Re: Concert Disaster In Rhode Island

[Donna Halper <dlh@donnahalper.com>]

Mike wrote:
>Just woke up now ( 3:00 this morning ) and there is a live breaking story 
>of a massive club fire in West Warwick Rhode Island called " The Station " 
>where 80's Heavy Metal band " Great White " was playing.  WPRI is 
>reporting that one of the pyrotechnic (sp) machines went off and the 
>nightclub went on fire. WPRI is also reporting that people were trampled 
>trying to exit the premesis and that Great White's guitarist Mark Kendall 
>and WHJY's " The Doctor ", one of the most popular heavy metal DJ's have 
>not been accounted for and the search is on as to see if they made it out 
>alive, but TV reports are already alluding this to being on a level of the 
>Boston's Cocoanut Grove Fire in 1942.

And as might be expected, WBZ Radio had reporters on this story 
immediately-- at the risk of seeming like I am shilling for them, they do a 
wonderful job of being proactive and getting reporters to the scene of 
breaking stories.  Now, on to other things.  Wouldn't it seem that after 
the Cocoanut Grove (492 dead) club owners would have learnt 
something?  Witnesses who escaped the Rhode Island tragedy said not only 
were there no sprinklers, but no fire extinguishers either.  And the club 
was very crowded.  Why does it take a tragedy to get people to focus on 
safety?