PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – A federal judge has dismissed some of the civil claims against WPRI-TV in connection with the deadly West Warwick nightclub fire.

U.S. District Judge Ronald Lagueux ruled that the TV station can’t be held responsible for the actions of one of its reporters, Jeffrey Derderian, who was co-owner of The Station nightclub, where a February 2003 fire there killed 100 concertgoers.

However, the judge did not dismiss other pending claims against the station and one of its cameramen, Brian Butler, who is accused in some lawsuits that he blocked one of the exits as he filmed the fire.

WPRI said it plans to file a separate motion on Butler’s behalf.

The club was destroyed in a fire after a band’s pyrotechnics set ablaze highly flammable foam that was on the club’s walls and ceilings. Beside the 100 people who died, the fire also injured more than 200 others. It was the fourth deadliest nightclub fire in U.S. history.

Jeffrey Derderian, his brother and co-owner Michael, and the band’s tour manager have each been charged with 200 counts of involuntary manslaughter. A number of lawsuits have also been filed by the families of fire victims and survivors.

AP-ES-05-25-05 1735EDT