- We now turn to a tragic event that happened 20 years ago this week.

On February 20th, 2003, a fire at The Station nightclub in West Warwick claimed 100 lives and injured more than 200 others.

The fire was started by a pyrotechnic display that quickly spread to foam insulation.

Panicked concertgoers tried to escape, but many were trapped at the club's front door.

In the years following, there were lawsuits, jail sentences, and settlements connected to the catastrophe.

Senior producer Justin Kenny has been visiting The Station Fire Memorial, which sits on the very site where the nightclub stood.

In recent weeks, he spent time with loved ones of the victims who seek solace and remember all those who were lost.

(gentle music) (gentle music continues) - My name's Kimberly Beck.

I'm from West Warwick, and I lost my sister Kelly Vieira in The Station fire.

Well, for me, she not only was my big sister, she was my best friend, and she was like a second mom.

We were very close.

She was a soft-spoken, non-judgmental, really kind, big-hearted person who just devoted herself to her family and her work.

And highly intelligent, even though you'd never know 'cause she was so quiet.

We were close.

So I wish she was still here.

She has a granddaughter named after her who's a senior in high school.

It would be wonderful, and I just became a grandmother.

It'd be wonderful for her to be here through all those milestones that her children went through and how the family dynamic is.

(gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) I think I've pretty much gone through a lot of the emotions.

Initially, you know, the devastation.

It was such a shock.

It was so sudden and unexpected.

To the anger, to find out about the foam, about the door, about the fire marshal, all those factors that contributed to what happened.

I was angry for a long time, and then you have to let go of the anger so it doesn't consume you.

And then you grieve with sadness a lot because every holiday or special occasion, you can't share anymore.

You can't pick up the phone.

You can't drive to her house.

So there's still days when it's hard, but you do tend to carry on with your life, as you know she would want you to.

I've always done my best to look after her girls and her granddaughters.

(gentle music continues) So there's still sadness, but there's there's memories here too.

I come here, and we talk about the memories of how often we came here and enjoyed ourselves and had some great nights.

So it's bittersweet.

(gentle music continues) - I come here pretty much on the daily.

I just kind of swing by, or sometimes I come just to sit, talk about my bad day or what's going on.

You know, my friends were here, they lost their lives, and it makes me feel better to talk to them and let it go.

So what's bothering me gets released here with them because that's what I would've done prior to the fire.

So, you know, this is where I find my happy place, where I'm comfortable.

(gentle music continues) My name is Sharro Laurent, and I'm from Rhode Island.

Originally from Pawtucket, now I live in Charleston.

(gentle music continues) Kevin Washburn, who was my closest friend, he lost his life that night, just before his birthday.

He would've been, you know, he was kind of the crazy part of my life.

We had fun, we'd come out every weekend, we'd meet, and we'd come to The Station, or we'd go somewhere else, and, you know, he was my closest friend.

I usually don't talk about it so I don't cry when I come here.

But Kevin Washburn was one of my favorite people in the world.

I miss him every day.

He was my confident, my friend, my party goer.

So I just come to talk to him when I'm fighting with my husband, when I'm having a bad day, when work was bad.

(gentle music continues) He was the godfather to my oldest children.

He wasn't a frequenter of The Station, but he passed away that evening, and my children lost their godfather that night.

My kids miss him every day.

So I let him know what they're doing and how they're doing, how grown they, whatever.

So I just want him to know I'm never gonna forget him.

I will never forget what happened.

And I want everybody to know what a good person he was.

Squigy, I won't forget you.

That's what I tell him every time I see him.

It's a hard one for me.

(gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) - So I just sit and talk to them.

They calm me down and make my day feel good.

So having this memorial is amazing for me because I have a place where I can talk to them still.

They're here, as far as I'm concerned, they're here.

This is where they were last seen.

This is where they last were.

So for me, this is where they are, and I'm so thankful they built this.

It's beautiful, and it's a great, great thing for them.

And it memorializes them forever.

People won't forget what happened.

(gentle music continues) - The memorial means a lot.

It's beautiful.

It's a peaceful, tranquil place I can come and sit and talk to my sister.

And the grounds, the park, it's just beautiful to walk through.

I also feel it's important for everyone else who goes up and reads the timeline to read it, to understand it, so that we never forget the hundred angels that we lost.

(gentle music) - We'd like to extend our thanks to Sharro Laurent and Kimberly Beck for sharing their stories with us.

(gentle music) (uplifting music) (uplifting music continues) (no audio) (no audio) (no audio)