Wednesday marked the fifth anniversary of the fire that took 100 lives at the Station nightclub in West Warwick. The fire, caused by a pyrotechnics show put on by the band Great White, also injured around 200. Several memorials and events, including a concert and a documentary about the fire's youngest victim, will commemorate the fire.
On Feb. 25, the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence will host the Phoenix Rising concert, a commemorative show featuring various country and rock acts, including Gretchen Wilson and Twisted Sister, whose frontman Dee Snider once performed at the Station.
Plans were unveiled Feb. 17 for a revamped Station fire memorial at the former site of the club. The memorial park's features are set to include a sculpture garden, a ripple pool and a 100-string wind harp, according to a Feb. 18 Providence Journal article.
"They Walk Among Us," a play written by Nicholas O'Neill, who was 18 when he died in the fire, was broadcast on Cox Cable channel 71 last night. O'Neill was 16 when he wrote the play, which is "about teenagers who die and come back as angels," according to his father, Dave Kane. The play has been performed locally in West Warwick in honor of O'Neill since 2004.
O'Neill's brother, Christian O'Neill, also co-produced a documentary called "41," which will air at the Cable Car Cinema and Cafe in Providence March 3 - 13.
The documentary focuses on "Nicky's life, the fire and the aftermath," Kane said. It premiered at the Woods Hole Film Festivalin August 2007.
On Feb. 13, Clear Channel Broadcasting settled to pay victims' families $22 million, according to a Feb. 14 Providence Journal article. Clear Channel owns the local radio station WHJY, which co-sponsored the Great White concert, and was held partially responsible for allowing the use of dangerous pyrotechnics, the Journal reported.
