The Station – Michael Morse

by Michael Morse, contributing writer – (photo provided)

One hundred people from my area died twenty-two years ago on February 20th. They went to work or to see a show at The Station, a small rock club that caught fire and became an inferno within minutes. One hundred people who were my age, listened to my music, went to the same places I did, lived their lives the same way I did and had dreams, like I did, no longer do.

Their absence in our lives is profound, their contributions to our world stopped cold. We will never know all that was lost that night; children that will never be born, art that will never be created, music never heard and words never written. 

I knew some of them. Everybody around here knew some of them. Rhode Island is a little place, we all are connected by something.

Everybody around my age who lives around here knows a little something more about the fragility of life. 

Rest in peace my friends.

Thursday, February 20th, 2003

Louis S. Alves
Kevin Anderson
Stacie Angers
Christopher Arruda
Eugene Avilez
Tina Ayer
Karla Bagtaz
Mary H. Baker
Thomas Barnett
Laureen Beauchaine
Steven Thomas Blom
William Christopher Bonardi
Kristine Carbone
Richard A. Cabral, Jr.
William Cartwright
Edward B. Corbet III
Michael Cordier
Alfred Crisostomi
Robert Croteau
Lisa D’Andrea
Matthew P. Darby
Dina Ann DeMaio
Albert Anthony DiBonaventura
Rachel DePietro (Florio)
Christina DiRienzo
Kevin J. Dunn
Lori K. Durante
Edward Ervanian
Thomas Fleming
Rachael K. Florio-DePietro
Mark A. Fontaine
Chief Petty Officer Daniel Frederickson
Michael Fresolo
James Gahan
Melvin Gerfin
Laura Gillet
Charline Elaine Gingras-Fick
Michael James Gonsalves
James Gooden
Derek Gray
Pamela Gruttadauria
Scott “Skott” Greene
Scott Griffith
Bonnie L. Hamelin
Jude Henault
Andrew Hoban
Abbie L. Hoisington
Michael Hoogasian
Sandy Hoogasian
Carlton “Bud” Howorth III
Eric James Hyer
Derek Brian Johnson
Lisa Kelly
Tracy F. King
Michael Joseph Kulz
Keith Lapierre
Dale Latulippe
Stephen M. Libera
John M. Longiaru
Ty Longley
Andrea Mancini
Keith A. Mancini
Steven Mancini
Judith Manzo
Thomas Marion, Jr.
Jeffery Martin
Tammy Mattera-Housa
Kristen McQuarrie
Thomas Medeiros
Samuel Miceli
Donna M. Mitchell
Leigh Ann Moreau
Ryan M. Morin
Jason Morton
Katherine O’Donnell
Nicholas O’Neill
Matthew James Pickett
Carlos L. Pimentel Sr.
Christopher Prouty
Jeffrey Rader
Teresa Rakoski
Robert L. Reisner III
Walter Rich
Donald Roderiques
Tracey Romanoff
Joseph Rossi
Bridget Sanetti
Rebecca “Becky” Shaw
Dennis Smith
Mitchell Shubert
Victor Stark
Benjamin Suffoletto
Linda Suffoletto
Shawn Sweet
Jason Sylvester
Sarah Jane Telgarsky
Kelly Viera
Kevin Washburn
Everett “Tommy” Woodmansee
Robert Daniel Young

My home is seven miles from where The Station used to be. Volunteers, friends, relatives and firefighters maintain the memorial, pictured here. I was off duty during the tragedy, but was on shift at 0700 hrs the next morning.

My first transport was to the Rhode Island Hospital Emergency Room. Whatever chaos had reigned the night before had evaporated, the lingering smell of burned flesh and desperation lingered, and the people who worked that night walked to their cars, alone or in small groups, their lives forever changed by events beyond their control. For weeks and months those who worked that shift stood out from the rest of us, their haunted looks and somber demeanor slowly fading as time healed their emotional wounds, as much as their traumatized psyche would allow, and eventually came back to the rest of us. But not the same. They will never be the same.

Sincere thanks and condolences to every person who was on scene, the two hundred people who were there and injured, and anybody else suffering in any way as a result of this nightmare – from a Providence Firefighter.

___

Read more articles by Michael Morse, here: https://rinewstoday.com/michael-morse/

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Michael Morse, [email protected], a monthly contributor is a retired Captain with the Providence Fire Department.

Michael Morse spent 23 years as a firefighter/EMT with the Providence Fire Department before retiring in 2013 as Captain, Rescue Co. 5. He is an author of several books, most offering fellow firefighter/EMTs and the general population alike a poignant glimpse into one person’s journey through life, work and hope for the future. He is a Warwick resident.