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Trial by Fire

A Devastating Tragedy, 100 Lives Lost, and a 15-Year Search for Truth

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Trial by Fire

By: Scott James
Narrated by: Justin Spencer
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About this listen

In only 90 seconds, a fire in The Station nightclub left 100 people dead or dying and injured hundreds more. It would take years to find out why - and who was really at fault.

All it took for a hundred people to die during a show by the hair metal band Great White was a sudden burst from four giant sparklers that ignited the acoustical foam lining the Station nightclub. But who was at fault? And who would pay? This being Rhode Island, the two questions wouldn’t necessarily have the same answer.

Within 24 hours the governor of Rhode Island and the local police chief were calling for criminal charges, although the investigation had barely begun, key evidence still needed to be gathered, and many of the victims hadn’t been identified. Though many parties could be held responsible, fingers pointed quickly at the two brothers who owned the club. But were they really to blame? Best-selling author and three-time Emmy Award-winning journalist Scott James investigates all the central figures, including the band’s manager and lead singer, the fire inspector, the maker of the acoustical foam, as well as the brothers. Drawing on firsthand accounts, interviews with many involved, and court documents, James explores the rush to judgment about what happened that left the victims and their families, whose stories he also tells, desperate for justice.

Trial by Fire is the heart-wrenching story of the fire’s aftermath because while the fire, one of America’s deadliest, lasted minutes, the search for the truth would take years.

©2020 Scott James (P)2021 Blackstone Publishing
Corruption & Misconduct State & Local True Crime United States

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incredibly detailed story portraying every side of such a complicated event

this story was incredible.
it was so detailed and in depth you can tell how much time was spent looking into the past to bring as much of the truth forward

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