West Warwick, R.I. ? Inspectors never reported seeing the highly flammable and possibly illegal foam covering the walls of a nightclub where 98 people were killed in a fast-moving fire last month, according to documents released Monday that raise the possibility the inspections were botched.

The documents — more than 60 pages covering three years of inspections at The Station by town building and fire officials — do not mention the egg-crate packaging material employees say was installed as soundproofing in 2000.

Town Manager Wolfgang Bauer couldn’t say why the foam wasn’t noted in the reports. “They either didn’t see it or it wasn’t there. Those are the two possibilities,” Bauer said.

The club’s stage manager and sound engineer, Paul Vanner, said the foam had been there since 2000. An attorney for one of the club’s owners said they had no idea the material was dangerous.

“At no time were they ever told by anyone that this foam was not appropriate. I mean, they just didn’t know it until that night, sadly,” said Kathleen Hagerty, who represents co-owner Michael Derderian.

The foam is believed to be a key part of the investigation into the Feb. 20 fire sparked by the pyrotechnics display of the band Great White. Flames raced up soundproofing behind and above the stage and roared through the club in mere minutes.

Polyurethane foam, which experts say burns like gasoline, was placed on the walls shortly after Jeffrey and Michael Derderian bought the club in 2000 after neighbors complained about noise.

Hagerty said the brothers didn’t know the foam was made of polyurethane. Aram DerManouelian, president of American Foam Co., which sold the foam to the club, did not immediately return a call. He has said the club bought the cheapest material available, and that the company only sold foam designed for packaging.

Town fire and building inspectors visited The Station at least annually to decide whether to renew its liquor license. They visited in November and raised several minor code problems that were fixed in time for the club to pass inspection Dec. 31.

Bauer said he considers the foam a secondary issue and that investigators are focusing on pyrotechnics. The band has said it had permission to use the special effects, a claim denied by the club’s owners.

Under state law, towns are immune from lawsuits unless they are found responsible for extraordinary wrongdoing.

Paul Martinek, editor of Boston-based Lawyers Weekly USA, said the apparent failure by inspectors to note the polyurethane foam on the club’s walls may be enough to hold the town liable.

“That definitely is the kind of negligence that could make the town susceptible to some kind of liability,” he said. “Here you have what is apparently a glaring violation of the law, not once but multiple times.”