Rhode Island Fire

CerealKiller · 02-26-2003, 05:32 PM

Found out today a member of my gym was killed in the Rhode Island fire. The local paper is doing articles with pictures on all the victims and I recognized her picture in the paper. Her name was Lisa D'Andrea and was a teacher originally from California.

The only conversation I ever had with her was regarding knee surgery she had a few years ago. It was truly inspirational to see her show up at the gym at 5AM with a giant knee brace while she was rehabilitating herself. She was a regular early morning gym member and was well liked by many and worked hard on her cardio and weight training.

While I didn't know her well at all (I didn't even know her name) she was part of my life. One of the many we take for granted that we see everyday but never really get to know. Rest in Peace Lisa.

John Promise · 02-26-2003, 06:15 PM

That truly sucks when it's good people like that who die in these tragedies. A guy at work almost lost his girlfriend in that. She went with a couple friends. The friends left the second the blaze started, but she stayed thinking it was part of the show like everyone else. She did get out and will live, but it sounds like her burns were bad.

The sickest part of that is the lawyers already talking about suing everyone. I posted this on another forum. Not sure if you saw it, but Channel 10 news had a laywer on the other night talking about how the pyrotechnic manufacturers and distributers could be held liable as well as manufacturers of the various building materials...People like this should be locked in a nightclub while it's set ablaze. They also interviewed a priest on Friday who went on and on about the cars in the lot...No, the cars are not the tragedy, the people inside were the tragedy! Gah! And now we're going to watch the band, the club owners and the Attorney General in a tug of war over who to blame. It's incredibly sad how human suffering brings the lowest scum from out the woodwork.

Sorry for the tangent. I know it wasn't a close loss, but it's sad nonetheless and I want to offer my condolences.

LethalGunz34 · 02-26-2003, 06:17 PM

That's sad, bro. A person from my gym died on Sept. 11 at the WTC.

CerealKiller · 02-26-2003, 06:23 PM

I hear you John. Enough lifes have been ruined without deciding on who is to be prosecuted. Sometimes things are just accidents and it is better to leave them as such instead of ruining more lifes by putting people in jail for their degligence.

Buff_Daddy · 02-26-2003, 06:31 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by CerealKiller
I hear you John. Enough lifes have been ruined without deciding on who is to be prosecuted. Sometimes things are just accidents and it is better to leave them as such instead of ruining more lifes by putting people in jail for their degligence.

well if i knew someone who died in that fire id be upset of the building lack of safety regulations and the bands pyrotechnics display which was supposed to have been forbidden

CerealKiller · 02-26-2003, 06:39 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Buff_Daddy
well if i knew someone who died in that fire id be upset of the building lack of safety regulations and the bands pyrotechnics display which was supposed to have been forbidden

Plenty of blame to go around including the government not requiring a sprinkler system because of the size of the building. Attorney Generals office is looking for someone to blame to give the public the impression that justice will be served.

Buff_Daddy · 02-26-2003, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by CerealKiller
Plenty of blame to go around including the government not requiring a sprinkler system because of the size of the building. Attorney Generals office is looking for someone to blame to give the public the impression that justice will be served.

im not saying someone should be held accountable.. but if there was wrong doing then some action should be taken... if the building was within regulations and the band had permission for the display, then thats fine

CerealKiller · 02-26-2003, 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Buff_Daddy
im not saying someone should be held accountable.. but if there was wrong doing then some action should be taken... if the building was within regulations and the band had permission for the display, then thats fine

I hate to see people charged and more lifes ruined for something that is clearly an accident.

Buff_Daddy · 02-26-2003, 07:07 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by CerealKiller
I hate to see people charged and more lifes ruined for something that is clearly an accident.

of course its an accident...thats not in dispute... your logic is an accident = no investigation ?

CerealKiller · 02-26-2003, 07:38 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Buff_Daddy
of course its an accident...thats not in dispute... your logic is an accident = no investigation ?

My logic is a lot of people are at fault, but for the club owner or band to serve prison time in this case would only serve law enforcement agencies justifications of their own jobs, while they won't go after lawmakers or the fire marshal criminally who were also negligeble. Seems hypocritcal to me to blame one party and not another when somebody surely will be charged.

RedheadHardBody · 02-26-2003, 07:42 PM

The nightclub owners and the band will be facing criminal charges. Arson, manslaughter, murder charges is what they will all be facing after all is said and done.

CerealKiller · 02-26-2003, 07:46 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by RedheadHardBody
The nightclub owners and the band will be facing criminal charges. Arson, manslaughter, murder charges is what they will all be facing after all is said and done.

And the fire marshal will be home for dinner at 5.

