EP29 | The Station Nightclub Fire, 19 Years Later: A Replay with John Laurenti, of WHJY Providence, & friend of Dr Metal, Mike Gonsalves

Today, on what is the 19th anniversary of the fire that took the lives of 100 people and injured many more, I am sharing the 3-part series released last year. One thing is very clear, the events of that night and the days, weeks, and months that followed, have had a lasting effect on the people of West Warwick and the state of Rhode Island to this day.

Never forget what happened so it will never happen again.

Episode 13 from 3/5/2021:

Part three of three. Over the course of this series of episodes, I wanted to peel back the layers of what a mess The Station Fire truly was, how we are still looking for answers, and how we are still clearing the debris of misinformation. 

The Station Fire was 18 years ago. The fire killed 100 people, hundred of others were injured physically, countless others were damaged emotionally. 

In this bonus sized episode I speak to friend and colleague, John Laurenti.  We worked together at WZLX in Boston and, as you will hear, we have a long history and strong connections to New England radio. John has worked at WAAF, WBOS, WODS, WHEB, WGIR, and was at WHJY in Providence for 17 years.

He was friends with Mike Gonsalves, the WHJY DJ known as Doctor Metal, who was one of 100 who died at the Station. We talk about his memories of Doc, the venue, the fire, the impact on the community, the part live radio plays in times of disaster, the evolution of rock, and we name check about 20 radio people throughout. We spoke on the weekend of the 18th anniversary. This is our conversation, our long conversation. It was even longer. I edited for time.

Crime of the Truest Kind
Hosted by Anngelle Wood
Online: CrimeoftheTruestKind.com
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Episode 13 on YouTube

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I reference this book - Trial by Fire: A Devastating Tragedy, 100 Lives Lost, and A 15-Year Search for Truth By Scott James -  ScottJamesWriter.com
All show notes can  be found on the show pag