WEST WARWICK, R.I. — As the painstaking process of identifying dozens of bodies began, the co-owner of the nightclub where 96 people were killed in a fire insisted Saturday he had no idea the rock band Great White planned to use the pyrotechnics that ignited the blaze.
Jeffrey Derderian, a local television reporter who co-owned the The Station with his brother, broke down several times as he expressed grief over the deadly fire. But he vehemently insisted the band did not have permission to use the special effect, a claim echoed by at least four other venues where the band played in the past month.
"It was a total shock to me to see the pyrotechnics going off when Great White took the stage," he said at a news conference.
Columns of sparks sprayed from the stage during the band's first song late Thursday night, igniting foam ceiling tiles and sending more than 300 concertgoers scrambling for the exits as the club quickly filled with thick, black smoke. Fire officials said the building was engulfed in three minutes.
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The Associated Press
