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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports
Once Again, A Nightclub Becomes A Death Trap
Aired February 21, 2003 - 17:00 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.
WOLF BLITZER, HOST: For the second time in four days a nightclub here in the United States has become a death trap. As you say, at least 95 people are now dead after this Rhode Island nightclub turned into an inferno. Scores of survivors remain in hospitals.
Also today, an explosion, a huge explosion resuled in a fire in a fuel storage facility about in Staten Island, New York. One worker was killed. Another is missing and feared dead. We will devote a major portion of our hour today to these developments.
We begin with the fire in Rhode Island. Throughout the day the death toll has been growing by the dozens. The latest number, as we just heard from the governor, at least 95 killed, putting it among the deadliest fires in U.S. history. More than 180 people are injured, some critically.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): The nightclub called, The Station, was not filled to its capacity of 300 when the heavy metal band Great White took the stage. The band had barely started playing when, at about 11:00 p.m., someone with the group set off a display that was supposed to whip the crowd into a frenzy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just about a minute into their first song, a pyrotechnic effect went off, and caught the egg crate foam wall that lined the back of the stage.
BLITZER: As the first flames erupted, many people, including some who worked at the club, were slow to react.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think a lot of people thought it was part of the show. Because I thought if she didn't say anything to me, I wouldn't have left. I thought it was -- I really did think it was part of the show. And, you know, really I'm thankful that she did. Because, you know, I just do my thing, I walk around with my tray and I wouldn't -- I really would not have even paid a mind to it.
BLITZER: Many simply had no time to leave. Within three minutes, the entire club was engulfed in flames.
Fire officials say a huge logjam developed when many people turned and headed for the front door, the same way they came in. Some people couldn't see any exits.
CHIEF PETER BRUSO, WEST WARWICK POLICE: The heavy black smoke that was generated by the fire caused visibility problems and that could have led to people not being able to get out of the building.
BLTIZER: Most of the bodies were found near the front door, some burned others killed by smoke inhalation or trampling.
Fire and rescue teams got there in time to pulled some badly injured victims from the building. Others who got out were later seen staggering into a local triage center.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(INTERRUPTED BY CNN COVERAGE OF LIVE EVENT)
BLITZER: Let's bring in our national correspondent Bob Franken. He's on the scene for us. Bob, you were listening like all of us, it doesn't get much worse than this.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Doesn't get much worse than this. You have now a black crater, really, where a nightclub was the night before. So many people had come to hear a heavy metal concert and it ended up being a heavy tragedy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRANKEN (voice-over): The lawyers for the owners of the club, described as devastated and shocked, insisted they had no idea the performers were planning to use fireworks in their concert.
Quote -- "No permission was ever requested by the band or its agents to use pyrotechnics at the station and no permission was ever given."
That is emphatically disputed by the leader of Great White, whose lead guitarist is among the missing.
JACK RUSSELL, GREAT WHITE SINGER: This is what we have, this is what it does. Is it OK to use here or not? Some places yes, no problem. Some places say no, we can't do that. So we don't do it. It is not like a big part of the show, you know? Tonight we had the permission to do it.
FRANKEN: But the owner of the famous Stone Pony in Asbury Park, New Jersey says he, too, was surprised recently when Great White used pyrotechnics at his club without permission.
DOMENIC SANTANA, N.J. NIGHTCLUB OWNER: Not once were we told that there were going to be any pyrotechnics whatsoever.
FRANKEN: The pictures of what happened were captured by a news cameraman who happened to be in the club Thursday night.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I noticed when the pyro stopped, the flame kept going on both sides. And then on one side I noticed it come over the top. That's when I said, I have to leave. And I turned around and I said, get out. Get out. Get to the door. Get to the door.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was like a big wave of people just floating towards the front door. And then when we got to the front door, somebody fell and then everybody fell on top of them.
FRANKEN: More than 80 are hospitalized, some in critical condition. Officials are having a tough time finding out who all the victims are.
GOV. DON CARCIERI (R), RHODE ISLAND: There may be ,in some cases, that we're going to rely on DNA or some other things. But every case is different. I mean, some of the situations are just horrific.
FRANKEN: he club had recently passed a routine fire inspection.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They had several minor violations that were taken care of and once they were inspected, they met all the -- all our requirements.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FRANKEN: There will be investigations perhaps prosecutions. But right now, the community is dealing with an overwhelming tragedy and, Wolf, unspeakable grief.
BLITZER: I can't even imagine, Bob Franken. Bob and I, you and I have covered a lot of stories. This one is about as bad as it gets. Thanks, Bob, very much.
With so many dead, injured and missing, this disaster has left the town of West Warwick reeling.
CNN's Whitney Casey has that part of the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WHITNEY CASEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT(voice-over): Family members continue to search for loved ones, showing pictures of the missing and issuing poignant pleas for help.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If anyone has seen her, please call, please call.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know a girl, she's waiting to hear if her mom's in there.
