Settlement revealed in ’03 club disaster

Musician Ty Longley, formerly of Brookfield, died in the fire in Rhode Island.

STAFF AND WIRE REPORT

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The state of Rhode Island and the town of West Warwick have each agreed to pay $10 million to those left behind after a nightclub fire that killed 100 people.

The settlement offers were revealed in court documents filed Monday.

The 2003 fire at The Station nightclub in West Warwick began when pyrotechnics from the rock band Great White ignited soundproofing foam on the walls and ceiling.

Besides the 100 people killed, more than 200 people were injured.

Survivors and victims’ relatives have now been offered a total of nearly $175 million from the governments and a variety of companies sued over the fire. None of the money has been distributed yet.

Among those killed was band member and guitarist Ty Longley, 31, formerly from Sharon, Pa., and Brookfield, Ohio. He was a graduate of Brookfield High School and Trumbull County Vo-Tech School, and left home in 1991 to pursue his dream.

Longley spent some time playing in a band in Boulder, Colo., but quit that job and moved to California, first linking up with Great White in 1999.

His first job was as a carrier for The Vindicator.

Pat Longley, Ty’s father, said in 2006 he blames city building inspectors more than the rock band manager or the club owners. He said the nightclub should not have been allowed to operate in the building.