16 Years After Nightclub Fire, Falmouth Man's Legacy Lives On

FALMOUTH, MA – On Feb. 20, 2003, Jimmy Gahan IV was getting ready for an interview with the hard rock band Great White. The 21-year-old Nichols College student ran three college radio shows, including two dedicated to one of his favorite genres, '80s rock music.

A standout athlete at Falmouth High School – he played football, baseball, basketball and golf – Gahan turned his attention from sports to music after graduating. At Nichols, he was trying to find a place for himself in the music industry.

Gahan and a friend were among hundreds of people crowded into The Station nightclub in West Warwick, RI to watch Great White play. He planned to air his interview with the band on one of his radio shows.

Just after 11 p.m., barely into the start of the set, tour manager Daniel Biechele set off pyrotechnics that hit foam sound insulation on the club's walls, igniting it. Within minutes, the building filled with smoke as people rushed to exit. More than 200 people were injured in the blaze and 100 people were killed, including Gahan.

It was the fourth-deadliest nightclub fire in the country's history.

Following Gahan's death, his family helped pass legislation in Massachusetts requiring automatic sprinkler systems in bars and nightclubs with an occupancy of 100 or more people, according to the Fire and Rescue Department. A similar measure was among 10 recommendations for improvements to fire codes released by the National Institute of Standards and Technology in the wake of the tragedy.

"We will never know how many lives will be saved by this law," the Falmouth Fire and Rescue Department said in a statement Wednesday. "We hope Jim’s family takes comfort that his star will forever shine on!"

Today, the land where the club once sat is home to a memorial to the 100 victims. The Station Fire Memorial Foundation was founded by survivors and family of those who were lost. The foundation's president, Gina Russo, is a survivor who lost her fiance in the fire.

While the foundation has not scheduled an official memorial ceremony for the 16th anniversary, the board has encouraged survivors and family members to gather and plan their own memorials. The board is planning to hold another official memorial on the 20th anniversary.

Related: Fire Safety: What Changed After The Station Nightclub Fire

WEST WARWICK, RI - FEBRUARY 26: Mourners visit the makeshift memorial at the site of the deadly fire at The Station nightclub February 26, 2003 in West Warwick, Rhode Island. The fire started when a pyrotechnics display during a Great White concert on February 20, 2003 set fire to the club, taking the lives of at least 96 people. (Photo by Douglas McFadd/Getty Images)