The Station Nightclub Fire Investigation

A fire occurred on the night of Feb. 20, 2003, in The Station nightclub at 211 Cowesett Avenue, West Warwick, Rhode Island. A band that was on the platform that night, during its performance, used pyrotechnics that ignited polyurethane foam insulation lining the walls and ceiling of the platform. The fire spread quickly along the ceiling area over the dance floor. Smoke was visible in the exit doorways in a little more than one minute, and flames were observed breaking through a portion of the roof in less than five minutes. Egress from the nightclub, which was not equipped with sprinklers, was hampered by crowding at the main entrance to the building. One hundred people lost their lives in the fire. Of the fatalities, 95 were due to the inability of the occupants to evacuate before being overcome by the untenable conditions along the egress path. On Feb. 27, 2003, under the authority of the National Construction Safety Team (NCST) Act, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) established a National Construction Safety Team to determine the likely technical cause or causes of the building failure that led to the high number of casualties in that fire.

For further information on the investigation, go to http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/ncst.htm#Rhode_Island_Nightclub


The Station nightclub Fire Investigation

Final Report of the Technical Investigation of The Station Nightclub Fire (pdf)
(For a printed copy contact the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) at http://www.ntis.gov or 800-553-6847. NTIS order number: PB2005-110246)
Final Report—Appendices (pdf)
(For a printed copy contact the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) at http://www.ntis.gov or 800-553-6847. NTIS order number: PB2005-110247)
Draft Report - March 3, 2005
Presentation on Draft Report on The Station Nightclub Fire Given at March 3, 2005 Press Briefing in Providence, R.I. (pdf)
Visuals
B-roll of Fire Tests and Simulations (if this link doesn't work for you, go to File/open in RealPlayer and type or paste the following url: http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/RI_Fire_Broll.rm)