Vigil marks 15 years since deadly Station nightclub fire

February 21, 2018 3:02 am

By John Krinjak

Email: jkrinjak@abc6.com

Twitter: @johnkrinjakABC6

WEST WARWICK, R.I. (WLNE) — Families of victims and survivors gathered at the Station Fire Memorial Park Tuesday night to commemorate the exact moment the deadly fire started 15 years ago.

At 11:03 PM they raised their cell phones, turned on their headlights. 100 lights in the night sky to remember the 100 people who never made it out of the station nightclub on that horrible night back in 2003.

This marks the first anniversary since the memorial park was completed, and because of that survivors i spoke to say in many ways it’s taken 15 years to feel the kind of closure they did last night.

"I hope that the families of the victims that didn’t make it—I hope that they can come here to this beautiful memorial and spend time with their loved ones. I know that the 100 people that lost their lives, they’re looking down on this and I’m sure they’re smiling," said survivor Brandon Fravala.

"15 years. Are you kidding? To me it’s still like yesterday. Every day. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about this day. Not one day goes by. I could have lost my life. And you don’t forget that," said survivor David Fravala.

Survivors and families say it’s also important to have a permanent memorial like this to educate people in the hopes of preventing a tragedy like this from ever happening again.