RI marks 10th anniversary of deadly nightclub fire

February 20, 2013 @ 12:26 pm


Jessica Garvey, of Woonsocket, R.I., front, steadies a cross at the site of the deadly nightclub fire in West Warwick, R.I., Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013. Relatives and friends of the 100 people killed in the blaze at the The Station nightclub are gathering at the site on its 10th anniversary. The Feb. 20, 2003 fire was started when pyrotechnics for the hard rock band Great White ignited flammable foam that had been installed as soundproofing. (AP Photo/Steven Senne) | Zoom

WEST WARWICK, R.I. (AP) - Relatives and friends of the 100 people killed in a nightclub fire in Rhode Island are gathering at the site of the blaze on its 10th anniversary.

The Feb. 20, 2003, fire in West Warwick was started when pyrotechnics for the 1980s hard rock band Great White ignited flammable foam that had been installed as soundproofing.

Jessica Garvey planned to spend all day Wednesday at the site of The Station nightclub, where scores of handmade crosses dot the ground.

Garvey's sister Dina DeMaio was a waitress at the nightclub and perished in the fire. Wednesday would have been her 40th birthday.

A foundation working to build a permanent memorial at the site held a ceremonial groundbreaking Sunday. Work is expected to start this spring.


(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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