The Associated Press reports that several defendants being sued by relatives of the 100 people killed in a 2003 nightclub fire have tentatively agreed to a $13.5 million settlement, a lawyer for one family in the case told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The settlements, if approved by a judge, would be the first in what the plaintiffs hope will be several agreements with dozens of defendants in the lawsuits stemming from the Feb. 20, 2003, fire at the Station nightclub in West Warwick. The fire also injured 200 people.

"It's just the beginning," said Michael St. Pierre, one of the attorneys representing nearly 300 fire survivors and victims' relatives who have sued in federal court.

The fire began when pyrotechnics for the rock band GREAT WHITE ignited flammable sound-absorbing foam around the stage and the club's walls. The foam quickly spread the blaze throughout the one-story roadhouse.

At the end of the day it's all about the benjamins not to put behind bars the guilty ones. I guess money makes you forget about pain and suffering...