Although my incarceration has ended, remembering the loss of life and pain from family members and survivors is something that will never leave me. The magnitude of what happened cannot be measured in words and while my prison time was certainly difficult, I have always known there are others who have endured so much more on a daily basis.

I plan to contribute to our non-profit Station Education Fund where with the help of many people we have secured significant college scholarship assistance and raised money for children who lost parents in the fire. I also plan to help those affected in any way I can through participation in prevention and education so this kind of tragedy can never happen again anywhere. I would also be willing to speak about my experience while incarcerated in the hopes that it may deter people from making the wrong choices.

Finally I’d like to take a moment to thank the many, many people, including victims, who offered words of encouragement and support to both me and my family during this period. You have no idea how much those words meant during those many times that our hearts and our spirits came so close to breaking.

Michael Derderian