The Station Nightclub Fire: Who's Responsible?
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[music] He took nearly 24 hours to recover all the bodies from inside the ruins of Rhode Island station nightclub. Horrible things happen to people for absolutely no reason. The death toll was far greater than anyone expected. We went out on a Thursday night to listen to music, drink some beers and have a good time. And a quarter of those people didn't get to go home, ever. [music] This is what I live with, I don't hide it. Second and third degree burns over 34% of my body from the heat. I'm lucky I even have arms. [music] The neighborhood club for live music, the people who went to that club were regulars. The headliner was Jack Russell's great wife. You really had to work your way through the crowd. It was packed. I'm standing three rows back from the edge of the stage. We're just waiting and then it gets dark. The music starts. The pyrotechnics went off and I remember being a little shocked. It just felt really big. And I just sort of noticed some flame on the walls on either side and then it just kept growing. [music] When that fire alarm went off, that's when I said to myself, and I remember the words, "This isn't good. This is not going to be good. This is bad." [music] It went from zero to ten in what seemed like a second. And then the building's completely engulfed. [music] [indistinct chatter] [indistinct chatter] [indistinct chatter] [indistinct chatter] [indistinct chatter] Literally laid there, said, "God, just take care of my family because I knew I was going to die." [indistinct chatter] 100 lives were taken. More than 200 people were hurt. It's hard to describe the level of agony. The state of Rhode Island is small. And it feels like somebody knew somebody who was in that fire or knew somebody who did. And so the pain is very personal. We realize there's very little we can say that we'll provide comfort to the thousands of people. No one meant for this to happen. Brothers Jeffrey and Michael DeDerens, co-owner of the club, are both charged with involuntary manslaughter. What is your reaction to the indictment? Taking responsibility for your actions goes a long way. And you don't feel the brothers have ever accepted responsibility.
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Club owners open up for the first time after deadly fire kills 100. "48 Hours" contributor Jim Axelrod reports.