NFPA Journal - November/December 2012 - (Page 46)

Recipe for Disaster Too many people and combustibles, and too few exits contributed to a night of horror It dIdn’t look lIke much from the outside—the original structure had been built as a garage and later housed a film distribution business—but in 1942 the Cocoanut Grove nightclub was the hub of Boston nightlife. Located on the edge of the city’s theater district, the two-level space included three bars and lounges, a dining/dance area, and kitchen and storage space, all spanning nearly 10,000 square feet (929 square meters). The walls were covered in imitation leather, fake palm trees ringed the dance floor, and furnishings sported zebra stripes. The house band swung, and there was a cadre of lithe Cocoanut Grove dancers. A well-mixed drink was 50 cents, and a steak was $2. The club hosted movie stars, popular singers, politicians, mob figures, enlisted men on leave, and droves of locals out for a good time. It was crowded, noisy, smoky, and hot, and Bostonians loved it. On the evening of Saturday, November 28, 1942, an estimated 1,000 people or more jammed Cocoanut Grove, roughly double its allowed capacity. Many had attended the Holy Cross–Boston College football game earlier in the day, played at Fenway Park, and were celebrating (or trying to forget) Holy Cross’s stunning upset of top-ranked BC. The cowboy movie star Buck Jones was in the house. Fire broke out in the crowded Melody Lounge, located in the club’s basement, at about 10:15 p.m. “Within a minute the fire had spread to the foyer upstairs. By 10:18 p.m., the main dining area was embroiled,” writes NFPA Journal contributor Stephanie Schorow in her book The Cocoanut Grove Fire. “Two minutes later, fire raced through [a] passageway into the Broadway Lounge”—meaning that the fire had covered 225 feet (69 meters), involving both floors of the building end to end, in about five minutes. The first victim reached Boston City Hospital by 10:35 p.m., and firefighters had the fire under control 10 minutes later. A number of possible causes for the fire were examined during the official investigation, but none were conclusive. ROBERT S. MOULTON, technical secretary of NFPA, excoriated Boston’s building laws, describing them as being subject to “incompetent enforcement, political influence, and careless management.” Regardless of its origin, the fire spread with tremendous force, in part the result of highly combustible furnishings and interior decorations. Witnesses recall seeing a giant fireball, white or bright orange or bluish-yellow, rip through the dining room, filling the air with fire in an instant. People died where they sat, or made frantic dashes for the exits—or where they thought 46 NFPA JOURNAL NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2012 Photograph: Courtesy of Stephanie Schorow

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - November/December 2012

NFPA Journal - November/December 2012
Contents
First Word
In a Flash
Perspectives
Firewatch
Research
Heads Up
Structural Ops
In Compliance
Buzzwords
Outreach
Electrical Safety
Wildfire Watch
Past + Present
Easy Being Green?
Pressure Points
2011 Large-Loss Fires
2011 Firefighter Injuries
Section Spotlight
What’s Hot
Looking Back

NFPA Journal - November/December 2012