RI, town reach $20 million deal in club fire suits after Great White tragedy

 WHDH is reporting:

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The state of Rhode Island and the town of West Warwick have each agreed to pay $10 million to those left behind after a nightclub fire that killed 100 people, according to court documents filed Monday.

The latest settlement offers bring to nearly $175 million the total amount of money pledged to survivors and victims' relatives over the Feb. 20, 2003 fire at The Station nightclub in West Warwick.

The blaze began when pyrotechnics used by the 1980s rock band Great White ignited foam used as soundproofing on the club's walls and ceilings.

Gov. Don Carcieri and Attorney General Patrick Lynch, whose office was representing the state, did not immediately return calls seeking comment Monday. A lawyer for the town also did not return a phone message.

More than 300 survivors and victims' relatives had sued dozens of people and companies over the fourth-deadliest nightclub fire in U.S. history, and nearly all defendants, including Anheuser-Busch, Clear Channel Broadcasting and The Home Depot, have agreed to settle rather than head to trial.

None of the settlement money has been distributed yet. A Duke University law professor has met with the hundreds of people suing to calculate a formula to determine how much money each person should receive.

The settlement covers former West Warwick Fire Marshal Denis Larocque, who was roundly blamed by victims for failing to cite the club for using cheaper, flammable foam in place of typical soundproofing material despite repeated visits to the building before the fire.

Larocque has never spoken publicly, but has told investigators that he missed the foam because he was focused on a stage door that swung the wrong way and because his inspections looked more into equipment such as emergency lighting and fire extinguishers.

WHDH