The Station Nightclub Fire Trivia Quiz

Answer: Rhode Island

The Station Nightclub was located at 211 Cowesett Avenue in West Warick, Rhode Island, and was built in 1946. The nightclub, at the time of the fire, was a venue for hard rock and glam metal bands. The edifice itself was a 4,400 square foot one-story building. On the night of the fire, 462 people were in attendance with a fire regulation capacity of only 402.

Answer: Great White

Great White is a hard rock band that was formed originally in Los Angeles in 1977. They had some success in the 1980s and early 1990s, and their biggest hit was "Once Bitten, Twice Shy" from 1989.

Answer: 2000s

The Station Nightclub fire occurred on February 20th, 2003, so therefore occurring in the 2000s. Of the people that were able to successfully evacuate from the building around 35 percent left via the front entrance. The front entrance is also where around 30 percent of the casualties were reported.

Answer: Pyrotechnics

The cause of the fire was pyrotechnics set off by the band's manager. Before a Great White show, pyrotechnics were usually set off just prior to the band assuming the stage. It was within seconds of their opening number at approximately 11:08 p.m. that night that the pyrotechnics ignited the polyurethane soundproofing ceiling panels located above the stage.

The subsequent fire spread and quickly engulfed the building. Also, the main composition of the structure was wood, which added to the fire's permeation.

Answer: 5 minutes, 30 seconds

The last known survivor was seen exiting the building at 5 minutes and 30 seconds after the fire's initial ignition. The known timeline inside the building is as follows: After 30 seconds of initial ignition of the fire, the platform door next to the stage was impassable; 1 minute and 42 seconds later, the main entrance was jammed up with people making it nearly impossible to escape.

As a result, people began smashing windows to try to escape; after 5 minutes and 30 seconds, the last person to escape the building was seen leaving through the front entrance.

Answer: Desert Moon

"Desert Moon" was a song that appeared on Great White's 1991 album entitled "Hooked". Interestingly and as a somewhat morbid twist in hindsight, the opening of the video to the song shows the band performing on a beach proximate to several bonfires.

Answer: 100

There were 100 people who lost their lives and another 230 who were injured; 132 people escaped without injury. Casualties were high for many reasons including the fact that two of the escape doors had been previously chained shut without apparent reason, bouncers acting as security for the event initially refused to allow patrons to leave through a third exit door located near the stage, patrons were unaware of another exit door that was located off of the kitchen, and the fact that most people only knew about the exit at the front door; so, therefore, many people were bottlenecked at that front exit.

In the ensuing panic as the fire spread quickly, many people were trampled or were crushed trying to escape the mass hysteria. Two thirds of all patrons had attempted to evacuate the building through the front entrance and only around 40 percent of those people were able to do so successfully.

The rest either perished or had to find alternate egress.

Answer: Ty Longley

Ty Longley was a guitarist for "Great White", having joined the band in 2000. He was survived by his wife Heidi who was pregnant with their son Acey who was born in August of 2003. He was 31 years old at the time of his death.

Answer: Tour manager and both nightclub owners

Great White's tour manager Daniel Biechele pled guilty to 100 counts of involuntary manslaughter and received 15 years in prison (four years served, 11 years suspended). The two owners of the nightclub, Michael and Jeffery Dederian, pled "no contest" -- Michael received the same sentence as the tour manager; Jeffrey received a ten-year suspended sentence.

Answer: False

There were several lawsuits filed by families of the victims and other people related to this tragic event. As at 2008, at least $115 million in settlements had been agreed to by victims or their families with various defendants being found culpable.