CASEY: And as the death toll increases, so, too, does the tragedies reach.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know how you feel, but I just have sorrow. Very, very sad.
CASEY: Grief touching nearly everyone in this small town of nearly 35,000 just outside of Providence, Rhode Island.
Nicola Fluer (ph) and her family live right across the street from the nightclub.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here in Rhode Island, it's so small, if you're not that relative, the you know someone who knows that person. And it's really, it's just unbelievable. It's just unbelievable. I can't believe it's happening here.
CASEY: Christy Lee, Ms. Rhode Island, USA said she had many friends in the club last night. Friends she's yet to find.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now is the toughest time. Now it's the waiting game and finding out , you know, who was there that you didn't know.
CASEY (on camera): And that's where that networking that you were talking about really comes in. Everybody calling each other. Is your brother, is your friend OK? That kind of thing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My phone has not stopped ringing since 11:00 last night.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CASEY: Now as the investigation continues behind me, the governor who is on site right now, has said the most imperative thing right now is to identify these bodies. This is a -- families, as you saw in my piece, have been walking the streets of West Warwick tonight looking somewhat like nomads, asking if any body if they knows he person that they're holding up in a picture.
And in response to this, the state has set up a family assistance center just down the street. It's the hotel. The Red Cross is there. And they plan on feeding hundreds of families tonight while they wait to hear from authorities whether their loved ones were indeed inside this nightclub -- Wolf.
BLITZER: I don't blame them for being -- reeling right now in West Warwick. Whitney Casey, thanks very much.
Here is your chance to weigh in on this very sad story. Our 'Web Question of the Day" is this: "Should some one be held criminally responsible for the Rhode Island nightclub fire? Yes, no or too earlier to tell?" We'll have the results later in this broad cast. Vote at cnn.com./wolf.
While you're there, I'd like to hear from you. Send me your comments. I'll try to read some of them on the air each day at the end of this program. It's also where you can read my daily online column. Cnn.com/wolf.
Other fires going on as well. When we return, we'll talk to two men who were trapped inside the inferno. They'll give us the details how they escaped, what happened inside.
Plus, an explosion at a fuel storage facility. Thousands of gallons of gas up in flames. We'll be live in Staten Island.
And holding on to dear life. A 17-year-old girl who got a botched transplant makes a turn for the worse.
You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Survivors describe a nightmarish scene inside the club as panic spread in Rhode Island, two of those survivors joining me now.
Harold Panciera and Peter Vocatura, thanks so much.
Harold, first of all, tell us where you were and what happened to you.
HAROLD PANCIERA, SURVIVOR: We were in the bar, which is across from where the stage was, where the band was performing.
BLITZER: And what did you see happen?
PANCIERA: What we saw was, from my viewpoint, was that the bar -- from the view from the bar, the band started their first set, their first song. They had a pyrotechnics display. And flames erupted directly in back of the group, where it virtually immediately engulfed the back stage and proceeded to go through the rest of the building at a high rate of speed.
BLITZER: How far from the stage were you and how did you manage to escape?
PANCIERA: I'm sorry?
PETER VOCATURA, SURVIVOR: What's that?
BLITZER: How far from the stage were you?
PANCIERA: We were, I'd have to say, probably about 100 feet. We were in the furthest most point from the band and from the stage.
BLITZER: So you were not far away from the front door. You started running towards the front door and you managed to get out? Is that it?
VOCATURA: Actually, we took the side entrance. We were very lucky and fortunate that we were so close to the side entrance.
BLITZER: Had you been at that club, Peter, before?
VOCATURA: It's probably the second time I frequented it.
BLITZER: But you never saw any pyrotechnics displays there, either -- obviously, this time you did, but the first time you didn't.
VOCATURA: No, never, never. I would never have anticipated it.
(CROSSTALK)
VOCATURA: I'm sorry. BLITZER: Some of the survivors emerged and said they thought the fire was actually part of the act and they were confused for some precious seconds.
PANCIERA: Yes, sir, this is correct.
I believe, for the first 20 or 30 seconds or so, the patrons did think that the actual flames that were part of the -- where the fire had started was part of the act. And then immediately following, it turned into complete and total chaos and panic.
BLITZER: Peter, did you have -- who did you go to the club with and did everybody that you went with, your friends, manage to get out OK?
VOCATURA: I attended with my friend Peter and another friend of ours.
PANCIERA: We ended up meeting two friends that we knew from high school at the bar. And one of them is still in fair condition, but, luckily, he's still with us.
BLITZER: All right, we're going to have to leave it right there. Thanks to both of you, Harold and Peter. Good luck to both of you, our deepest condolences to everyone else, obviously, in West Warwick as well.
