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As As part of the headline band's opening act, pyrotechnics were setup by their tour manager at multiple positions on the main stage, and set off during the band's opening song.
The pyrotechnics emitted a shower of sparks designed to shoot out 15ft into the air, and immediately set ablaze several layers of urethane acoustic foam that had been mounted around the stage and on the ceiling. The foam, when burned, produced a highly toxic black smoke, consisting of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen cyanide. Only 2-3 breaths of this smoke would cause unconsciousness and eventual death from suffocation.
As a result of the use of pyrotechnics indoors during the Station nightclub fire, state and local authorities across the world have taken steps to explicitly ban the use of such devices indoors.
The volume of opaque smoke and the rapid acceleration in the growth of the fire was attributed to the acoustic materials used around the stage and ceiling. In particular, the acoustic foam, when ignited, caused the fire to spread rapidly across all combustable materials.
Within one minute, all of the combustable materials were ablaze. Within two minutes, the 400 capacity venue was engulfed in thick and toxic black smoke making visibility zero and escape nearly impossible. The materials caused the blaze to quickly accelerate, contributing to the severity of casualties.
Overcrowding was the first notable factor, as the venue's licensed capacity was 406, but at the time of the fire had more than 450 persons in attendance. Only about 180 of those 450 partygoers escaped uninjured that night.
Poorly designed entrances and exits were also sighted by investigators as contributing to the massive amount of injuries and deaths. Although the nightclub had multiple exits, they were unclearly marked, and people generally flocked back to the small main entrance where they entered.
In addition, poor crowd management training was also found by investigators as having been a contributing factor. It was reported that bouncers at the nightclub prevented patrons from exiting from emergency and alternative exits, stating these exits were for "band only," as the fire began to rage on.
In addition to the flammable materials that rapidly accelerated the fire, other contributing factors were evidenced upon investigation.
