No Formal Memorial For 11th Anniversary Of RI Nightclub Fire
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — The group working to build a memorial at the site of a Rhode Island nightclub fire that killed 100 people says there will be no formal memorial service to mark the 11th anniversary of the fire, a departure from past practice.
Victoria Eagan of the Station Fire Memorial Foundation says on Thursday that its construction makes the site unsafe for such a gathering.
The fire on Feb. 20, 2003, in West Warwick was started by pyrotechnics for the band Great White.
A makeshift memorial cropped up at the site, and mourners gathered there for a formal service every year.
The site was closed in September as work began to build the permanent memorial. The group has had trouble raising the hundreds of thousands of dollars it needs to complete it.
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