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CNN Saturday Morning News
Who Is to Blame for Rhode Island Nightclub Fire?
Aired February 22, 2003 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Ninety-six people died in the Rhode Island nightclub fire Thursday night, but only nine of the bodies have so far been identified.
At issue now, just who is to blame for the fire? The lead singer of the band Great White said they had permission to use the pyrotechnics that ended up causing the fatal fire, but the owners of that club say no permission was given.
Joining us now from west Warwick is our Whitney Casey. Good morning once again, Whitney.
WHITNEY CASEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.
And from the beginning, the governor has underscored the importance of identifying the victims here, but it's a daunting task, because there are now 87 victims that are still unidentified. He said the death toll is 96 right now, and he says that he thinks it will remain that, barring anything that may happen in local hospitals with 25 people in critical condition and 180 people that have also been admitted to hospitals here.
Now, the governor spoke just moments earlier, and he said that the scene behind me is no longer a search-and-recovery scene, it is now an investigation scene. But he did say that the most important thing here is not the investigation, it is finding the identity.
And as we've been standing here, we've seen many family members that have come here bringing pictures. Just moments ago, some family members brought a picture of this young woman. Her name is Ann. And they're looking for her. They saw her, actually, in the video. They said that she was -- they could identify her in the video that we've been showing, and she was right at the front of the stage.
So you see that family members are continuing to look for relatives, because they really have no answers. What the governor has asked family members to do is go to the family assistance center and bring things like dental records. He says dental records are the most important. In addition to that, he's also asking for hairbrushes, toothbrushes, and DNA records, if they cannot use dental records.
But we spoke with him earlier, and this is what he had to say why dental records would expedite the process.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GOV. DON CARCIERI, RHODE ISLAND: We need the dental information for each of their loved ones so that we can make certain we've gotten to those dentists and gotten the information that we need, so that these teams can go to work. My understanding, that would be the fastest way to identify a number of the bodies.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASEY: Now, the investigation continues here. I also just spoke with the attorney general here. He said that the band continues to maintain that they had permission to use the pyrotechnics here, and that the club owners continue to say that they did not.
He is also investigating all of the other venues that Great White has played at that have called to say that, again, the band did not have permission to use the pyrotechnics at their venues either, Heidi.
COLLINS: All right, Whitney. We are going to be talking a little bit later about those legal issues. Whitney Casey live from Rhode Island today. Thanks.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired February 22, 2003 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Ninety-six people died in the Rhode Island nightclub fire Thursday night, but only nine of the bodies have so far been identified.
At issue now, just who is to blame for the fire? The lead singer of the band Great White said they had permission to use the pyrotechnics that ended up causing the fatal fire, but the owners of that club say no permission was given.
Joining us now from west Warwick is our Whitney Casey. Good morning once again, Whitney.
WHITNEY CASEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.
And from the beginning, the governor has underscored the importance of identifying the victims here, but it's a daunting task, because there are now 87 victims that are still unidentified. He said the death toll is 96 right now, and he says that he thinks it will remain that, barring anything that may happen in local hospitals with 25 people in critical condition and 180 people that have also been admitted to hospitals here.
Now, the governor spoke just moments earlier, and he said that the scene behind me is no longer a search-and-recovery scene, it is now an investigation scene. But he did say that the most important thing here is not the investigation, it is finding the identity.
And as we've been standing here, we've seen many family members that have come here bringing pictures. Just moments ago, some family members brought a picture of this young woman. Her name is Ann. And they're looking for her. They saw her, actually, in the video. They said that she was -- they could identify her in the video that we've been showing, and she was right at the front of the stage.
So you see that family members are continuing to look for relatives, because they really have no answers. What the governor has asked family members to do is go to the family assistance center and bring things like dental records. He says dental records are the most important. In addition to that, he's also asking for hairbrushes, toothbrushes, and DNA records, if they cannot use dental records.
But we spoke with him earlier, and this is what he had to say why dental records would expedite the process.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GOV. DON CARCIERI, RHODE ISLAND: We need the dental information for each of their loved ones so that we can make certain we've gotten to those dentists and gotten the information that we need, so that these teams can go to work. My understanding, that would be the fastest way to identify a number of the bodies.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASEY: Now, the investigation continues here. I also just spoke with the attorney general here. He said that the band continues to maintain that they had permission to use the pyrotechnics here, and that the club owners continue to say that they did not.
He is also investigating all of the other venues that Great White has played at that have called to say that, again, the band did not have permission to use the pyrotechnics at their venues either, Heidi.
COLLINS: All right, Whitney. We are going to be talking a little bit later about those legal issues. Whitney Casey live from Rhode Island today. Thanks.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
