The defendants deny wrongdoing in the fire at the Great White show.

WARWICK, R.I. (AP) – The owners of The Station nightclub and the tour manager for Great White were indicted Tuesday on charges related to a February fire that started after the band’s pyrotechnics set the club ablaze, killing 100 people and injuring scores of other concertgoers.

Club owners Jeffrey and Michael Derderian were each charged with 200 counts of involuntary manslaughter – two counts for each of the 100 deaths – for having the flammable foam that contributed to the rapid spread of the fire, and for alleged negligence in their management of the club.

Tour manager Dan Biechele also was charged with 200 counts of involuntary manslaughter for setting off the pyrotechnics that sparked the blaze.

All three men pleaded innocent in Kent County Superior Court and were released after posting bail. Each count of manslaughter carries a maximum penalty of 30 years. If found guilty, a judge could order the defendants to serve the sentences concurrently or consecutively. The next court hearing is set for Feb. 9.

“I understand that no grand jury finding would or could ever speak to the profound suffering and sorrow the victims and their loved ones have endured,” state Attorney General Patrick Lynch said in announcing the indictments after meeting privately with fire survivors and victims’ families.

“Our mantra all along has been ‘facts, evidence, the law.’ Nothing else would be a factor. Nothing else was a factor.”

The fire started after pyrotechnics were shot off just seconds into Great White’s first song, quickly igniting highly flammable foam that had been placed around the stage as soundproofing. Thick smoke quickly spread through the club and within minutes, the one-story, wooden building was engulfed in flames, trapping concertgoers as they rushed toward the exits.

The cause of the fire was known almost immediately and the victims’ final moments were captured by a local television cameraman who was gathering footage for a story on safety in public places.

While the band maintained it received permission to set off the fireworks, the club owners insisted permission was never given.

The lawyer for the club’s owners said it was unfair that his clients were charged when he believes other people were to blame – from town inspectors who failed to note the flammable foam at the club to the band leader.

“They are not criminals. They did not commit any criminal acts and they should not be charged with any crime,” said Jeffrey Pine, attorney for Jeffrey Derderian.

“While we are deeply sympathetic to the victims, the fact remains that Dan Biechele is not guilty of the charges brought in this case,” said Biechele’s attorney, Tom Briody. “He could not have known of the dangerous conditions that existed inside The Station.”

The grand jury was convened within days of the Feb. 20 fire at the West Warwick club. Lynch said the three defendants were charged under both possible theories of involuntary manslaughter: criminal negligence and so-called “misdemeanor manslaughter.”

In the first case, the state claims the defendants showed “gross negligence” leading to the victims’ deaths. In the second, the state charges the defendants committed misdemeanors leading to the deaths.

Lynch said the state does not have to prove the defendants intended to cause the victims’ deaths, only that negligent actions led to the fourth-deadliest fire in U.S. history.

Members of Great White, who have been named in several civil suits, were not charged by the grand jury.

Great White was a popular band during the 1980s heavy metal era, with hits such as “Once Bitten, Twice Shy” and “Rock Me.” The band’s guitarist, Ty Longley, was among those killed in the fire.

Ed McPherson, an attorney for Great White, said the band was relieved, but saddened over the tragedy, and the loss of life.

“I’m saddened for Dan,” McPherson added. “He’s a 27-year-old kid.”

Phone messages left with Town Manager Wolfgang Bauer, and town Solicitor Timothy Williamson were not immediately returned.

The fire in the blue-collar community of West Warwick, about 12 miles south of Providence, seemed to touch everyone in this small state where connections run deep.

“They say there are six degrees of separation in this world. In Rhode Island, there’s a degree and a half,” Lynch said after the blaze. “The pain rips through this community quicker than any other.”

Authorities investigated the blaze for more than nine months, picking through the charred remains of the site for evidence and interviewing witnesses. They seized computers, documents, club records and appointment books from band members and the club’s owners. Investigators also took inspection reports from the town and receipts from a foam manufacturer and collected dozens of items from the site of the fire, including club doors, wiring, spray paint and foam samples.

In the wake of the fire, Gov. Don Carcieri called for emergency inspections of all public buildings similar to The Station nightclub, and the state formed a commission to investigate the blaze. State lawmakers passed stringent new fire-safety standards, including stricter rules on sprinkler requirements for older buildings.

The blaze also led other states to propose tougher fire regulations for nightclubs and prompted finger-pointing among local officials. Fire and building inspection reports released by the town of West Warwick never mention the foam that surrounded the stage, and the club had passed its last inspection – two months before the fire.

“I remember at the time, people saying, ‘How did this happen? How did this happen?”‘ Carcieri said Tuesday. “Unfortunately bad decisions are made, bad judgments are made, people don’t follow the rules.”

AP-ES-12-09-03 1758EST