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The band took the stage with a loud bang. Pyrotechnics shot out of cannons as the band began to play. Seconds later, the stage was on fire. Smoke was filling the room. It was hard to see people were running and screaming. I started towards the crowded front door, opened to squeeze my way out. When suddenly someone yelled no Tom this way. That was the night a spirit saved my life. I'm Tom Stewart and this. Is my paranormal story. Before I start this episode, I want to thank you for listening. This podcast only exists because of supporters like. But unfortunately podcasts do cost money, so I'm hoping you'll show your support by visiting my website myparanormalstory.com and clicking on the donate button every little bit helps keep us on the air. Thank you so much for your support. I've been going to rock concerts for most of my life. All through my teens, 20s and 30s, even now there's nothing. I love more than a good rock concert. When I was younger I'd go to concerts practically every week. I've seen just about every famous rock band of the past 40 years in concert. Except for one. Great white. I don't know if you'd call it a coincidence. Bad luck, a curse or a divine message. But for some reason. Every time I would try to see the band great white in concert, something would always keep me from seeing them. Great White was a popular rock band from the hair band era of the 1980s. They were more of. A bluesy rock band than a heavy metal or glam rock band. They had a few radio hits like Rock Me, Save Your Love and once bitten twice shy. They were even nominated for a Grammy. Now they weren't my favorite rock band, but I had a couple of their albums and I liked a. Lot of their music. And it seemed like great white was always on the road touring and performing. Wherever they could. They were the opening act for many bigger named rock bands over the years and a couple of times they were the opening band for concerts that I was going to. But for one reason or another, the curse, the bad luck. I always ended up missing great white. The first time was a show in the Boston area. They were one of four bands scheduled to play this night, but on the way to the show I ended up getting a flat tire. My friend Dave and I found ourselves on I-95 in the dark in her Jean jackets, putting a spare tire on my car. By the time we got back on the road and to the concert, we'd already missed great White's performance. The second time I missed great White was a show in Providence at the Civic Center as it. Was called back then. A few nights earlier someone had broken into my car by smashing the passenger side window and stole my stereo. But I did what many people do. I cleaned up the glass and taped up. The window with plastic. But before I could get the window replaced, I had to use my car to go. To the concert. Great White was opening for the Scorpions I believe. I picked up my friend Mel and because of the passenger car door was all taped up. She had to get in my car through the. Driver's side She crawled over the driver's seat and onto the passenger seat. And her knee must have pressed down a tiny sliver of glass that was leftover from the break in. And her knee started gushing with blood. We went back inside so she could put something on it and I of course felt like ****. We eventually did get back in the car though. This time she put on jeans instead of a skirt. And we safely made it to the show. However, once again, I was too late to catch great White's performance. The third time I tried to see great white. Was 1000 times worse? This night Ended up being the 4th deadliest nightclub fire in U.S. And if it wasn't. For a voice I heard as the fire. Was breaking out. I probably wouldn't have survived. Many people believe in things like Guardian angels and spiritual guides. But I never did. Until that night. It was mid February 2003 and I'd heard on the radio that great White was going to be doing a. Show at a small nightclub called the station in West Warwick where? The band was way. Past their heyday at this point. Many of the original members had moved on, but the original lead singer Jack Russell was still with the band. At this point though. They've been relegated to playing small rock bars around the country. For some reason though, I thought it still might be a. Fun night out and a great way for me to finally see one of the few bands I'd never seen live before. I called my friend James and asked him if he wanted to. Go to the show he agreed. And I headed down to the. Local strawberries records. To get 2 tickets. When suddenly James called me on my cell phone. He told me to get 4 tickets. He had two friends who also wanted to go with us. A couple of nights later, the night of the show we all met at James's house. Lisa and her boyfriend were the other two. We stood around in James's kitchen. Having a few pre show drinks and talking. Naturally, one of the topics I brought up was how great white is my. Bad luck band. So we all better. Be prepared for something to happen tonight. And we all. Laughed about. What a silly idea that was. James and I drove to the show in my car and Lisa and her boyfriend took theirs. The small parking lot outside the club was already full and to make matters worse, we had had a famous New England nor Easter the day before. So there was a lot of snow piled up everywhere. We eventually found parking spots on one of the side streets a block or two away from the club. We trudged through the snowy streets and sidewalks to get there. The station nightclub had been around for a while, but it was my first time ever going there. It was an odd shaped wooden building that years ago was a popular restaurant. Now it was an old, dilapidated looking building with large portraits of rock stars and an American flag painted on the facade outside just right for an old washed up rock band from the 80s. There were two average sized doors at the front entrance that led to a small hallway that seemed to get smaller as you walk through it. We handed our tickets to the person at the front door and. Made our way in. The stage was off to the right of the main room with a huge empty floor in front of it. The opening band had already finished their set and everyone was off to the side or at the bar waiting for great white to come to the stage. Being claustrophobic as I am, and knowing that the area in front. Of the stage. Would soon be full of people pushing and shoving. I went the opposite. Way to a smaller room off the main. Room that was less crowded. But also