Station fire remembrance service set March 22 at Warwick City Hall

Posted 3/17/15

A winter storm forced the postponement of this year’s service remembering the 100 who lost their lives in The Station nightclub fire, but that won’t stop the 12th remembrance service.

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Station fire remembrance service set March 22 at Warwick City Hall

Posted

A winter storm forced the postponement of this year’s service remembering the 100 who lost their lives in The Station nightclub fire, but that won’t stop the 12th remembrance service.

Fire survivor Gina Russo and president of the Station Fire Memorial Foundation has rescheduled the service and an important announcement for Sunday, March 22.

“He has been very generous,” Russo said of Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian, who has arranged for the service to be held in City Council Chambers in City Hall starting at 1 p.m. Avedisian will speak at the service as will West Warwick Town Manager Fred Presley. Other speakers had not been finalized as of Saturday.

The service will follow the same format planned for Feb. 15 with a reading of the names of the 100 who lost their lives on Feb. 20, 2003 followed by 100 second of silence. There will be the playing of bagpipes and honor guard comprised of first responders. Songwriter and singer Joe Silva will sing “97 Angels,” the tribute he wrote immediately following the fire.

But unlike other services where attendees have been left to wonder when work will commence on a memorial at the site of the fire, Russo will outline the significant progress made on the campaign to raise more than $2 million for the memorial.

Russo said Saturday she is hopeful the first phase of construction will start this spring and that this year’s service may be the last one not held at the site. Three phases of construction are planned with the memorial being fully completed in the summer of 2016.

In addition to sharing drawings of the proposed memorial and construction schedule, Russo will name the memorial campaign committee many of whom are expected to be in attendance. She will provide an update the campaign.

Russo expects the ceremony and announcements should take about 45 minutes. Coffee will be served following the ceremony downstairs in City Hall, and there will be an opportunity for people to mingle and discuss and review plans for the memorial park.

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