Real footage of a fire that took 100 lives in 2003 at the Station nightclub, filmed by an audience member who had the presence of mind to leave as soon as he saw it start. Slightly annotated to help show how quickly a fire can spread in an unsafe location. The fire department arrive quickly - about 5 minutes after the first flame - but can do little to help.
I watched this almost a year ago at the end of a fire safety course and I've nearly posted it several times since, but for some reason never quite had the nerve. Recent events reminded me again to do it. I found it very disturbing, but I think it's very educational... it's certainly changed my behaviour.
As I remember it, the nightclub was a barely-converted warehouse with pretty much no fire safety measures implemented. This footage was used to help prosecute those responsible.
17 Comments
PaybackWhen he comes back around from the rear, I'm sorry, but this becomes snuff. You can see that people are still stuck in the doorways...
noimsYes, that's one of the reasons I held off posting it. It's the part that's stuck most strongly in my mind. I checked the posting rules carefully, and they say:
So I don't think I'm violating the spirit or letter of the rules. That also matches with my own judgement of what I would or wouldn't want to see, which was the other reason I wasn't sure about posting. It's also why I put an nsfw tag, a warning in the title, and used a full un-edited copy (there are several that are parts of tv shows that sensationalise it a bit much for my comfort).
In the end, I personally think the educational value far outweighs the disturbing elements, but I wouldn't blame anyone for thinking otherwise.
When he comes back around from the rear, I'm sorry, but this becomes snuff. You can see that people are still stuck in the doorways...
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ant*fear
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enoch*promote
i used to see many shows in this joint,and lost a few friends.
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newtboyIf I remember correctly, the band made it out the back. I can't remember if they were convicted or if so, of what, but they sure should have been. Pyro in a tiny club like that with no fire protection and seemingly at least double capacity sure spells 100 counts of manslaughter in my eyes.
*terrible, absolutely terrible. I should have skipped this one.
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ulysses1904Yeah I watched this once a few years back and that was enough for me. The road manager or stage manager was convicted as he lit the pyros, he did some time but nobody in the band did. Some of the victims families asked for leniency for him as he showed remorse but from what I understand the club owners were prosecuted and people weren't so sympathetic with them. I worked in eastern Connecticut at the time and some coworkers knew many of the survivors. It was painfully ironic because the reporter was there to report on club safety because there was a club fire a week earlier in Chicago.
If I remember correctly, the band made it out the back. I can't remember if they were convicted or if so, of what, but they sure should have been. Pyro in a tiny club like that with no fire protection and seemingly at least double capacity sure spells 100 counts of manslaughter in my eyes.
*terrible, absolutely terrible. I should have skipped this one.
Chairman_woosays...My father was a firefighter, so I always got this point hammered home.
Unfortunately shock is the only thing that gets the point across for most people. We have so little experience of what real fires are like that a dangerous kind of complacency tends to be pervasive.
Same with RTA's. It's usually only the victims and the poor bastards who have to clean up after that really appreciate the knives edge we live on.
The occasional kick to the gut like this is entirely justified IMHO.
Even if you did just make me weep like a lost child.
In the end, I personally think the educational value far outweighs the disturbing elements, but I wouldn't blame anyone for thinking otherwise.
shagen454Holy shit that's terrifying. How the hell does a fireman even train for a scenario like that?
transmorphersays...The speed of it is insane. And how it goes from rock music, to people screaming in just 1 minute is a terrifying contrast
StukaFoxsays...There's no training in the world that can help you when you're walking over a floor of charred corpses, or picking up the bits and pieces left over after a plane crash. How a fireman can believe in a just and loving god after seeing some of that shit is beyond me.
Holy shit that's terrifying. How the hell does a fireman even train for a scenario like that?
Enzoblue2 mins of this video and I paused it, decided to read the comments and now how no desire to watch the rest.
poolcleanerOne of my best friends was an EMT, a fire fighter, and now a mental health worker... I'm just like, why dude? Why did you burn out the existence of all things good in life with your insane career path? No wonder we get black out drunk and high every time we hang out. and I get to hear the tales. I swear, I have actually feinted listening to some of his stories. The insane call to become a real life superhero is actually a void that sucks you in and never lets go. Not that living with the void is that bad if you conquer the demons spawned forth from it.
There's no training in the world that can help you when you're walking over a floor of charred corpses, or picking up the bits and pieces left over after a plane crash. How a fireman can believe in a just and loving god after seeing some of that shit is beyond me.
poolcleanerThis is more shocking than the gore from airplane wreckage clips, because at least there's a disassociation with inanimate body parts strewn about a landscape, but these are people still alive, clamboring to escape, caught in the middle of progressive crowd collapse and dying together.
I had to stop a few moments after that. My stomach is strong, but the emotional impact is painful. I don't like this feeling, but I suppose one must see first hand the effects of not just fire, but how crowd collapse can happen even in the middle of a seemingly wide open doorway!!
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