(INTERRUPTED BY CNN COVERAGE OF LIVE EVENT)
BLITZER: We're going to continue to monitor this fire. Let's give you some perspective, though, some historic perspective. There have been earlier deadly nightclub fires. One of the nation's worst was in 1944. Boston's Coconut Grove Nightclub went up in flames, killing 491 people. A May 1977 fire at the Beverly Hills Supper Club in Southgate, Kentucky, near Cincinnati, killed 167 people. And on March 25, 1990, a fire at the Happy Land Social Club in the Bronx left 87 people dead.
Investigators in the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire say several factors contributed to that tragedy, including inadequate wiring and the absence of a sprinkler system and alarm system, among other things. That was also the case in the fire at New York's Happy Land Social Club. The city had ordered the building closed for code violations.
There was another horrible fire today as well. And a year and a half after the 9/11 attacks, with an orange alert in effect, a high level of terror alert, it was an especially chilling sight for New Yorkers, a big black cloud of billowing smoke. But despite the fears and the inevitable speculation about terrorism, authorities believe today's explosion and fire at a fuel storage facility in Staten Island, New York, was the result of an accident.
CNN's Jamie Colby is standing by from New York and she has more -- Jamie.
JAMIE COLBY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, good evening, an especially tense morning here on Staten Island.
And once the enormity of the explosion and the smoke could be heard and seen, concern extended well beyond Staten Island. The fire, now contained, left one person dead, one still missing and one worker in a hospital, nearby hospital, with burns over 15 percent of his body.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COLBY (voice-over): Thick black smoke blanketed the sky over Staten Island, parts of New Jersey and Lower Manhattan after a massive explosion at an ExxonMobil storage plant.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was like just a big bang, like, sort of like an earthquake.
COLBY: The explosion occurred as a barge was halfway through unloading four million gallons of gasoline. The city feared the worst, but the mayor assured the public there was no indication of sabotage.
MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (R), MAYOR OF NEW YORK: There is absolutely no reason at the moment to believe this is anything other than a very tragic accident.
COLBY: More than 200 firefighters responded to the blaze, which was confined to the water. The barge eventually sank. A second barge on its way to the facility was rerouted.
In a statement, ExxonMobil said -- quote -- "We will begin a thorough investigation of the cause of this unfortunate accident." Only a small number of area residents were evacuated. They returned home within four hours after the fire burned itself out. Officials are investigating potential environmental damage.
BLOOMBERG: The Department of Environmental Protection is setting up monitoring stations downwind to make sure that the air is of acceptable quality.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLBY: And, as a precaution, there was a warning issued this afternoon for anyone that would be susceptible to a respiratory condition to stay inside.
Right now, the air is clear. The smoke is gone. They're still searching for that one worker, and the mayor, who came here to speak to the press as well as this community, who was very concerned because of the proximity of the storage facility to their neighborhood, telling them what they heard last week after we had gone to orange alert from the mayor: Don't worry. Go about your business -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Jamie Colby on Staten Island, thanks very much for that thorough report.
And from the frightening smoke over Staten Island to the deadly flames in a Rhode Island nightclub, the subject of fire, unfortunately, very much on all of our minds today.
Thomas Von Essen is the former commissioner of the New York Fire Department. He supervised rescues efforts after the World Trade Center attack. And he joins us now live from New York.
Commissioner, thanks very much for joining us.
When you heard about these two fires -- let's go through the Rhode Island fire, first of all -- you've been fighting fires your whole life -- what went through your mind?
THOMAS VON ESSEN, FORMER FDNY COMMISSIONER: Well, the horror that the firefighters were going to witness when they got there, their inability to save the people that they would be trying so hard to save, to get in any way they could and to get those people out.
I think the most chilling video that you've shown is that pile of people stuck in the doorway. That, I'm sure, is how a lot of people lost their lives. Just with the heat and the burns and the inability now to identify so many of them, it's a horrible sight for the firefighters and a really tragic event for the community.
BLITZER: And then, only a few hours later, that huge explosion rocked Staten Island. We've got some new pictures we want to show our viewers from the Coast Guard of what actually happened on that -- in that storage facility. Were you afraid when you first heard about this, saw this on television, this could be terrorism?
VON ESSEN: No, I really didn't think so.
Accidents like this can happen. They don't happen very often. It is a pretty safe industry. Because of the possibilities that can -- the eventual effects of these types of fire, that industry monitors itself pretty well. And I knew the firefighters would be kept away from it. The danger of further explosions, you don't want to have your troops too close to it. It was a good visibility. The smoke was going straight up.
They were able to get the boats in there and put out the structures that were on fire, some of the fire that had spread further out on the barge itself. The buildings that were around that caught fire, the firefighters were able to put out. And the main body of the fuel that burned for so long was so hot, they would not have been able to put that out. They had to let that either burn out or stop the fuel supply from wherever it was coming from.
BLITZER: Are you concerned, Commissioner -- and we only have a few seconds left -- that these kinds of clubs -- there are thousands of these clubs in every community around the United States, the clubs like that club in Rhode Island -- that there are disasters simply waiting to happen because the places are not really suited to deal with these kinds of fires?
