To whom that much has been given, much will be required

"To whom that much has been given, much will be required."
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But the banner outside the Station listed Great White as the night‘s headliner. And just seconds after the band launched into their first song, "Desert Moon," pyrotechnics lit by their tour manager caused a fire to ignite toward the back of the stage.

Russell, seeing the flame behind him, said, "Wow – that's not good," and initially tried to douse the fire with cups of water. As the flames spread and patrons calmly headed for the front doors, the band managed to easily escape through a fire exit near the stage.

"When I walked out the door, it just seemed like such an easy thing to do," Kendall says. "I just walked out. I just saw the door open."

After exiting the building, Kendall called his wife and told her the gig would be delayed until the fire was extinguished. But inside, a flashover spread rapidly along flammable foam used as insulation. Meanwhile, two of the four exits had been chained shut, and a bouncer initially forbade patrons from using the stage door, creating a bottleneck at the front door.