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Hey guys--I just returned from Rhode Island, where all the license plates say "The Ocean State." They could just as easily say "The Very Small State," instead, because the degrees of separation...

RodentLady - Well, I guess I just give off good vibes. And maybe empathy, too.

Because after 6 or 7 years of my hanging out in West Warwick, people have seen that my intentions are good and that...

pkstracy - Thank you, and thanks for sharing a personal link.

bustakita - Great find, your Cristina piece!

cigardaddio - Yo Jimmy D!

dionyzus - Nice hearing from you.


I got my wife to...

https://i.imgur.com/0TMNR74.jpg

As we know, the Station Fire tragedy was chock-full of various ironies. Well, I may have a new one to put on the list, and it's a doozy.

In Cranston, 717 pieces...

https://i.imgur.com/19EZBfD.jpg

An upside-down table, to the right of Biechele. This may be the same table that was such a big hindrance to people exiting the front corridor. Brian Butler used...

Hi All--

RodentLady - I accidentally deleted my response to you and your Todd King announcement. Opps...so let me try again...

I was actually in West Warwick for that whole Memorial...

https://i.imgur.com/GtwSkBI.jpg
Karla Bagtaz


https://i.imgur.com/ihhVNDT.jpg
Laura Gillett


https://i.imgur.com/hZb0ZTY.jpg
Jason Morton

Dionyzus - nice hearing from you. Good luck with the move, and thanks for the new/old video.

bustakita - loved the Station-like Brazilian TV video.


--RESCUER'S CLOTHING--


1.) West...

1.) "Good, they have soundproofing now." - West Warwick P.O. Mark Knott's first thought to himself, back in 2002, after seeing the newly-installed foam behind the stage.


2.) "Who would line...

Hiya All--

Lt. Frank - Oh, you'll get your passion back. And we still need your ID-ing talents.


Anyway, here are more people I encountered at the 20th Anniversary:

-Freddy Crisostomi's...

On 2/20/03, Paul Pelletier of Pawtucket was on his second or third date with Charline Gingras-Fick (D). In the chaos inside the Station that night, they got separated near the bar windows.

On...

JXG - thanks man.

Shylurker, pkstracy, Rodentlady, and bustakita - thanks all for posting those great links.

Lt. Frank - glad to see you're alive and kicking.

Amanda - you too!


I had a...

Sunday and Monday at the Memorial were simply incredible. Met 10 survivors for the first time. Pretty emotional.
Once I get my act back together here at home I’ll start posting again.

Hi All -

RodentLady - Nice find from Lisa Scott's daughter.


Here's something curious.

At the point where The Station is engulfed in flames and beyond hope, it appears that two friends,...

Hey, Jimmy D - I was just at the Memorial this weekend, and the flags were all looking good.

I had a talk there, by the way, with Jimmy, the owner of Astro Wreckers. He hauled away half of the...

Found a picture of Mike Vargas that I'd never seen before. It’s him emerging from hell.

https://i.imgur.com/dweNydt.jpg

Season's Greetings all--

RodentLady - Nice sleuthing on the guest list. There IS a list in the RIAG materials, buried on page 6 of the 96-page folder titled, "Lead Sheets and Witnesses.pdf".
...

Remember how Daniel Biechele wrote 100 letters of apology while in detention in Florida?

Well, a family who lost their daughter shared their hand-written letter from Biechele with me.


To the...

https://i.imgur.com/gRyEXpU.jpg

Our own Lt. Frank ID-ed Jose Roberto Demos from the Butler pre-show several years ago. He's the club-goer who turns and squints into Butler's camera at about 1:53....

Frank, that really really sucks. I’m sure your brother is appreciating your presence through all this.

Welcome Sierrarose - Could you give us the time stamps for those moments that may show Albert DiBonaventura?

TommyServo - Welcome, and thanks for sharing your talents. Have you ever read the full Butler transcript that Dion posted on Google Drive some years ago now? It's under "Contents Not From Original...

Yo MoCushle86 - Glad to have you here.

Some misc. Butler notes:

--Butler was 42 years-old at the time of the fire. He was a friend of Dale Latulipee, 46, the oldest of the deceased club-goers....

Just found out that survivor Stephanie Zannella died on 3-18-22 of complications from diabetes. She was 46 years old; 25 or 26 at the time of the fire.

https://i.imgur.com/1YfC0vo.jpg

She had...

Hi all.

So, in late July, I was lucky enough to spend a good half-hour or so with Station survivor Art Zanfagna. He's currently managing a Home Depot in the middle of Rhode Island.
...

pkstracy - thanks for reposting the find-a-grave link.

