Posted on 02/22/2003 8:20:58 AM PST by Dr. Scarpetta
The heavy metal band whose pyrotechnics sparked the Rhode Island nightclub tragedy successfully used similar fireworks during a show last week at "Crocodile Rock" in Allentown.
Great White played Feb. 13 at the Hamilton Street nightclub, which an Allentown fire official said didn't have a required permit for the pyrotechnics.
One concertgoer said the fireworks at Crocodile Rock didn't look deadly from the crowd.
"It didn't seem like it was that intense," said Carl Noone Jr. of Easton. "I remember thinking it was kind of Spinal-Tappish. And the bottom of the (microphone) stand shot sparklers, too."
Allentown Fire Marshal Dan Sell said the popular nightspot didn't have a permit for Great White's pyrotechnics.
Crocodile Rock owner Joe Clark said he was unaware the band was going to be using pyrotechnics.
"We have had pyrotechnics in the club before," Clark said. "But as a rule, I don't allow it.
"But as you go, you learn. I now emphatically ban the use of any pyrotechnics in the club."
Sell said he was unaware of the use of pyrotechnics at Crocodile Rock.
"Now that I know about it, I will follow up on it," he said Friday.
Permits are required in Allentown for any use of pyrotechnics displays, regardless of the size of the effects or the size of the venue. The permits are required indoors or outdoors, Sell said.
Indoor pyrotechnics are particularly dangerous, Sell said. Spectators at an outdoor fireworks display are a minimum of 75 feet away from the source, he said, but inside a club they can be as close at 10 feet to the audience.
The permit application for a pyrotechnic display is involved, Sell said, with 20 to 30 questions that must be answered. Additionally, the place of assembly must have $1 million in insurance for the event. There must be pre-approvals and inspections, in addition to a standby officer for as long as the display is in use, Sell said. The whole process costs $100 to $200.
"Whenever you operate a place of assembly, the rules are very strict," Sell said. "There is a great onus on the owner or operator to provide a safe place for people. If there are any doubts about anything in the establishment, they should call the fire marshal or the fire prevention office."
Clark said Crocodile Rock meets all safety and building codes. He said the club can hold up to 1,770 people and has an advanced sprinkler system with two telephone lines to alert the fire department of any pipe pressure loss.
Clark said there are several fire exits and an emergency lighting system that "would actually make the club brighter if the electricity were to shut down."
Clark said the rooms are coated with a special paint that expands when heated, making walls more flame retardant.
While he has met every fire ordinance the city has outlined, Clark said, he will do more to keep his employees and patrons safe.
"My bouncers have no idea what they're in for when they come in today," Clark said Friday afternoon.
Clark said he plans to have his staff notify customers about exits. He said he'll also have the club's disc jockey make an announcement about where the exits are.
"I will be 10 times better," Clark said. "You're going to see a better Joe Clark. I've learned a lot from this."
According to the National Fire Prevention Association, seven out of 11 of the deadliest fires in U.S. history have been at places of assembly, Sell said.
Free-lance photographer Sandy Neske of Milford in Hunterdon County was at the show last week.
"I feel totally safe at Crocodile Rock," Neske said. "There are a lot of exits and security everywhere you look. There would never be a stampede there."
Even so, she admitted she was shaken by Friday's news.
"But I still believe nothing like that would happen at Crocodile Rock. Maybe at some other clubs where I shoot," she said.
Whitehall Township-based WZZO-FM disc jockeys Bearman, who does not divulge his full name, and Keith Moyer spoke to the program director from their Rhode Island sister station on the air Friday morning. The Rhode Island station, WHJY-FM, was hosting the Great White concert Thursday night and one of its DJs was unaccounted for Friday morning.
"The guy that brought (the band) on is still missing," Moyer said Friday. Program manager Joe Bevilacqua "was breaking up at the end of the interview. We wanted to let him deal with things."
At the end of the Friday morning WZZO interview, a sobbing Bevilacqua thanked the DJs for their well wishes and told them to "keep rocking."
Said Moyer: "It's a tragic thing. People are going out to have a good time and something like this happens. I think we're still kind of in shock."
Clark said he has a good relationship with Great White, who played Crocodile Rock a few times. He said the lead singer, Jack Russell, was very professional. Guitarist Ty Longley was among the missing in Rhode Island.
"I served these guys food one week ago," Clark said. "I know them.
"Imagine, you see people last week, you're driving them to and from the hotel and everything," he said. "Then imagine you're seeing them on national TV today with such a tragedy.
"It never hit me -- I never even conceived of something like this."
There's a reason for these strict safety codes. Managers ignore safety codes at their peril.
There is one missing band memeber. I doubt this comment is true. Only 9 boddies have been idintified as of this morning. We will soon know for sure all the victims.
The other person missing is the DJ who brought the band on.
In the coming days there will be many more clubs, probably every club on this band's current tour, who will issue a similar statement.
It looks very much like the clubs are looking the other way while the bands violate the terms of their permits. You can't have that many club owners being that stupid that they cannot prevent this sort of activity if they wanted to.
It's as simple as a clause in the contract. If the band uses a banned pyrotechic, they don't get paid. That would be the end of that.
It is the Club Owner's non-delegable responsibility to ensure the health and safety of his patrons. The fact that they have been looking the other way while bands light of pyrotechnics indoors in violation of the Fire Marshall's restrictions places the responsibility directly at their feet.
The law assumes that the band is going to be irresponsible. It is the duty of the Club Owner to keep this from happening.
