long time, looking at every memento. I didn't even realize how hard it was raining because I was crying so hard. I think even if you didn't know someone from this tragedy it would still bring you to tears. I haven't been since they took everything down off of the fence. I haven't felt like I could handle it. Maybe since it's been on TV and on my mind so much, I'll take a trip up in the next couple of days.
    I just wish that there was some kind of justice for these 100 people who passed and for all those severely injured in that fire. No criminal charges have been made against anyone. I'm not going to get into that though, I'm past blame. Everyone is still so sad and hurting that we haven't felt the anger yet. Maybe we never will and that is ok.
    Sorry for rambling in your thread, it just still hurts alot. Thank you again for posting this. It is good to know that someone still remembers.
    Hugs to {{{erwinmst}}}

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    I have been following this as well because I knew a few people that were there. I am originally from SE CT and have plans to move back within the next year.

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    I am sorry to hear that you lost people, too. I can't believe how many people in how many states this has affected

    On a much lighter note, HI, neighbor! (well, practically neighbor)
    I live right outside of Providence in Rhode Island.
    Hugs to {{{erwinmst}}}

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    I live in Attleboro so I'm not too far from where that happened. Fortunatley I didn't know anyone who went that night.

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    aime,
    what part of Ct??

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    Originally posted by julie_angel
    I just wish that there was some kind of justice for these 100 people who passed and for all those severely injured in that fire. No criminal charges have been made against anyone.

    Sorry for rambling in your thread, it just still hurts alot. Thank you again for posting this. It is good to know that someone still remembers.

    Three indicted in nightclub fire
    Tuesday, December 9, 2003 Posted: 9:58 PM EST

    http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/12/09/ni...ire/index.html

    WEST WARWICK, Rhode Island (CNN) -- A grand jury indicted three people Tuesday on charges of involuntary manslaughter in the Rhode Island nightclub fire that killed 100 people in February.

    Indicted on 200 counts each of involuntary manslaughter -- two for each death -- were brothers Jeffrey and Michael Derderian, owners of The Station, and Dan Biechele, tour manager for the band Great White who lit the pyrotechnic display that started the February 20 blaze.

    Fire quickly consumed the crowded nightclub after the pyrotechnics went off during Great White's first performance, igniting foam insulation that had been used as soundproofing.

    Band members have insisted they had permission from the club's owners to set off the fireworks. The owners have said no permission was given.

    The Derderians and Biechele pleaded not guilty at their arraignment Tuesday afternoon. A judge set bail at $50,000 for each defendant and scheduled a pretrial hearing for February 9.

    Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick Lynch said the criminal negligence manslaughter charges against the Derderian brothers concern their action or inaction over the years they owned the club in not maintaining a safe building. Specifically, their club included acoustical materials that weren't fireproof, Lynch said.

    The criminal negligence charges against Biechele relate to his arranging for the pyrotechnics to be included in the show.

    Each of the 200 counts could carry up to 30 years in prison, Lynch said.

    The mother of one man killed in the fire told reporters she wanted the building and fire inspectors to be charged since they inspected the club before the fire and issued occupancy permits.

    "It was an accident just waiting to happen and it did," she said.

    Great White was a retooled 1980s heavy metal group known for the hit "Once Bitten, Twice Shy."
    Laissez les bon temps rouler! Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.** a 4 day work week & sex slaves ~ I say Tyt for PRESIDENT! Not to be taken internally, literally or seriously ....Suki ebaynni IS THAT BETTER ?

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    Great White's Shocking Album Title

    The album title is a shock. But the band is doing the right thing. A bootleg album of previously released songs by Great White, the band whose pyrotechnics caused a fire at The Station nightclub in West Warwick, R.I., last year that killed more than 100 people, has been released by Horizon Records with the title "Burning House of Love," reports Internet Broadcasting Systems.

    By its very nature, a bootleg is released without the consent of the band. And that is exactly the message Great White wants its fans to get. The band issued this emphatic statement, urging fans not to buy the album: "This album is not approved by Great White. Rather the band condemns this release and asks all fans and friends to not purchase this album. They feel that the label is insensitive to the victims of the fire and are trying to capitalize on a tragic situation."

    The statement, issued on the band's Web site, continues: "This type of practice is called repackaging: record companies take previously released songs, put on a new cover with a new title. The band and their attorneys are working on stopping this release as it is being sold under the Great White name without Great White's permission. Great White wants to apologize for any discomfort this may have caused, as they found out about this release much the same way as the fans--via the Internet. It was of great shock to the GW camp."
    Laissez les bon temps rouler! Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.** a 4 day work week & sex slaves ~ I say Tyt for PRESIDENT! Not to be taken internally, literally or seriously ....Suki ebaynni IS THAT BETTER ?

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    THat is tacky of the record company to do that! I hope no one buys it, or atleast if they are going to sell it they should give the profits to the victims
    Freebies make my goody parts **~TINGLE!~**

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