The Station Nightclub Fire West Warwick, Rhode Island. Essay Example
The Station Nightclub Fire West Warwick, Rhode Island.
The building of the Station Nightclub was constructed in approximately 1946. Many restorations and repairs were made to the building since the time of construction by different owners to fulfill their business needs. The building was a wood-frame construction with wooden shingles on the exterior walls that also included a flat roof, but the interior walls surrounding the stage were staffed with sound proof polyurethane insulating foam. Windows were located on the north side of the building and on the east side of the front entrance. All of the windows had security bars on them (this could be an issue!). The building had only four doors; a front main door, a bar side exit door, a platform exit door, and a kitchen exit door. The building was equipped with a fire alarm; however it was not connected to a nearby fire department alarm office. At the time of the incident, the building wasn’t protected by any sprinkler or extinguishment systems.
The fire began at 11:07 PM, on Thursday, February 20, 2003. The band Great White was the main event of the night. After only half a minute into their performance, the pyrotechnics ignited the sound insulation (polyurethane foam) that was around the stage. The ignition of the polyurethane foam built up enough heat to ignite the wooden panels above the stage spreading the fire throughout the building. At first, the audience thought that the flames were a part of the show. Seconds after the audience realized that the fire was unplanned, they headed toward the main entrance trying to escape, not knowing that three other exits in the building existed. One hundred people lost their lives that day.
Serving a population of 30,000 residents, the West Warwick Fire Department is first due on all fire/rescue and EMS calls for the 8 sq. mile district of West Warwick. West Warwick Fire Department operates out of four stations with a total of four engines, one ladder truck, two
The building of the Station Nightclub was constructed in approximately 1946. Many restorations and repairs were made to the building since the time of construction by different owners to fulfill their business needs. The building was a wood-frame construction with wooden shingles on the exterior walls that also included a flat roof, but the interior walls surrounding the stage were staffed with sound proof polyurethane insulating foam. Windows were located on the north side of the building and on the east side of the front entrance. All of the windows had security bars on them (this could be an issue!). The building had only four doors; a front main door, a bar side exit door, a platform exit door, and a kitchen exit door. The building was equipped with a fire alarm; however it was not connected to a nearby fire department alarm office. At the time of the incident, the building wasn’t protected by any sprinkler or extinguishment systems.
The fire began at 11:07 PM, on Thursday, February 20, 2003. The band Great White was the main event of the night. After only half a minute into their performance, the pyrotechnics ignited the sound insulation (polyurethane foam) that was around the stage. The ignition of the polyurethane foam built up enough heat to ignite the wooden panels above the stage spreading the fire throughout the building. At first, the audience thought that the flames were a part of the show. Seconds after the audience realized that the fire was unplanned, they headed toward the main entrance trying to escape, not knowing that three other exits in the building existed. One hundred people lost their lives that day.
Serving a population of 30,000 residents, the West Warwick Fire Department is first due on all fire/rescue and EMS calls for the 8 sq. mile district of West Warwick. West Warwick Fire Department operates out of four stations with a total of four engines, one ladder truck, two