Club Fire Tragedy
OSHA Fines Derderians company and Great White touring company
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) _ Six months after the nightclub fire that killed 100 people, the federal agency that regulates workplace safety has fined the club's owners and the entity that owns the
band Great White nearly $100,000.
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined Derco LLC, which was doing business as The Station, $85,200 for one ``willful'' violation and six serious ones.
OSHA said the willful violation, which carried a $70,000 penalty, was the installation of an exit door that swung the wrong way. The agency defines willful violations as those ``committed
with intentional disregard of, or plain indifference to, the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and regulations.''
The other violations involved the placement of ``highly flammable foam'' on an exit door and surrounding walls, inadequate safety planning and the failure to train employees for emergencies,
the agency said.
Attorneys for club owners Jeffrey and Michael Derderian did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
Jack Russell Touring Inc., the corporate entity for Great White, faces a $7,000 fine for failing to protect employees from fire hazards, OSHA said.
Specifically, OSHA charges the band stored unused pyrotechnics too close to those being fired, did not have a plan for the pyrotechnics' use, did not have the proper pyrotechnic operator
licensing, and didn't separate the pyrotechnics from the audience by the minimum 15 feet.
A local attorney for Jack Russell, the band's lead singer, said he had not seen the citation and could not comment. A Los Angeles-based attorney for the band could not be reached for
comment before business hours.
Great White was playing at The Station on Feb. 20 when its pyrotechnic display started the blaze that killed 100 people and injured nearly 200 others. Among the dead were seven employees _
four of The Station, one from the band, and two work from other business working at the club that night.
The businesses have 15 days to appeal the proposed penalties.
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