Dental records needed to ID victims of nightclub fire

Investigators of a deadly fire at a Rhode Island nightclub say the bodies of all 97 victims have been removed from the scene, but that it could take days to identify them.

Fifteen victims of Thursday night's fire have been identified, said Gov. Don Carcieri. He urged families to provide dental records to the 25 experts helping with the investigation.

• FROM FEB 21, 2003: Nearly 100 dead in Rhode Island nightclub fire

"Our principal focus right now is to expedite the identification. The autopsy, we're putting secondary," Carcieri told a news conference.

The death toll rose to 97 after the remains of another person were found Saturday. The final figure may wind up slightly higher, the governor said, as crews comb through debris.

The blaze occurred at The Station nightclub in West Warwick, Rhode Island. The rock band Great White was performing a show, which included the use of pyrotechnics.

The club was engulfed in flames minutes after fireworks sprayed the wall and ceiling with sparks. People inside rushed to escape the smoke-filled club.

Along with those killed, close to 200 people were injured in the rush to the exits; 35 of them are in critical condition.

Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick Lynch said Friday the state had launched a criminal investigation to determine whether any charges could be filed.

"It could be manslaughter. It could be murder. It could be simple assault," said Lynch.

"There should not have been a pyrotechnics display in that venue," Gov. Carcieri told reporters Saturday. He said it was "an old wooden building" with no sprinkler system.

"Somebody made a very, very bad decision, and it's cost an enormous human tragedy here," he said.

The owners of the club denied giving the band permission to use the pyrotechnics, a claim echoed by four other clubs where Great White played in the last month.

But a lawyer for the band said the group's manager had obtained verbal permission from club officials to use fireworks.