Warning; this is gruesome, and not for the faint-hearted. Raw video, shot by a fan in attendance at The Station nightclub in Rhode Island, has surfaced of the pyrotechnics-induced fire at a Great White show 5 years ago this month. Lawyers and dollar signs are still being flung around in the news to this date all this time later, but let’s take a moment to remember the bloody travesty that occurred that day.

Watching this video is like a mini-version of watching the twin towers fall. It’s gut-wrenching. It starts innocently enough with the opening chords of a song; seconds later three streams of pyro ignite and the audience responds with riotous applause. About 27 seconds in the camera catches a glimpse of leftover flame on the right of the stage, and within 10 seconds the room is full of smoke and the cameraman sneaks to the back of the room. The band stops and Great White frontman Jack Russell exclaims, “Oh, Wow. That’s not good.” All hell breaks loose.

The fire alarms squeal, and it’s a mad dash of manic pushing and shoving for the exits. Screaming, panic, shouting, chaos. Thankfully this cameraman gets out alive and films the ensuing chaos from the outside. Torturous screams from the bowels of hell can be heard from outside the club which now has black smoke pouring out of every edifice. Crying, running, screaming, pandemonium. By a minute and a half in the whole place is a fiery furnace of death with people still attempting to push their way out the door. A smoke-covered woman exclaims, “Oh my God, I’m bleeding!” Cries of “Where’s my friend??” are everywhere as escapees anxiously look on in search of their friends. A man carrying a comatose friend on his back screams “I need a medic! I need a medic! Give me a medic!”

This is bloody. It’s gruesome. It’s real. It’s what happened. 97 folks died.

Watch the video here. (embedding is disabled)

-VN