They used pyro in several other clubs where a permit was required by law. Given that their pyro is very minor stuff, the clubs could have said just go ahead and given verbal permission so that they wouldn't have to pay for a permit(I doubt neither the band nor most of these clubs can afford to pay for such permits in many cases, the band especially). Now, this tragedy happens and obviously its going to be brought to the attention to the authorities in other towns that GW used pyro in those clubs. Its possible, fearing penalties from the authorities, these clubs owners have gone on a preemptive strike(what is there to lose - the local authorities will obviously be made aware that GW used pyro in all these other places without the clubs having permits, they are screwed regardless). So, to sum it up, we may have several clubs knowing they are in trouble trying to put all the balme on the band. Again, these clubs are probably screwed if GW used pyro and the club didn't have a permit.
Also interesting, Fox reported this morning that one club has come forward and said GW asked to use pyro in their venue and were denied. The band didn't use them. This adds some credence to the story we hear over and over from the singer - i,e,, they ask permission. He never claimed they asked for permits, and I doubt they do.
Yes, Ty Longly. He wasn't an original member of the band and wasn't with them when they had success. He came aboard over the past year or so I believe. He was also the sound guy or sound tech.
I'm sure the rest of the band is grieving as well, for all victims. And I'm sure they have been advised to not speak to the media.
"We have had pyrotechnics in the club before," Clark said. "But as a rule, I don't allow it.
So the clubowner admits that pyro has been used(and sounds like more than just once) despite not having a permit for such. Now it is noted that the band didn't have a rider for pyro in their contracts. My guess(and that is all it is, for now) is that their is a "look the other way" laissez faire attitude about things like this. I just find it hard to believe that pyro is regularly used in these clubs without the owner knowing about it or having an opportunity to prevent it. Owners have certain basic responsibilities.
In all my life I will wonder how people could be so plain stupid.
I'm a pro musician, and have played most of these death traps up and down the East Coast. The Managers are some of the scummiest around (and Stone Pony's jerk is one of the WORST!)...I can assure you that your assessment is spot on.
I was on Howie Carr's show on Friday as a caller (in the last hour) and set Howie straight on how these clubs operate.
Also, I have an interesting theory about just how quick that blaze spread.
My day job is a Chemist. My fiancee's step-dad just retired as Deputy Fire Chief of a large city in Mass. We all have our suspicions...let me play out mine. Remember, I have no CONCRETE evidence/proof, just a good background and a suspicious mind...
Fact 1)...The owner of "The Station" was a former Channel 7 Boston news reporter. He bought the club a few years ago...and has been losing money on it in all that time. He WAS trying to sell the place...apparently with little success.
Fact 2)...The "egg crate" foam on the back wall that ignited is NOT up to code...and the place was inspected for Fire Code in December 2002! It was there because neighbors were complaining about the noise.
Was the foam "removed" for the inspection...was the owner cited for it if it was not? That stuff is TOXIC when it burns!
If not, WHY not?
Fact 3)...The license says a max capacity of 300...there were closer to 400 there. There was a Police Detail assigned there...why did they allow the overage?
Fact 4)...The "pyro" used is fairly comparable to sparklers, and fairly cool relatively speaking (You can hold your hand/arm in the stream and not be burned.).
But that foam ignited rapidly and immediately where paper would not begin to burn like that when held in the stream ( Think I'm kidding...we all use "cheat sheets" for song lists and lyrics on stage...they are usually taped to the floor or mic stand. They are exposed to these "sparks" and do not burn!)
Fact 5)...the Management and Stage Hands deny they knew. As a person who has done this stuff, I can tell you that is a LIE!
When the band's crew does all the set-up, Stage Mangers and Club Managers are like vultures hovering around.
Also, the pots needed power, a trigger, and a cue. Who do you think the Band's crew consulted on placement of the items on stage? It's also likely (but I do not know for sure) that a dry run was made to see how the stuff would work.
Also, Great White was the THIRD act that night...do you think the Mangers and Stage Crew didn't see the pots there all wired up...the other bands did, I can assure you!
All GW's stuff would be in place and ready for them, so the GW crew wouldn't be wiring "pyro" when the audience was crowding the stage. That's the truth there.
Now to draw my points together....tin foil firmy in place, but I suspect this...
The Egg crate" foam was soaked with an accellerant (Vodka is a great one). Watch the video of it, and think sparklers...if KIDS can play with sparklers, how can the foam be so susceptible to it?
By whom, I do not know, but the owner comes to mind (Insurance is a lovely way to dump a loser investment.). If this is true, I do not believe he intended ANY to die, it escaladed out of control.
Remember, he WAS filming the event for broadcast in an expose on CLUB SAFETY...and he could be like the scum at NBC who rigged a truck to get a story!
I am not making a serious accusation at this time, just I have suspicions...and too many have died to not at least voice them.
Perhaps the next time they play together, it'll be behind bars. Then MTV can feature them in one of their specials.
Does anyone know the legal ramifications of disregarding the fire codes and endangering the public? Sounds like there's blame to be placed on multiple sources. Could the club owners or the band's management be charged with reckless endangerment or manslaughter?
On another note, it was pointed out by one individual on Fox, that the fireworks they used, were more than likely purchased illegally. I'm sure if they do a thorough enough search, they'll be able to find out where the stuff was purchased. If they brought the stuff into a state that doesn't allow fireworks, they can get them for not only having possession and using fireworks without a permit, but also transporting them across state lines. I'd say though that 96+ counts of criminally negligent homicide will be more than enough to lock these dummies away for the rest of their lives.
Of course the nightclub will be in for its share of charges. I'd like to see a thorough research of the building codes for that city/town and see if the club was cut any slack or given special favors by anyone. My guess is that the insurance company will probably try to get out of having to pay for any damages due to the negligence on the part of the owners. It'll be years before this is all hashed out.
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