Buff_Daddy · 02-26-2003, 08:50 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by CerealKiller
And the fire marshal will be home for dinner at 5.

i dont understand your point... please explain... im not trying to be a smartass, im just wondering if theres some info i missed out on?

CerealKiller · 02-27-2003, 07:27 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Buff_Daddy
i dont understand your point... please explain... im not trying to be a smartass, im just wondering if theres some info i missed out on?

The club passed a fire inspection in January. If the material that caught fire was so dangerously flammable shouldn't that have been detected and corrected ?

The club also does not require by law to have a sprinkler sytem due to the square footage of the building. (stupid law)

What will happen is some kind of criminal negligence charge will be levied against the club owner and the band, yet the morons who legislated the law about the sprinkler system won't be prosecuted and the fire marshal wouldn't be held accountable.

EngineThatCould · 02-27-2003, 07:36 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by CerealKiller
The club passed a fire inspection in January. If the material that caught fire was so dangerously flammable shouldn't that have been detected and corrected ?

The club also does not require by law to have a sprinkler sytem due to the square footage of the building. (stupid law)

What will happen is some kind of criminal negligence charge will be levied against the club owner and the band, yet the morons who legislated the law about the sprinkler system won't be prosecuted and the fire marshal wouldn't be held accountable.

Bump on that! There is no such thing as being too safe. The reason we have codes is for public safety. Why a sprinkler system is not required for a building that can hold up to 300+ people is beyond me.

Buff_Daddy · 02-27-2003, 03:53 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by CerealKiller
The club passed a fire inspection in January. If the material that caught fire was so dangerously flammable shouldn't that have been detected and corrected ?

The club also does not require by law to have a sprinkler sytem due to the square footage of the building. (stupid law)

What will happen is some kind of criminal negligence charge will be levied against the club owner and the band, yet the morons who legislated the law about the sprinkler system won't be prosecuted and the fire marshal wouldn't be held accountable.

now i see what you mean... yeh it is disappointing

John Promise · 02-27-2003, 04:10 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by CerealKiller
The club passed a fire inspection in January. If the material that caught fire was so dangerously flammable shouldn't that have been detected and corrected ?

The club also does not require by law to have a sprinkler sytem due to the square footage of the building. (stupid law)

What will happen is some kind of criminal negligence charge will be levied against the club owner and the band, yet the morons who legislated the law about the sprinkler system won't be prosecuted and the fire marshal wouldn't be held accountable.

Also, the building was built before the sprinkler regulations, so it's grandfathered in and doesn't have to have them.

Also these pyrotechnic displays occur all the time...The band, Great White themselves have done this many times. So why should anyone face criminal charges for something that's standard practice?

Also, there's evidence that this particular club has hosted pyrotechnic displays in the past without problem. So why should the owners be held criminally responsible for a freak accident?

True, this kind of show is stupid for an indoor venue, but the government has so far turned a blind eye to it, basically OKing it. Why should the govt. now turn around and say this isn't OK just because people died?

The owners and the band should be held financially responsible to the survivors and the family members. But to make them criminally responsible is insane.

Do you remember the car-jacking murders a couple years ago? This reminds me of that incident. The victim's families wanted the killers to get the death penalty, but RI doesn't have the death penalty. So what do the families do? They go crying that they want the feds involved and have it turned into a federal case so the death penalty can be sought. WTF! I'm all for the death penalty, but you can't go around changing the laws after the crime's been committed...it's unconstitutional! Rhode Island's laws are set up a certain way. If you don't like it either work to change it or go somewhere else, but don't cry about it when it's too late.

CerealKiller · 02-27-2003, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by John Promise
Also, the building was built before the sprinkler regulations, so it's grandfathered in and doesn't have to have them.

Also these pyrotechnic displays occur all the time...The band, Great White themselves have done this many times. So why should anyone face criminal charges for something that's standard practice?

Also, there's evidence that this particular club has hosted pyrotechnic displays in the past without problem. So why should the owners be held criminally responsible for a freak accident?

True, this kind of show is stupid for an indoor venue, but the government has so far turned a blind eye to it, basically OKing it. Why should the govt. now turn around and say this isn't OK just because people died?

The owners and the band should be held financially responsible to the survivors and the family members. But to make them criminally responsible is insane.

Do you remember the car-jacking murders a couple years ago? This reminds me of that incident. The victim's families wanted the killers to get the death penalty, but RI doesn't have the death penalty. So what do the families do? They go crying that they want the feds involved and have it turned into a federal case so the death penalty can be sought. WTF! I'm all for the death penalty, but you can't go around changing the laws after the crime's been committed...it's unconstitutional! Rhode Island's laws are set up a certain way. If you don't like it either work to change it or go somewhere else, but don't cry about it when it's too late.

All good points John.