Results: The Station Nightclub Fire

February 20th is the 12th anniversary of The Station Nightclub Fire, the 4th deadliest nightclub fire in U.S. history. The Station, a club in West Warkwick, RI, burned to the ground killing 100 and injuring 230. Do you remember this story?

The fire began when the tour manager for the band Great White set off pyrotechnics as the band started playing. The pyrotechnics ignited the sound-proofing foam surrounding the stage. The outer layer of sound-proofing material was urethane foam which is used as a packing material and is much cheaper than foam intended to be used in acoustics. Urethane is so flammable that fire safety experts refer to it as solid gasoline, and the fire spread through the club at unbelievable speed. Were you aware of how the fire started and why it spread so quickly?

The entire fire was caught on video by WPRI-TV cameraman Brian Butler who was doing a report on nightclub safety. The video shows that within a minute, the entire stage is engulfed in flames. At 90 seconds, thick black poisonous smoke is pouring from the doors and windows, and at 5 1/2 minutes the building is completely engulfed. (This video can be found by googling for "station nightclub fire video". I will not embed it in this survey because I do not want anyone to inadvertently click on it without realizing how graphic and disturbing it is.) Have you seen or will you look for Butler's video?

One of the reasons for the high number of causalities was that most people tried to make their way out the main entrance where they came in, instead of heading for a possibly nearer fire exit. The over-capacity crowd formed a logjam in the bottlenecked main entrance. At 90 seconds, the video shows people jammed in the doorway in an almost cartoon-like fashion, unable to move, inches from safety. Do you make note of fire exits when you are in a club, restaurant or other public venue?

After taking this survey, if a Fire Marshall orders a venue cleared because it is over capacity or otherwise declared a fire hazard, will you be more understanding?