Station Nightclub Fire Survivor Releases Self-Published Memoir

Monday, June 29, 2015

Patrick Sargent, GoLocalProv Contributor

It’s been more than twelve years since the Station Nightclub fire in West Warwick, RI took the lives of 100 people in February 2003. Since then, Mike Ricardi has been working on telling the story of his own experience in the fire, the loss of his friend Jim Gahan to the fire, and how that one night changed his life forever.

Last week, Ricardi released his self-published memoir Just A Thought Away: A true story of Friendship, Tragedy, and the Will to Carry on, as told by a Station Nightclub Survivor.

The memoir tells the story of the days leading up to the fire, the day and night of the fire and the days and years that have followed. For the past ten years, Ricardi has been working on the book in one way or another.

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“A few years after the fire, it was just a thought. I didn’t have any big plans to write it then. A couple years later, somewhere between 2008 and 2009, is when I really had the idea to write a book. I didn’t quite know then what angle I would want to take yet,” said Ricardi, a lifelong resident of Worcester. “I was so fixated on the fire itself and the legal aspect of it, that I knew that alone could have carried it itself. But I wanted it to be about something deeper. So I started to consider why we were even there that night. And in the last year and a half, I had a structure for it and I said I really have to get this done.”

What Happened That Night

Ricardi and Gahan were there to interview Great White guitarist Jack Russell. As students at Nichols College, the two were co-hosts of ‘Jim and Mikey’s Power Hour’ for the college’s radio station. Since Nichols was in the process of applying for a much more powerful license from the FCC, their advisor told them they should go on the road, cover shows and interview bands to get the station name out there.

Great White was only the second interview they did.

“From there I looked back to how we even got a radio show in the first place. We had the same interest in music. He (Gahan) introduced himself to me when he saw me wearing a Poison T-shirt. So remembering that, I said to myself ‘Ok, I’m onto something here,’” said Ricardi. “I can chronicle this. I wanted it to be more than just about the fire. It had to be how we got there that night, what was the process that put us there. I knew the fire had to play an integral part in it, but I had a lot more to talk about before it and more to talk about after it.”

The fire was caused by pyrotechnics set off by Daniel Biechele, tour manager of the band Great White. The pyrotechnics ignited sound insulation foam on the walls behind the stage and the ceiling above it. The fire took less than six minutes to spread and consume the entirety of the nightclub.

“By the time Great White came on, since it was general admission standing, we were standing at the equivalent of what would’ve been second row from the stage," said Ricardi. "The pyrotechnics went off during the opening song. And as soon as it went off, the foam padding caught fire in the back. The way it went off so evenly and proportionally, everyone thought it was still part of the show. No one really knew what was going on.”

Ricardi and Gahan made their way to the back of club. Ricardi was able to escape through a broken window. When he turned around, Gahan was nowhere to be found. He was quickly pushed back across the street by a firefighter. Ricardi could do nothing but wait for his friend to make it out.

“I told myself we were standing in the same spot, and if I got out, then he got out," said Ricardi. "As the next day went on, and the body count kept increasing, and he hadn’t been identified at the hospital, it began to sink in.”

What Followed the Fire

A couple months after the fire, Ricardi was asked to speak to a task force that was put together by former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. The task force was a combination of fire officials and entertainment companies assembled to fix legislation on fire procedures and provisions.

In December of 2003, the owners of The Station nightclub - Jeffrey and Michael Derderian- and Biechele were all charged with 200 counts of involuntary manslaughter. The counts added up as two counts per the 100 deaths for criminal-negligence manslaughter and misdemeanor manslaughter. All three men plead not guilty.

Three years later, in 2006, Biechele plead guilty to 100 counts of involuntary manslaughter.

Biechele was sentenced to 15 years in prison, with four to serve and 11 years suspended, plus three years' probation. He was released early from prison in March 2008.

In an interview with GoLocalWorcester earlier this year, Ricardi said, “"It's difficult to comprehend that it has been twelve years. When you start thinking of going through something so tragic at a young age, it makes it more surreal that it has been that long. I've always felt honored to say I was with Jim in the end. The people who are at a real loss were the ones who never had the opportunity to know him. He made everyone around him better. My life has changed significantly since that night. I've learned to not take things for granted and appreciate each moment you have. It can be taken from you in an instant."

“I don't care if this book sells 60 copies or 60,000 copies. I just wanted to tell a story and send a tribute to Jim’s legacy,” Ricardi added. “I wanted to share what happened beyond just the fire that night. All these years later, I wanted to show that there was a human element to it and not just what you read about in the media and the criminal procedures and lawsuits. People have stories, other emotional human stories, and that’s what I really wanted to get to.”

To purchase Just A Thought Away, click here.

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