The federal agency that regulates workplace safety has fined the owners of a nightclub that caught fire, killing 100 people, and the band whose pyrotechnics have been blamed for touching off the blaze.

Among the dead was Great White guitarist Ty Longley, a Shenango Valley native.

Longley's father, Pat, of Hartford, said he could see how the Occupational Safety and Health Administration would fine the band, but he holds the band harmless.

He also said it is not just the owners whom he blames for the fire, but the Rhode Island government for permitting the Station nightclub to be open.

OSHA fined Derco LLC, which operated the Station, $85,200 for one "willful" violation and six serious ones.

OSHA said the willful violation was the installation of an exit door that swung the wrong way. The others involved the use of highly flammable foam in the club, inadequate safety planning and an exit door that was concealed by foam, the agency said.

Jeff Pine, who represents club owner Jeffrey Derderian, said he is encouraged that only one willful violation was found. Pine said he will meet with OSHA representatives to discuss the agency's conclusions.

"We want to sit down with them and discuss the nature of the violations ... and if any of them have merit, we'd like to work out a reasonable resolution of the situation," Pine said.

An attorney for club co-owner Michael Derderian did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

Jack Russell Touring Inc., the corporate entity representing Great White, faces a $7,000 fine for failing to protect employees from fire hazards, OSHA said.

"I don't think it's appropriate," band attorney Ed McPherson said of the fine, adding the band will likely appeal. The club and band have 15 days to do so.

Great White, best known for the songs "Once Bitten Twice Shy" and "Save You Love," was playing at the Station on Feb. 20 when its pyrotechnic display started the blaze that killed 100 people and injured nearly 200 others.

Longley said, in hindsight, he might not have set off the band's pyrotechnic display in the club, with its low ceiling. But, he added:

"They were sparklers. You can put your hand over them and not get hurt. Lord, don't put them over a can of gasoline."

By using highly flammable foam in the club, the sparklers essentially were over a can of gasoline.

Longley, who saw the sparklers used by the band in Detroit, said he was sickened when he saw footage of the club and how fast the flames spread.

"Who in the hell inspected that building?" said Longley, a project coordinator and estimator for Rien Construction Co., Brookfield. "The foam they used, there was no excuse for that. I doubt if sprinklers could have stopped that fire."

Longley, who stays in touch with the band, said laws require builders to use certain nonflammable materials, but that obviously was not the case at the Station.

"It sickens you to know that people got away with that," he said. "Not just the owners, but the people who let them do it."