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February 1, 2007

Station: Jeffrey Derderian says pyro not OK'd

Image shows the top of the first page of Jeffrey Derderian's statement.

Station co-owner Jeffrey Derderian, in a statement to the police, said neither he nor his brother, Michael, gave permission for pyrotechnics to be used by Great White.

But Great White tour manager Daniel Biechele and leader Jack Russell, in their statements to the police, claimed the band had permission.

"At no time did I or my brother authorize or OK the use of any sparkle material or pyro by the band Great White," Derderian wrote in a 3-page witness statement for the West Warwick Police Department.

Derderian's witness statement was not released by the attorney general's office, but Derderian released it to the Journal at the Journal's request.

Read: Page One of his statement / Page Two / Page 3

Derderian acknowledges, in the statement, that his brother had several conversations with Great White's tour manager about topics including playing time, hotel rooms and food, but he makes no mention of pyrotechnics.

Biechele claimed that Michael Derderian gave him permission to use pyrotechnics during a telephone conversation about a week before the tragic night.

Biechele also said Jeffrey Derderian was standing near the stage while the pyrotechnics were being set up.

Derderian wrote that he was working at the main bar when the club caught fire. He said the band started playing around 11 a.m., and he saw flames coming from the stage shortly after they started.

Derderian said he grabbed a fire extinguisher, handed it to someone then "went to the entrance to help people get out of the building."

The club owner wrote that he believed the club's capacity was 350 to 400. He wrote that there were 250 to 260 people inside the building when he checked the club's door clicker some time around 10 p.m.

In a February 2004 report, the Journal established that 440 people were inside the club. The club's capacity, set by the town, was 404.

The statements by Russell and White were among the documents released today by the Rhode Island Attorney General's Office.

Posted by Jack Perry  at 10:07 AM | Permalink

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