On February 20, 2003, 31-year-old Joe Kinan went to a concert at The Station nightclub in West Warwick, Rhode Island, to see Jack Russell’s Great White. He hadn’t planned on attending, but a friend had an extra ticket, so Joe rearranged his work schedule and decided to go.
Moments after the band began playing, indoor pyrotechnics ignited highly flammable soundproofing foam on the walls and ceiling. The fire spread with shocking speed, and within seconds the crowded club filled with smoke and flames.
Joe tried to escape through the main entrance as hundreds of people surged toward the same exit. In the chaos, he was knocked to the floor near the doorway. As the building burned, flames rolled over him until two firefighters pulled him from the inferno.
The Station nightclub fire claimed 100 lives and injured more than 230 people, making it one of the deadliest nightclub fires in U.S. history. Joe survived, but he was the most critically injured survivor.
He suffered third- and fourth-degree burns over about 40 percent of his body. He lost all ten fingers, all ten toes, and the vision in his left eye. Doctors told his family his chances of survival were slim.
Joe spent nearly a year moving between intensive care units, hospitals, and rehabilitation centers. His recovery involved skin grafts, amputations, and constant medical treatment. Over time, he would endure more than 120 surgeries.
Slowly, despite the trauma, Joe rebuilt his life. He became active in burn survivor communities and began speaking publicly about his experience, offering hope and encouragement to others recovering from devastating injuries.
In 2012, nearly nine years after the fire, Joe reached a major milestone when he received a bilateral hand transplant at Massachusetts General Hospital, restoring abilities he had lost that night.
Through the burn survivor community, Joe later met fellow survivor Carrie Pratt. They married and welcomed a daughter in 2014.
More than two decades after the Station nightclub fire, Joe Kinan continues to live with the lasting effects of that evening. Today, he is a powerful advocate for burn survivors, using his story to raise awareness, honor those who were lost, and remind the world of the human cost of preventable tragedies.
