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The
following provided by Jeff's hometown newspaper the
Tri-Valley
Herald.
Danville family hopes for miracle Man who
went back into burning club in Rhode Island still missing
By Scott Steinberg, STAFF WRITER
The family of Danville resident Jeff Rader was in Rhode Island on
Monday, where two memorials took place for victims of the nightclub
fire. Fifty-five of 97 victims have been identified thus far, but
Rader, who was at the club that night, was not one of them. Videos
show Rader escaped minutes before pyrotechnics turned the club into an
inferno. But then he discovered his girlfriend was still inside the
club as flames ate away at the ceilings. For a man like Rader, the
choice was obvious, friends said. He re-entered the club. And it
appears to have been a fatal decision. Authorities have identified his
girlfriend's body. Rader's parents and older brother are in Rhode
Island. Although family members have not located him, friends fear
Rader was one of the people killed Thursday evening at the Great White
concert in West Warwick.
Officials are continuing to investigate the reasons for the fire,
which also injured about 180 people. Polyurethane soundproofing around
the stage may have been responsible for feeding the fire. Such
material, an inexpensive answer to soundproofing, is illegal in Rhode
Island bars. "Things were coming together for Jeff," said Duane
Serfass, Rader's best friend. "He was happier than he's ever been."
Before the fire, the 32-year-old was on the verge of earning a living
working solely in the music industry. He and Serfass were building up
their company, I-Wear, which was selling T-shirts and album covers to
heavy-metal bands. Rader also worked for Tesla, a Sacramento-based
heavy-metal band. During tours, he tuned the drums, constructed sets,
sold T-shirts -- anything to be around the music he loved. Biding his
time until the next Tesla tour, Rader was spending time with his
girlfriend, a Rhode Island resident he met at a Tesla concert a few
months ago. The two bonded through heavy-metal, power-driven mus- been
on the decline locally and nationally for about 10 years. But when the
bands play, the fans come -- a fact made apparent by the crammed
Station club in West Warwick. Right place, wrong time It only made
sense that Rader would see a Great White concert. The musicians were
his friends. He previously had been a road crew member for the band.
He was not working at the show, friends said. But when the fire
started, Rader did not hesitate to serve as a guide, trying to save
the lives of concertgoers. Friends said a video shows a pony tailed,
bespectacled Rader directing people toward an appropriate exit after
the fireworks ignited the ceiling. Rader left the club himself, only
to return minutes later in search of his girlfriend. "I don't know how
many people he saved, but he absolutely saved lives," Serfass said.
Music lover Heavy metal appealed to Rader from an early age. He grew
his hair long and started playing the drums, committing himself to a
strict diet of power chords and KISS standards. Rader worked
periodically for a local pizzeria chain, where he earned money between
tours, and universal respect from co-workers. Leading up to Thursday's
fire, he worked part time at Garlex Pizza in Concord. Garlex manager
Tony Kroll was not surprised that Rader, the consummate good friend,
returned to a burning club, possibly sacrificing his life. "If you
were a friend, he would do anything for you," Kroll said. Rader took
Kroll to Sacramento about six months ago to attend a heavy-metal
concert. They went backstage and hobnobbed on the tour bus with the
band L.A. Guns, another group that Rader called both idols and
friends. "Music was his life. He was doing what he loved," the
29-year-old said. "He didn't care about money. That's why we got along
so well. We had the same outlook on life." Marne Orrey, 30, of San
Francisco, met Rader in 1989 when both worked at Garlex Pizza in
Danville. The two dated for several years. She said she takes comfort
in knowing Rader is a hero. "He knew what was important, and did his
own thing," Orrey said. "It didn't matter to him what society expected
him to do at 32."Family awaits answer Rader's parents and older
brother, Ralph, are in Rhode Island. The Danville family "will make a
statement to the media when appropriate." In the meantime, they are
praying for a miracle. Ralph, however, posted a message early Monday
on a Web site for Tesla fans. "My family takes great comfort in the
fact that Jeff was with people that he loved and doing what he loved,
and lived for, at the time of the accident," he wrote. Leonora
Salvemini has lived next to the Raders for about 25 years on El Cerro
Boulevard. She talked to Jean Rader, Jeff's mother, before the family
left for Rhode Island. "She came over here after the fire," Salvemini
said. "She was devastated. ... You here about miracle stories all the
time, and that's what I'm hoping for." Rader was always helping his
mother, mowing her lawn, cleaning her pool, Salvemini said. "He was a
wonderful young man," she said. Staff writer Brooke Bryant and wire
services contributed to this report.
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