Kelly110 - thanks for climbing on board.

wineandkerosene - howdy. I'm going to add some info to what you said.


...

Hi guys. Hi Amanda and Jimmy Cigar. Hope your summers are going okay.

Whenever I visit The Station Memorial Park, I'm always trying to picture where exactly the nightclub once stood.

The...

The following is from CNN on 2/21/03; these are excerpts from the transcript beginning at 6:02 am (ET)--just 7 hours after the fire.

The speakers are:
Jason Carroll - West Warwick correspondent...

Thanks RodentLady - Good catch! (I was tired that night.). Added both.

Dale Latulippe - 46 - 6/16/56
Don Roderiques - 46 - 10/8/56
Melvin Gerfin Jr. - 46 - 2/14/57

Ben Suffoletto - 43 - 3/9/59
Linda Suffoletto - 43 - 3/27/59

William Cartwright - 42 - 10/21/60...

I agree with you guys, basically. I just felt like I should show these so folks could make of them what they will. Yes, it’s a very subjective exercise.
And, opps, the last shot, at the front was...

Hi Gang--

I've been debating with myself about even posting these, but ultimately it seems that the truth is fair game and we, here, have shared everything else, so....

Using JXG's cleaned-up...

CWC - congrats, your Memorial photos came out loud and clear.

RodentLady - Fantastic. Good work! Now I can provide us with a thorough list going from oldest to youngest. Will put that up...

RodentLady-You’re so good with dates. Going nuts trying to find the birthdate for Dennis Smith (D) of Pawtucket. He was 36. And I believe he had the middle initial “J.” Have the other 99.

CWC—Confession: I only post photos now when my techy wife is around to assist me. She does a quick cleanup on photoshop for starters; then goes to the site Imgur. All I know then is that you post...

Lt. Frank - I'm glad you're out of hibernation--and are already pinpointing survivor Sam Miller!
Miller was lucky, huh? Stage manager Paul Vanner just randomly told him to follow him, and so Vanner...

That’s Dave B. Of all the survivor stories I’ve read or had told to me, Dave’s takes the cake. He was 10 to 12 feet from the plugged up doorway and was sure he was dead at 3 different points. ...

https://i.imgur.com/dKWBK15.jpg
Here we have survivor Vikki Potvin-Eagan on Larry King (CNN) on 2-9-05. She was the creator and president of the Station Family Fund. She lived a mere block from...

Subarctican - Wow, that news report had so much color I thought I was tripping.

JXG - Refresh my memory...did you ever restore the pre-show? I still mostly rely on your restorations, like, for...

Ken Campagnone of North Providence was 29 when he survived the fire. I met him at the Memorial the day after the 19th anniversary. He's a concert lighting technician who worked at Foxwoods for...

Some random notes on survivor John Fairbairn.

--His Irish surname "Fairbairn" is pronounced "Fair-BEAR-in."

--John thinks his long-sleeved dungaree shirt saved him from more serious burns. ...

CWC - at least there are no more noise complaints from the neighbors.

I’ve got way more to tell, but I have to travel for 2 days. ☹️

(cont.'d)

John Arpin confirmed to me that it was indeed his white '93 Buick Skylark (with a red interior) that was parked facing the main railing at the front doors. So it took one hell of a...

Hi all --

As soon as I returned from the 2022 anniversary, real life and taxes caught up to me. But finally, over the next few days, I want to report back on the experience. Which, for someone...

ZaraP - Welcome to you. Guess you'll have to pick up more kittens soon so you can visit the Memorial again. :)
Yeah, "Fuel Your Fire" does sound bad that close to the site. I sure hope it was...

Hiya Jimmy - hope to see you again this anniversary. I plan on being around for half of the 19th and all of the 20th.

RodentLady - first, thanks for that weird story about the guy with insurance...

Noelle - Oh I know who you’re thinking of.
You’re thinking of Al Prudhomme grabbing his wife Charlene. She’s front and center on Butler as they emerge from the hallway and have to choose between...

Hi gang--I want to share something before snow removal becomes the priority here.


On Butler's video, when we see the flow of people approaching the first pinch-point bunch up, it gets harder and...

Michael Shapiro, 32, was the lead singer and guitarist for the opening band, Trip. Before Great White took the stage, Shapiro and his band dedicated their final song to Ty Longley.

"This one's...

Subarctican - I believe this is the same Canadian show that RodentLady just tipped us off to a few posts ago. No worries, I just like seeing that nothing escapes our group efforts.
Brandon...