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The Station Fire
100 days - 100 lives
May 31st 2003
by Karl Kuenning
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Today marks the 100th day since
The Station Fire snuffed out the lives of 100 young rock fans. It seems like only
yesterday that we woke up on that black Friday morning to those horrible images on CNN of
the smoldering ruins that had once been that local nightclub. We watched in disbelief as
we were also shown the local TV footage showing the apparent origin of the flames, a
fireworks display that ignited the walls behind the 80’s band Great White. And then
came the live interviews with the lead singer Jack Russell as the grim death toll quickly
swelled throughout the day. So many missing, so many burned, but the question we all
wanted to know…”who was to blame?”
Ultimately that question will be for the courts to decide, probably in both the criminal
and civil legal system, and everyone involved in this tragedy is innocent until proved
guilty. Until all the involved parties have their day in court we can only give our
opinions on whom to blame.
Do we blame the band Great White and its leader Jack Russell? Apparently it was the
band’s pyrotechnic display that ignited the fire, which makes the fire their fault
right? Perhaps. Touring bands that play the largest arenas all the way down to small
garage bands playing at the local bar rely on technicians called “roadies” to
handle the technical aspects of the show. Most musicians can barely tune their own guitars
these days let alone know how to mix the sound, design the light show, or in this case be
knowledgeable about pyrotechnics. That is a job for the roadies.
Should we then blame the band’s management company for hiring the roadies and
allowing the pyrotechnics to be used? After all, they hire the roadies, they pay for the
equipment so they should have known that unsafe fireworks were being used by less than
qualified employees…right?
Do we blame the club owners? There is the matter of the flammable foam, the over-crowded
venue, a stage exit allegedly blocked by security guards, no sprinkler system, and the
apparent lack of any strategically placed fire extinguishers
Do we blame the local fire code enforcement? After all shouldn’t the fire inspectors
have seen the foam and ordered it removed or replaced? Who counted and tested the fire
extinguishers that weren’t where they should have been, where was the Fire Marshall
as this tiny venue was routinely packed to beyond capacity?
Or should we blame the person who fired the pyro? Ultimately that was the person
who’s finger pushed the button that sent a small electrical current down the wire to
the electric match that ignited the “gerb” and started a 20 second shower of
sparks that ultimately killed 100 human beings and grievously wounded scores of others. As
much as it pains me to admit this being a roadie myself, I believe that regardless of all
the other mitigating factors to this event, the pryo triggerman has the final
responsibility for the safety of the crowd and the band. Did he test the gerbs prior to
the show to see how they would react? Why didn’t he see that the foam soundproofing
was in the line of fire? Where was the fire extinguisher that should have been at his side
in case something went wrong? Who had the last clear chance to avert this disaster? He
did. The Roadie Creed has always been that “the show must go on”…. but it
now clear that it must go on safely.
As we will discover in the months and years to come there are many factors which caused
The Station Fire that night in February, and most of them were probably avoidable. As far
as who is culpable, there will be many. As far as punishment we’ll have to wait for
the lawyers and judges to sort that out. In the meantime the person that pushed that
button already has to live with the consequences of his action that night, and his
punishment has already begun.
Karl Kuenning 2003 |
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