Dad of Rhode Island Club Fire Victim Wants Memorial at Site

The father of one of the 100 people who died in a 2003 Rhode Island nightclub fire is asking the state to take by eminent domain the land where the nightclub once sat so a memorial can be built.

Dave Kane’s son, 18-year-old Nicholas O’Neill, was the youngest victim in the fire at The Station nightclub, which was sparked by pyrotechnics for the band Great White.

Families of those killed have been fighting for years to build a memorial on the land. It’s owned by a private company. The families previously asked the town of West Warwick to take the land by eminent domain.

Kane says he fears the groundbreaking Wednesday for a memorial in neighboring Warwick will deflect attention from efforts to build a memorial at the fire site.

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