VON ESSEN: Well, you should never have pyrotechnics, first of all, without sprinklers, without permits, without suitable construction that isn't going to cause that problem. We have clubs everywhere, and especially in all your major cities, that, at times, there are too many people in them. At times, they block the exits. That Chicago character belongs in jail. There's no question about that. This was a horrible accident, I think, last night that I'm sure there will be criminal charges made. But this club, I understand, is normally run properly. That was something that they really dropped the ball last night.
We have clubs all over that there's too many people in at certain times. The chief gave good advice. It is up to that patron. If you're in a really crowded place, think about how you're going to get out if someone starts a fight, if a fire starts, someone sprays pepper spray. You really have to think a little bit on your own about how you're going to get out if there's too many people in there.
BLITZER: Commissioner Von Essen, thanks very much. I'll see you Sunday. We'll continue this conversation on CNN's "LATE EDITION." Thanks very much for joining us.
Just days earlier, indeed, four days earlier, there was sheer panic in another nightclub, as 21 people were trampled to death in a rush for the door. CNN Chicago bureau chief Jeff Flock will join us live with an update on this horrific story.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: The inferno that killed at least 95 people last night comes less than a week after 21 died in a stampede at a Chicago nightclub.
Our bureau chief there, Jeff Flock, is joining us now live with an update on that particular disaster -- Jeff.
JEFF FLOCK, CNN CHICAGO BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Wolf, the sun is setting on a very tough week in Chicago. It is interesting to watch those images in Rhode Island. And for many people here in Chicago watching them, it made the emotion come flooding back for them.
Although it has only been five days since the nightclub tragedy here in Chicago, it is interesting to see how far this city has come.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FLOCK (voice-over): While the nation was watching another nightclub tragedy unfold, in Chicago, they've already moved to the next stage.
Attorney Robert Phillips takes us back to the E2 nightclub to check out the front door in search of evidence. This is what that door looked like early Monday morning, people piled from top to bottom. Phillips says it is smaller than city code allows, a violation he claims city inspectors failed to catch.
ROBERT PHILLIPS, ATTORNEY: Can you imagine trying to put anywhere from 500, at the lowest counts, to 1,200 through that door in an emergency situation?
FLOCK: Phillips has already gotten a judge to agree to let him and his own private investigators inside the club to gather evidence and take these pictures.
(on camera): What are we looking at here?
PHILLIPS: This is one of the back two emergency exits.
FLOCK (voice-over): The city says the club had code violations and was under court order to close. But the city failed again Friday to convince a judge to hold club owner Dwain Kyles in criminal contempt. Kyles says he had an agreement with the city to stay open and the tragedy wasn't his fault. Somebody, says lawyer Phillips, walking past a makeshift memorial outside the club, has to pay.
PHILLIPS: Thirty-four children lost fathers or mothers as a result of this tragedy.
FLOCK: Victim Deborah Gill (ph) left five children behind.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is little Ed.
FLOCK: Deborah's mother introduces us to the children that she and their fathers will now have to raise. One of the fathers, Tobare Harris (ph), was with Deborah that night. That's Tobare helping carry her to an ambulance.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wasn't breathing or nothing. So I knew she was already dead before I even touched her.
FLOCK: This is Deborah and Tobare's youngest daughter. Her name is Justice. And that's what the families of the dead are seeking.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FLOCK: And, Wolf, that legal process is now moving into high gear in Chicago. It is a process that will soon start in Rhode Island.
Perhaps we leave you with the memorial that has been set up outside E2. I wonder how long it will take before there's a memorial outside the club in Rhode Island -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Jeff Flock, our hearts go out to all those families, all those people in Chicago. Our hearts go out to all the people in Rhode Island as well. Let's hope that people learn lessons from both of these tragic nightclub disasters.
Here's how you're weighing in on our "Web Question of the Day": 64 percent of you say yes; 5 percent of you say no; 31 percent of you say it's too early to tell. Our question: Should someone be held criminally responsible for the Rhode Island nightclub fire? You can find the exact vote tally on CNN.com/Wolf. Remember, this is not a scientific poll.
Let's get to some of your e-mail.
Chris writes this: "I have been in the music production business for over 20 years and there is no way that the stage tech at the station didn't know that pyrotechnics were being used. It's the stage tech's job to know about every piece of equipment that makes its way to his stage. The only possible way that he couldn't know is if he wasn't there."
And from Ed: "My band has used pyrotechnics during performances for almost 30 years. I don't understand how a band could neglect to take precautions against something like this. We always test before, have fire extinguishers on hand, and keep special effects away from the crowd and flammable objects. It is simply common sense."
Unfortunately, it didn't happen last night in Rhode Island.
Unfortunately, we are also all out of time right now. Please join me again Sunday, much more on the fire on "LATE EDITION." That's at 12:00 noon. Also, weekdays 12:00 noon, "SHOWDOWN: IRAQ," we'll have a big week next week.
