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December 15, 2006

Update: Station evidence: A network of emergency calls

Audio files released by the Attorney General's Office today provide chilling detail of the emergency personnel response in the minutes after the deadly fire at The Station nightclub was reported on the night of Feb. 20, 2003.

The files marked "Warwick police logs" contain more than two hours of communication between police from various communities called in to help West Warwick contain the blaze.

Dispatchers relayed bits of information as it became available. It didn't take long to learn how serious the situation was.

"Can we have some units at the Filling Station, they're having a stampede," says a female dispatcher, referring to the club's former name. "There's a fire and they're having a stampede."

Soon after the initial call, the dispatcher learned that people may have been injured:

"We've got a fire at the nightclub at the Filling Station on Cowesett Avenue...Large crowd, several injuries...Reportedly fire in progress, several people trapped inside the nightclub."

About 10 minutes after the beginning of the transmission, the severity of the fire started to become apparent:

"We've got 200 people trapped inside the building, The Station on Cowesett."

And more:

"West Warwick's just called for as many cars as possible...As many units as possible."

-- projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples

Posted by Steve Peoples  at 1:52 PM | Permalink

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