123 School Work

Fire Technology Coconut Grove nightclub fire

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  Coconut Grove Nightclub Fire
            During the early days of World War II, a major fire struck on Saturday night, November 28, 1942. The fire occurred at the Coconut Grove, a popular nightclub in Boston, Massachusetts. The club exceeded its 600-person capacity to approximately 1,000 occupants, many of whom were people preparing to go overseas on military duty. In the Melody Lounge a 16-year-old bar boy, Stanley Tomaszewski, lit a match to replace a light bulb that had been removed by a patron and was considered the cause for this tragic fire, which took 492 lives then injured 166. While almost half of the occupants were killed, and many were seriously injured its known to be the worst nightclub fire disaster in history. Flammable decorations of artificial palm trees and drapery quickly caught fire. It took only 15 minutes for the fire to engulf the building. The two revolving doors at the main entrance had bodies stacked four and five deep after the fire was brought under control. Fire officials said that possibly 300 of those killed could have been saved had the doors swung outward. People were unable to exit the club...