Until then, thanks very much for watching.
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Aired February 21, 2003 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, HOST: For the second time in four days a nightclub here in the United States has become a death trap. As you say, at least 95 people are now dead after this Rhode Island nightclub turned into an inferno. Scores of survivors remain in hospitals.
Also today, an explosion, a huge explosion resuled in a fire in a fuel storage facility about in Staten Island, New York. One worker was killed. Another is missing and feared dead. We will devote a major portion of our hour today to these developments.
We begin with the fire in Rhode Island. Throughout the day the death toll has been growing by the dozens. The latest number, as we just heard from the governor, at least 95 killed, putting it among the deadliest fires in U.S. history. More than 180 people are injured, some critically.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): The nightclub called, The Station, was not filled to its capacity of 300 when the heavy metal band Great White took the stage. The band had barely started playing when, at about 11:00 p.m., someone with the group set off a display that was supposed to whip the crowd into a frenzy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just about a minute into their first song, a pyrotechnic effect went off, and caught the egg crate foam wall that lined the back of the stage.
BLITZER: As the first flames erupted, many people, including some who worked at the club, were slow to react.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think a lot of people thought it was part of the show. Because I thought if she didn't say anything to me, I wouldn't have left. I thought it was -- I really did think it was part of the show. And, you know, really I'm thankful that she did. Because, you know, I just do my thing, I walk around with my tray and I wouldn't -- I really would not have even paid a mind to it.
BLITZER: Many simply had no time to leave. Within three minutes, the entire club was engulfed in flames.
Fire officials say a huge logjam developed when many people turned and headed for the front door, the same way they came in. Some people couldn't see any exits.
CHIEF PETER BRUSO, WEST WARWICK POLICE: The heavy black smoke that was generated by the fire caused visibility problems and that could have led to people not being able to get out of the building.
BLTIZER: Most of the bodies were found near the front door, some burned others killed by smoke inhalation or trampling.
Fire and rescue teams got there in time to pulled some badly injured victims from the building. Others who got out were later seen staggering into a local triage center.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(INTERRUPTED BY CNN COVERAGE OF LIVE EVENT)
BLITZER: Let's bring in our national correspondent Bob Franken. He's on the scene for us. Bob, you were listening like all of us, it doesn't get much worse than this.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Doesn't get much worse than this. You have now a black crater, really, where a nightclub was the night before. So many people had come to hear a heavy metal concert and it ended up being a heavy tragedy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRANKEN (voice-over): The lawyers for the owners of the club, described as devastated and shocked, insisted they had no idea the performers were planning to use fireworks in their concert.
Quote -- "No permission was ever requested by the band or its agents to use pyrotechnics at the station and no permission was ever given."
That is emphatically disputed by the leader of Great White, whose lead guitarist is among the missing.
JACK RUSSELL, GREAT WHITE SINGER: This is what we have, this is what it does. Is it OK to use here or not? Some places yes, no problem. Some places say no, we can't do that. So we don't do it. It is not like a big part of the show, you know? Tonight we had the permission to do it.
FRANKEN: But the owner of the famous Stone Pony in Asbury Park, New Jersey says he, too, was surprised recently when Great White used pyrotechnics at his club without permission.
DOMENIC SANTANA, N.J. NIGHTCLUB OWNER: Not once were we told that there were going to be any pyrotechnics whatsoever.
FRANKEN: The pictures of what happened were captured by a news cameraman who happened to be in the club Thursday night.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I noticed when the pyro stopped, the flame kept going on both sides. And then on one side I noticed it come over the top. That's when I said, I have to leave. And I turned around and I said, get out. Get out. Get to the door. Get to the door.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was like a big wave of people just floating towards the front door. And then when we got to the front door, somebody fell and then everybody fell on top of them.
FRANKEN: More than 80 are hospitalized, some in critical condition. Officials are having a tough time finding out who all the victims are.
GOV. DON CARCIERI (R), RHODE ISLAND: There may be ,in some cases, that we're going to rely on DNA or some other things. But every case is different. I mean, some of the situations are just horrific.
FRANKEN: he club had recently passed a routine fire inspection.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They had several minor violations that were taken care of and once they were inspected, they met all the -- all our requirements.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FRANKEN: There will be investigations perhaps prosecutions. But right now, the community is dealing with an overwhelming tragedy and, Wolf, unspeakable grief.
BLITZER: I can't even imagine, Bob Franken. Bob and I, you and I have covered a lot of stories. This one is about as bad as it gets. Thanks, Bob, very much.
With so many dead, injured and missing, this disaster has left the town of West Warwick reeling.
CNN's Whitney Casey has that part of the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WHITNEY CASEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT(voice-over): Family members continue to search for loved ones, showing pictures of the missing and issuing poignant pleas for help.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If anyone has seen her, please call, please call.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know a girl, she's waiting to hear if her mom's in there.
