Pyrotechnic firm said it warned band

The owner of the company that supplied the pyrotechnic devices that ignited the deadly Station nightclub fire told a Rhode Island grand jury he had warned the band's manager to "stay away" from using the equipment because some clubs were too small for safe use.

Randy Bast, owner of High-Tech Special Effects in Memphis, told the grand jury he had tried to persuade Daniel Biechele, manager of the Great White rock band, to purchase nonigniting devices for the band's concert tour, which began a month before the West Warwick fire that killed 100 people Feb. 20, 2003.

"I told him to stay away from pyrotechnic devices," Bast said. "He had indicated to me that they were going into smaller venues, and I tried to put him towards" nonigniting equipment.

Biechele, however, went ahead and purchased $1,743 worth of the devices -- called gerbs in the business -- which produce a 15-foot spray of sparks for 15 seconds. Biechele also disregarded his directives, Bast said, that the devices be ignited by a licensed technician, that local fire officials approve their use, and that fire extinguishers be readily available.

The gerbs used the night of the fire ignited flammable soundproofing that covered the stage area, setting off a blaze that quickly spread throughout the room, engulfing patrons and staff in thick, black smoke within three minutes.

Bast's testimony, which was given in June 2003, less than four months after the worst fire in Rhode Island's history and the nation's fourth most deadly, was part of more than 10,000 pages of transcripts and witness statements released yesterday by the office of Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch.

The transcripts, which provide new details of evidence gathered by investigators, were released after Lynch's office reached plea bargains with the three defendants, Biechele and Michael and Jeffrey Derderian, the two brothers who owned the nightclub.

Lynch, who was criticized by some victims' families for not bringing charges against others, including West Warwick's fire marshal and Great White band members, said in a statement that he regretted that the release of the transcripts could cause families further pain.

"As I have done from the start of this process, we are trying to our utmost to balance their sensitivities and feelings with our obligations pursuant to Rhode Island's open government laws," Lynch said.

The grand jury met for more than 10 months before indicting Biechele and the Derderians, each on 100 counts of involuntary manslaughter. All pleaded guilty to the charges last year. Biechele and Michael Derderian, who managed the club, were sentenced to four years in prison, while Jeffrey Derderian, who also worked as a television reporter, was sentenced to serve 500 hours of community service.

Some families who lost loved ones in the blaze said they would examine the transcripts for new information to help them in civil suits they have filed in US District Court in Providence.

Kris Fontaine of Johnston said she hopes the records will shed light on questions about the death of her 29-year-old son, Mark .

"It doesn't ease any of the pain that we've gone through, but I think it will confirm our suspicions about just who is responsible," she said yesterday. But, she added, "I don't think we'll ever get justice."

Others said they were overwhelmed by the grisly details that have been revealed steadily over the past four years.

"I just don't know why they are releasing this stuff, over and over again, especially so close to the anniversary," said Richard LaPierre of Oxford, who lost his son, Keith LaPierre , 29, in the blaze.

"My son left a wife and two kids, one he never even got to see because he was born four days after his funeral," said LaPierre, whose family has filed a civil suit in the case. "I don't think I'll read any of it. It's been too difficult."

Among disclosures in the documents released yesterday:

Biechele acknowledged after the fire that he had not been formally trained in the use of pyrotechnics. While he had used such devices with other rock groups, Biechele told police he had been taught how to set up and ignite the gerbs during a one-hour session in Los Angeles with a man whose name he could only recall as Hutch.

Biechele and Great White lead singer Jack Russell said in separate statements to police that Michael Derderian had approved use of the pyrotechnic devices about a week before the show, and that Jeffrey Derderian had witnessed Biechele setting up the gerbs onstage. In a three-page statement to West Warwick police, however, Jeffrey Derderian denied that he or his brother had given permission.

The grand jurors wanted to consult an independent legal adviser on whether West Warwick Fire Marshal Denis P. Larocque could be indicted for failing to detect the flammable soundproofing, which was installed in 2000, on the bandstand's wall, during several inspections. But prosecutors informed them that Rhode Island state law prohibits bringing criminal charges against fire marshals unless it can be determined that they were guilty of "bad faith" in carrying out their duties.

The owner of the foam company that sold the soundproofing to the Derderians said he did not believe the brothers had been informed that the material was not fire retardant when they ordered it in June 2000. Aram DerManouelian, president of American Foam Co. of Johnston, R.I., testified that he doubted that he included a warning in the shipment of 25 blocks of foam about its flammability.

The medical examiner who conducted autopsies on the dead said most died of smoke inhalation or carbon monoxide poisoning. "In most fire deaths what people die of is not the actual flame, but they die of the atmosphere," said Dr. Elizabeth Lapostata, then Rhode Island's state medical examiner.

Some families of the dead and survivors reached yesterday declined to comment because they are negotiating civil suits.

"I can't really say much about that right now," said David Malagrino , who spent 32 days in the hospital battling infections and burns he sustained in the blaze. "I wouldn't wish what I went through on anybody. We're fighting to get by every day, just like everyone else."

Charles Sweet, 72, of Pembroke said he has not decided whether he'll file a civil suit in the death of his son Shawn Sweet, 28, but he will read the documents.

"West Warwick has an awful lot of answers to come up with," Sweet said. "The building inspector, the fire marshal, the fire inspector, these guys are walking free. I hold them accountable."

Stephen Kurkjian can be reached at kurkjian@globe.com. Megan Tench can be reached at tench@globe.com.