February 20, 2003: The Station Nightclub Fire

February 20, 2003: A fire breaks out at The Station, a nightclub in West Warwick, Rhode Island, during a concert by heavy metal band Great White. There were 100 deaths, and 230 injuries.

The fire was started when Daniel Bichele, Great White's tour manager, ignited a pyrotechnic display. It ignited flammable acoustic foam in the walls and ceilings surrounding the stage. Within 6 minutes, the entire building was engulfed in flames.

Biechele plead guilty to 100 counts of involuntary manslaughter, and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. He served 2, after some families of the victims supported his parole. The brothers Jeffrey and Michael Derderian, owners of The Station, pleaded no contest, and avoided a trial. Michael served 2 years, and Jeffrey was sentenced to 500 hours of community service.

Station Fire Memorial Park opened in 2017, as a memorial on the site of The Station.

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February 20, 2003 was a Thursday. Singer and actress Olivia Rodrigo was born on this day.

Baseball and football were out of season. There were 3 games played in the NBA:

* The New Jersey Nets beat the Indiana Pacers, 98-91 at the Continental Airlines Arena at the Meadowlands. Jason Kidd scored 31 points.

* The Dallas Mavericks beat the San Antonio Spurs, 95-87 at the American Airlines Arena in Dallas.

* And the Sacramento Kings beat the Boston Celtics, 105-83 at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento.

And there were 8 games played in the NHL:

* The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Los Angeles Kings, 5-0 at the First Union Center (now the Xfinity Mobile Arena) in Philadelphia.

* The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Washington Capitals, 6-2 at the MCI Center (now the Capital One Arena) in Washington.

* The Nashville Predators beat the Calgary Flames, 4-1 at the Gaylord Entertainment Center (now the Bridgestone Arena) in Nashville.

* The Florida Panthers beat the Ottawa Senators, 4-3 at the Corel Centre (now the Canadian Tire Centre) in Ottawa.

* The Colorado Avalanche beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 5-2 at the Consol Energy Center (now the PPG Paints Arena) in Pittsburgh.

* The Detroit Red Wings beat the Edmonton Oilers, 6-2 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.

* The Phoenix Coyotes beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 2-1 at the United Center in Chicago.

* And the Vancouver Canucks beat the St. Louis Blues, 4-2 at the Savvis Center (now the Enterprise Center) in St. Louis.