CASEY: And as the death toll increases, so, too, does the tragedies reach.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know how you feel, but I just have sorrow. Very, very sad.
CASEY: Grief touching nearly everyone in this small town of nearly 35,000 just outside of Providence, Rhode Island.
Nicola Fluer (ph) and her family live right across the street from the nightclub.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here in Rhode Island, it's so small, if you're not that relative, the you know someone who knows that person. And it's really, it's just unbelievable. It's just unbelievable. I can't believe it's happening here.
CASEY: Christy Lee, Ms. Rhode Island, USA said she had many friends in the club last night. Friends she's yet to find.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now is the toughest time. Now it's the waiting game and finding out , you know, who was there that you didn't know.
CASEY (on camera): And that's where that networking that you were talking about really comes in. Everybody calling each other. Is your brother, is your friend OK? That kind of thing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My phone has not stopped ringing since 11:00 last night.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CASEY: Now as the investigation continues behind me, the governor who is on site right now, has said the most imperative thing right now is to identify these bodies. This is a -- families, as you saw in my piece, have been walking the streets of West Warwick tonight looking somewhat like nomads, asking if any body if they knows he person that they're holding up in a picture.
And in response to this, the state has set up a family assistance center just down the street. It's the hotel. The Red Cross is there. And they plan on feeding hundreds of families tonight while they wait to hear from authorities whether their loved ones were indeed inside this nightclub -- Wolf.
BLITZER: I don't blame them for being -- reeling right now in West Warwick. Whitney Casey, thanks very much.
Here is your chance to weigh in on this very sad story. Our 'Web Question of the Day" is this: "Should some one be held criminally responsible for the Rhode Island nightclub fire? Yes, no or too earlier to tell?" We'll have the results later in this broad cast. Vote at cnn.com./wolf.
While you're there, I'd like to hear from you. Send me your comments. I'll try to read some of them on the air each day at the end of this program. It's also where you can read my daily online column. Cnn.com/wolf.
Other fires going on as well. When we return, we'll talk to two men who were trapped inside the inferno. They'll give us the details how they escaped, what happened inside.
Plus, an explosion at a fuel storage facility. Thousands of gallons of gas up in flames. We'll be live in Staten Island.
And holding on to dear life. A 17-year-old girl who got a botched transplant makes a turn for the worse.
You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Survivors describe a nightmarish scene inside the club as panic spread in Rhode Island, two of those survivors joining me now.
Harold Panciera and Peter Vocatura, thanks so much.
Harold, first of all, tell us where you were and what happened to you.
HAROLD PANCIERA, SURVIVOR: We were in the bar, which is across from where the stage was, where the band was performing.
BLITZER: And what did you see happen?
PANCIERA: What we saw was, from my viewpoint, was that the bar -- from the view from the bar, the band started their first set, their first song. They had a pyrotechnics display. And flames erupted directly in back of the group, where it virtually immediately engulfed the back stage and proceeded to go through the rest of the building at a high rate of speed.
BLITZER: How far from the stage were you and how did you manage to escape?
PANCIERA: I'm sorry?
PETER VOCATURA, SURVIVOR: What's that?
BLITZER: How far from the stage were you?
PANCIERA: We were, I'd have to say, probably about 100 feet. We were in the furthest most point from the band and from the stage.
BLITZER: So you were not far away from the front door. You started running towards the front door and you managed to get out? Is that it?
VOCATURA: Actually, we took the side entrance. We were very lucky and fortunate that we were so close to the side entrance.
BLITZER: Had you been at that club, Peter, before?
VOCATURA: It's probably the second time I frequented it.
BLITZER: But you never saw any pyrotechnics displays there, either -- obviously, this time you did, but the first time you didn't.
VOCATURA: No, never, never. I would never have anticipated it.
(CROSSTALK)
VOCATURA: I'm sorry. BLITZER: Some of the survivors emerged and said they thought the fire was actually part of the act and they were confused for some precious seconds.
PANCIERA: Yes, sir, this is correct.
I believe, for the first 20 or 30 seconds or so, the patrons did think that the actual flames that were part of the -- where the fire had started was part of the act. And then immediately following, it turned into complete and total chaos and panic.
BLITZER: Peter, did you have -- who did you go to the club with and did everybody that you went with, your friends, manage to get out OK?
VOCATURA: I attended with my friend Peter and another friend of ours.
PANCIERA: We ended up meeting two friends that we knew from high school at the bar. And one of them is still in fair condition, but, luckily, he's still with us.
BLITZER: All right, we're going to have to leave it right there. Thanks to both of you, Harold and Peter. Good luck to both of you, our deepest condolences to everyone else, obviously, in West Warwick as well.
(INTERRUPTED BY CNN COVERAGE OF LIVE EVENT)
BLITZER: We're going to continue to monitor this fire. Let's give you some perspective, though, some historic perspective. There have been earlier deadly nightclub fires. One of the nation's worst was in 1944. Boston's Coconut Grove Nightclub went up in flames, killing 491 people. A May 1977 fire at the Beverly Hills Supper Club in Southgate, Kentucky, near Cincinnati, killed 167 people. And on March 25, 1990, a fire at the Happy Land Social Club in the Bronx left 87 people dead.
