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Wed. March 26.2003 5:23 PM EST |
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Surviving Great White Guitarist Describes Deadly BlazeMark Kendall says he saw people 'screaming hysterically' after escaping inferno. by Jon Wiederhorn |
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Great White's Mark Kendall (Manic Music) |
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Great White guitarist Mark Kendall says he didn't realize how bad last month's fire at the Station club was until he ran into his sound man outside: "He was bleeding from his eyes and his mouth, and his skin was torched. I knew right there and then
In the May issue of Guitar World, Kendall discusses the February 20 nightclub blaze that killed 99 people in West Warwick, Rhode Island (see "At Least 96 Dead At Rock Show Fire") with writer Joe Lalaina. The fire was sparked after Great White fired off pyrotechnics that ignited soundproofing foam around the stage. "Less than a minute after we launched into 'Desert Moon,' the first song of our set, I felt this strange heat on my back," Kendall told the magazine. "When I turned around, the back wall of the venue was on fire. I didn't see any fire extinguishers around, so I stopped playing." Kendall, singer Jack Russell, bassist David Filice and drummer Eric Powers exited from the left side of the stage, where a door led outside. The band's other guitarist, Ty Longley, walked off the other side. "There wasn't an exit on that side of the building. He got trapped inside and lost his life," Kendall said (see "Guitarist Ty Longley Among 97 Dead In Great White Club Fire"). After Kendall escaped, he saw flames shooting from the side of the club and billows of black smoke. He witnessed people "screaming hysterically" and others with "flames burning off their clothes." In the wake of the blaze, which is still under investigation, at least five wrongful death suits have been filed, and attorney Brian Cunha expects to file an additional 15 to 20 suits (see "New Lawsuit Over Club Fire Targets Radio Station, Brewer"). The main targets of the lawsuits are Great White, who shot pyro in a small club without a permit; the club's owners, who installed flammable foam not intended by the manufacturer to be used as soundproofing; and the state fire inspector, who didn't cite the club for using flammable soundproofing and for other fire code violations. "If anyone in that group had taken the effort to do what they're supposed to do, none of this would have happened," Cunha said. Kendall said Great White should not be held responsible, insisting that their manager received oral permission from the club's owner to use pyro. "Had we known the soundproofing was flammable, we would not have used the pyro," he said. "Who would line the inner walls of a nightclub with flammable soundproofing?" On Tuesday, Rhode Island police hired Dr. Henry C. Lee, a forensics expert who testified for the defense in the O.J. Simpson criminal trial, to help them with the investigation of the Station fire, the Providence Journal reported. The criminal investigation of the Station fire is expected to last well into the summer, the paper reported, and it could be several months before the attorney general's office decides if it wants to file charges in the case. On Wednesday (March 26), private lawyers and their own fire experts met at the site of the Station to examine the wreckage and to take photos and measurements that might help their civil cases. Attorneys were told they might eventually be able to examine some of the other materials that were taken from the site, Cunha said. "There may have been other materials that were combustible," he explained, such as insulation, carpeting and compressed paneling. Look out for your own safety, and check out "How To Keep Yourself Safe If There's A Crowd Crush Or Fire At A Club." This report is from MTV News. |
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