PROVIDENCE, R.I. ? The death toll from the West Warwick nightclub fire was lowered by one to 96 on Thursday, hours after a federal disaster agency said it was launching a formal probe of the blaze blamed on a rock group’s pyrotechnics.

Gov. Don Carcieri said the final count was determined after the medical examiner completed examining all the remains. The discrepancy came while investigators were trying to identify body parts.

All the victims have been identified after “painstaking work matching up lots of information and records,” the governor said.

About 60 people remained hospitalized, including 36 in critical condition.

The fire swept through The Station nightclub after the heavy-metal band Great White set off a pyrotechnic display Feb. 20.

Officials with the band say they had approval to use the special effects, but the club owners, brothers Jeffrey and Michael Derderian, have denied giving permission.

An attorney for Great White’s tour manager said Thursday the club not only approved pyrotechnics but wanted them used during the band’s concert.

Fire investigators believe the shower of sparks sparked soundproofing behind the stage, sending flames roaring through the one-story wooden building in only a matter of minutes.