PROVIDENCE, RI - State prison officials said Tuesday they're still considering whether a man who ignited a nightclub fire that killed 100 people should be placed in a work-release program.

Daniel Biechele, 29, pleaded guilty last month to 100 counts of involuntary manslaughter for starting a deadly blaze in 2003 at The Station club in West Warwick. He was sentenced to four years in prison, but a judge ruled Biechele should be eligible for a work-release program.

Biechele was the tour manager for the heavy metal band Great White and triggered the blaze by lighting a pyrotechnics display inside the crowded club. Club owners Jeffrey and Michael Derderian are awaiting trial.

Biechele has received an offer to work as a bookkeeper from The Arc of Northern Rhode Island, a nonprofit firm that serves the disabled. The final decision rests with the state Department of Corrections, according to Kenneth Findlay, a department spokesman.

Correction officials are checking the background of Biechele's potential supervisor at The Arc and determining whether Biechele can secure rides between the prison and the work site. Prison officials can deny Biechele work release if there's a perceived safety threat.

Letters about Biechele's work-release request have been mailed to the families of the 100 people who died in the blaze, Findlay said. Similar letters were also sent to the West Warwick and Woonsocket police departments.