Kane's son, Nicholas O'Neill, at age 18, was the youngest victim of The Station nightclub fire of 2003 in which 100 people lost their lives. In the wake of this tragedy, Kane became a strong proponent of fire safety awareness and the enforcement of strict laws for the administration of fire safety inspections on public buildings. Kane was publicly opposed to Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch's handling of the criminal trials of those involved in negligence leading to the fire.