WEST WARWICK, R.I. — The slow road to build a permanent memorial at the site of a nightclub fire that killed 100 people 12 years ago is getting shorter, as organizers said they are inching closer to raising the $2 million they need to complete it.

The Station Fire Memorial Foundation has now raised $1.3 million after recently receiving several large donations, and the end is in sight for the yearslong effort, organizers said this month.

The 2003 fire in West Warwick was started when the rock band Great White set off pyrotechnics inside The Station nightclub, which had flammable foam lining its walls and ceiling as soundproofing. More than 200 people were injured.

A temporary memorial cropped up on the site shortly after the fire. The memorial foundation secured ownership of the land in 2012 and began to actively raise funds, but that effort got a slow start.

The pace has picked up recently after multiple donations of $50,000 to $150,000, fundraiser Daniel Barry said. Around $500,000 of the total is in-kind donations of goods and services from trade unions, construction companies and other groups, he said.


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