had a bar. We talked amongst ourselves and with others, drinking beers and waiting for the show to begin. At one point I was chatting with Doctor Metal, a DJ from the local rock radio station who I'd met a few times. We swapped stories about radio and rock shows. But then he had to rush off to go on stage and introduce the band. We all stayed behind though in that side room near the bar we could see the stage from there. As the crowd rushed to the front of the stage, doctor metal got up there and welcomed the crowd to the show. They all screamed as he started throwing T-shirts from the radio station out to them. And then he introduced the band. And it was the last time I ever saw him. Moments later, the. Club got dark. The band quietly took the stage and boom. With a rock'n'roll explosion, the band started playing their first song. The colorful stage lights turned on and pyrotechnics shot into the air from both sides of the stage. Giant sparks flying a few feet high, bouncing off the ceiling and the stage. Honestly, it wasn't anything I hadn't seen 100 times at rock concerts before. Except this time. I suddenly started to see a weird orange glow on the ceiling above the stage. And it quickly grew to the back wall behind the band. I could see people trying to throw water on it from the water bottles the band had on stage with them, and within seconds a thick black cloud of smoke started filling the room. One by one, the band members abandoned their instruments and jumped off the stage. The crowd. Went into a frenzy. People were running in all sorts of directions, many of them towards the front door. I started to panic too. Not just because of the fire, but because of the stampeding crowd. By the time I could decide what to do, the club was completely dark. The thick black smoke was like a tidal wave on the ceiling. Blocking out any lights that might have still been on. So many people were yelling and screaming as. Hundreds of people tried to squeeze through. That front door. I could hear glass breaking as some people broke through windows to get out. I looked around, my friends were gone, it was dark, Smoky, couldn't breathe. I didn't know where to go. So I started heading towards the front door like everyone else. When suddenly someone yelled no Tom this way. I turned around and noticed there was a side door just steps away from me, so I quickly went towards the door and people were pushing and shoving their way out. The next thing I knew, I was outside lying face down in a snowbank. I got up and looked around and people were running around everywhere. I just kind of walked around aimlessly for a minute or two, wondering what to. Do where to go. What happened to my friends? I looked across the street and I spotted Lisa crying as her boyfriend was holding her. I ran over and asked them where James was. They said they'd already seen him and he'd gotten out and that he was OK, but they weren't sure where. He went. So once I knew my friends were safe, the only thing I could think. About was I need to go help people. So I rushed back to the door where I got out and by now it was filled with thick black smoke just bellowing out into the dark sky. All I could think was how are people inside going to? Find the door. So I got down on my hands and knees and started banging on the floor with my hands just shouting into the smoke come this way. Come this way follow my voice. Before I knew it, there was another guy next to me doing the same thing and we both kept taking turns reaching into the smoke, hoping to feel someone in there and a few times we were able to grab people by the jacket or the belt and just pull them out into the snow. But after a minute or two, the heat and the flames inside the club had spread so fast that we just couldn't stay there any longer. I looked at the guy next to me and said we've got to get out of here. And that's when I noticed. The other guy was James. We no sooner ran away from that doorway. Flames were shooting out of the door into the sky. James went around the front. Of the club to see. Who else he could help and? I went into the parking lot as the first of what would be many. Fire trucks arrived. Kept asking anyone who looked important. What I could do to help firemen, policemen, paramedics? They all just kept saying the same thing, just stay out of the way. The chaos of the whole thing really didn't even register with me until probably an hour or so later. I was standing on the sidewalk across the street. Out of the way. Next to James and Lisa and her boyfriend watching the ambulances one by one lined up on the street. As far as the eye could see all waiting to take injured people to the hospital. And when I saw the firemen placing giant blue tarps over the smoldering. Black pile of debris that. Moments ago was a building. I knew then I had just witnessed something I'll never forget. Exactly 100 people died as a result of that fire. Hundreds more were injured. Many permanently. But somehow I got out with hardly a scratch. When I tried to thank whichever of my friends it was who told me. Which way to go? None of them knew what I was talking about. So who said it? To this day, I can still hear that voice in my head. No Tom. This way. I want to take a moment to once again thank all the firemen, paramedics, police and heroes who helped out that night in and all the people who volunteered and helped the victims and their families over all these years, especially the. Station family fund and. Station Fire Memorial Foundation. You can visit their website and find out more about the station nightclub fire. At the station memorialfoundation.org. My paranormal story is written, produced and narrated by me. Tom Stewart. Music from this episode, courtesy of [email protected]. If you enjoy my stories and would like to. Support the podcast. You can go to buymeacoffee.com/my paranormal or just click on the donate button on my website at my paranormal story.com. I also have T-shirts and coffee mugs for sale. Unfortunately, podcasts cost money in your support helps me keep this podcast running. Thank you for your support. Please don't forget to subscribe so you'll know when I've added new episodes and feel free to follow me on Facebook and Instagram. Just search for my paranormal story. If you have a podcast and you'd like to have me as a guest, or if you would like to ask me a question or tell me your paranormal story, you can e-mail me at [email protected]. Thanks for listening. I'm Tom Stewart and this is my paranormal story.
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