Investigators in the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire say several factors contributed to that tragedy, including inadequate wiring and the absence of a sprinkler system and alarm system, among other things. That was also the case in the fire at New York's Happy Land Social Club. The city had ordered the building closed for code violations.
There was another horrible fire today as well. And a year and a half after the 9/11 attacks, with an orange alert in effect, a high level of terror alert, it was an especially chilling sight for New Yorkers, a big black cloud of billowing smoke. But despite the fears and the inevitable speculation about terrorism, authorities believe today's explosion and fire at a fuel storage facility in Staten Island, New York, was the result of an accident.
CNN's Jamie Colby is standing by from New York and she has more -- Jamie.
JAMIE COLBY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, good evening, an especially tense morning here on Staten Island.
And once the enormity of the explosion and the smoke could be heard and seen, concern extended well beyond Staten Island. The fire, now contained, left one person dead, one still missing and one worker in a hospital, nearby hospital, with burns over 15 percent of his body.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COLBY (voice-over): Thick black smoke blanketed the sky over Staten Island, parts of New Jersey and Lower Manhattan after a massive explosion at an ExxonMobil storage plant.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was like just a big bang, like, sort of like an earthquake.
COLBY: The explosion occurred as a barge was halfway through unloading four million gallons of gasoline. The city feared the worst, but the mayor assured the public there was no indication of sabotage.
MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (R), MAYOR OF NEW YORK: There is absolutely no reason at the moment to believe this is anything other than a very tragic accident.
COLBY: More than 200 firefighters responded to the blaze, which was confined to the water. The barge eventually sank. A second barge on its way to the facility was rerouted.
In a statement, ExxonMobil said -- quote -- "We will begin a thorough investigation of the cause of this unfortunate accident." Only a small number of area residents were evacuated. They returned home within four hours after the fire burned itself out. Officials are investigating potential environmental damage.
BLOOMBERG: The Department of Environmental Protection is setting up monitoring stations downwind to make sure that the air is of acceptable quality.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLBY: And, as a precaution, there was a warning issued this afternoon for anyone that would be susceptible to a respiratory condition to stay inside.
Right now, the air is clear. The smoke is gone. They're still searching for that one worker, and the mayor, who came here to speak to the press as well as this community, who was very concerned because of the proximity of the storage facility to their neighborhood, telling them what they heard last week after we had gone to orange alert from the mayor: Don't worry. Go about your business -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Jamie Colby on Staten Island, thanks very much for that thorough report.
And from the frightening smoke over Staten Island to the deadly flames in a Rhode Island nightclub, the subject of fire, unfortunately, very much on all of our minds today.
Thomas Von Essen is the former commissioner of the New York Fire Department. He supervised rescues efforts after the World Trade Center attack. And he joins us now live from New York.
Commissioner, thanks very much for joining us.
When you heard about these two fires -- let's go through the Rhode Island fire, first of all -- you've been fighting fires your whole life -- what went through your mind?
THOMAS VON ESSEN, FORMER FDNY COMMISSIONER: Well, the horror that the firefighters were going to witness when they got there, their inability to save the people that they would be trying so hard to save, to get in any way they could and to get those people out.
I think the most chilling video that you've shown is that pile of people stuck in the doorway. That, I'm sure, is how a lot of people lost their lives. Just with the heat and the burns and the inability now to identify so many of them, it's a horrible sight for the firefighters and a really tragic event for the community.
BLITZER: And then, only a few hours later, that huge explosion rocked Staten Island. We've got some new pictures we want to show our viewers from the Coast Guard of what actually happened on that -- in that storage facility. Were you afraid when you first heard about this, saw this on television, this could be terrorism?
VON ESSEN: No, I really didn't think so.
Accidents like this can happen. They don't happen very often. It is a pretty safe industry. Because of the possibilities that can -- the eventual effects of these types of fire, that industry monitors itself pretty well. And I knew the firefighters would be kept away from it. The danger of further explosions, you don't want to have your troops too close to it. It was a good visibility. The smoke was going straight up.
They were able to get the boats in there and put out the structures that were on fire, some of the fire that had spread further out on the barge itself. The buildings that were around that caught fire, the firefighters were able to put out. And the main body of the fuel that burned for so long was so hot, they would not have been able to put that out. They had to let that either burn out or stop the fuel supply from wherever it was coming from.
BLITZER: Are you concerned, Commissioner -- and we only have a few seconds left -- that these kinds of clubs -- there are thousands of these clubs in every community around the United States, the clubs like that club in Rhode Island -- that there are disasters simply waiting to happen because the places are not really suited to deal with these kinds of fires?
