There’s a sad article in today’s New York Times about the fifth anniversary of the awful nightclub fire in Rhode Island that killed 100 people and seriously wounded 200 others. The survivors – many horribly burned – continue to struggle, and many feel forgotten.

This caught my attention:

“Many believe the circumstances of their misfortune — that they were blue-collar folks gathered in a scruffy club to hear Great White, a has-been ‘hair metal’ band from the ’80s — also help explain the lack of interest. The fire ignited when the band’s tour manager lit pyrotechnics on a small stage surrounded by highly flammable foam used as soundproofing.

“’We were waitresses, house painters, contractors, strippers,’ said Victoria Eagan, who escaped the fire with minor injuries but whose two best friends were badly burned. ‘If it had been people at the opera that night, there would have been a big difference.’”

Do you think Eagan is right? Would it have made a difference if the fire had occurred in an opera house?