VON ESSEN: Well, you should never have pyrotechnics, first of all, without sprinklers, without permits, without suitable construction that isn't going to cause that problem. We have clubs everywhere, and especially in all your major cities, that, at times, there are too many people in them. At times, they block the exits. That Chicago character belongs in jail. There's no question about that. This was a horrible accident, I think, last night that I'm sure there will be criminal charges made. But this club, I understand, is normally run properly. That was something that they really dropped the ball last night.
We have clubs all over that there's too many people in at certain times. The chief gave good advice. It is up to that patron. If you're in a really crowded place, think about how you're going to get out if someone starts a fight, if a fire starts, someone sprays pepper spray. You really have to think a little bit on your own about how you're going to get out if there's too many people in there.
BLITZER: Commissioner Von Essen, thanks very much. I'll see you Sunday. We'll continue this conversation on CNN's "LATE EDITION." Thanks very much for joining us.
Just days earlier, indeed, four days earlier, there was sheer panic in another nightclub, as 21 people were trampled to death in a rush for the door. CNN Chicago bureau chief Jeff Flock will join us live with an update on this horrific story.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: The inferno that killed at least 95 people last night comes less than a week after 21 died in a stampede at a Chicago nightclub.
Our bureau chief there, Jeff Flock, is joining us now live with an update on that particular disaster -- Jeff.
JEFF FLOCK, CNN CHICAGO BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Wolf, the sun is setting on a very tough week in Chicago. It is interesting to watch those images in Rhode Island. And for many people here in Chicago watching them, it made the emotion come flooding back for them.
Although it has only been five days since the nightclub tragedy here in Chicago, it is interesting to see how far this city has come.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FLOCK (voice-over): While the nation was watching another nightclub tragedy unfold, in Chicago, they've already moved to the next stage.
Attorney Robert Phillips takes us back to the E2 nightclub to check out the front door in search of evidence. This is what that door looked like early Monday morning, people piled from top to bottom. Phillips says it is smaller than city code allows, a violation he claims city inspectors failed to catch.
ROBERT PHILLIPS, ATTORNEY: Can you imagine trying to put anywhere from 500, at the lowest counts, to 1,200 through that door in an emergency situation?
FLOCK: Phillips has already gotten a judge to agree to let him and his own private investigators inside the club to gather evidence and take these pictures.
(on camera): What are we looking at here?
PHILLIPS: This is one of the back two emergency exits.
FLOCK (voice-over): The city says the club had code violations and was under court order to close. But the city failed again Friday to convince a judge to hold club owner Dwain Kyles in criminal contempt. Kyles says he had an agreement with the city to stay open and the tragedy wasn't his fault. Somebody, says lawyer Phillips, walking past a makeshift memorial outside the club, has to pay.
PHILLIPS: Thirty-four children lost fathers or mothers as a result of this tragedy.
FLOCK: Victim Deborah Gill (ph) left five children behind.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is little Ed.
FLOCK: Deborah's mother introduces us to the children that she and their fathers will now have to raise. One of the fathers, Tobare Harris (ph), was with Deborah that night. That's Tobare helping carry her to an ambulance.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wasn't breathing or nothing. So I knew she was already dead before I even touched her.
FLOCK: This is Deborah and Tobare's youngest daughter. Her name is Justice. And that's what the families of the dead are seeking.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FLOCK: And, Wolf, that legal process is now moving into high gear in Chicago. It is a process that will soon start in Rhode Island.
Perhaps we leave you with the memorial that has been set up outside E2. I wonder how long it will take before there's a memorial outside the club in Rhode Island -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Jeff Flock, our hearts go out to all those families, all those people in Chicago. Our hearts go out to all the people in Rhode Island as well. Let's hope that people learn lessons from both of these tragic nightclub disasters.
Here's how you're weighing in on our "Web Question of the Day": 64 percent of you say yes; 5 percent of you say no; 31 percent of you say it's too early to tell. Our question: Should someone be held criminally responsible for the Rhode Island nightclub fire? You can find the exact vote tally on CNN.com/Wolf. Remember, this is not a scientific poll.
Let's get to some of your e-mail.
Chris writes this: "I have been in the music production business for over 20 years and there is no way that the stage tech at the station didn't know that pyrotechnics were being used. It's the stage tech's job to know about every piece of equipment that makes its way to his stage. The only possible way that he couldn't know is if he wasn't there."
And from Ed: "My band has used pyrotechnics during performances for almost 30 years. I don't understand how a band could neglect to take precautions against something like this. We always test before, have fire extinguishers on hand, and keep special effects away from the crowd and flammable objects. It is simply common sense."
Unfortunately, it didn't happen last night in Rhode Island.
Unfortunately, we are also all out of time right now. Please join me again Sunday, much more on the fire on "LATE EDITION." That's at 12:00 noon. Also, weekdays 12:00 noon, "SHOWDOWN: IRAQ," we'll have a big week next week.
Until then, thanks very much for watching.
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