Summary and Findings on the Cocoanut Grove Nightclub Fire

Cocoanut Grove Night Club Fire
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A summary of the fire and its findings
The Cocoanut Grove Fire of 1942, November 28, is considered to be one of the worst disasters in the history of the United States. The restaurant, also a supper club, was built in 1927 in downtown Boston as a single-story building comprising a basement containing the Melody Lounge bar, the kitchen, store, and freezers. A large dining area, a ballroom with a platform, and some bar areas were on the first floor (The story of the Cocoanut Grove Fire, nd). The primary entry point to the supper club was through a revolving door. The need for people to relax and try to forget war events made all super clubs ever busy and packed beyond their holding capacity, and the Cocoanut Grove was no different. Considered THE nightclub to be in Boston, it was always overcrowded with an estimated one thousand people per night, according to Boston firefighters
On November 28, 10.15 PM, a busboy was tasked with fixing a lightbulb on an artificial tree in the Melody Lounge. Since it was dark, he is said to have set alight a match to find the bulb. A flame flicker was spotted on the palm tree and its decoration within a few minutes, which spontaneously began burning. Attempts by bartenders to put out the fire failed as it quickly spread throughout the lounge, igniting the decorations, furniture, and the plywood ceiling, burning into a fireball of flame and emitting toxic chemicals. As the merrymakers ran toward the lounge’s public exit on the first floor, the fire quickly moved along the stairway to the foyer area. Unfortunately, the exit door was locked. The other exit commonly utilized by waiters through the kitchen to an outside alleyway was also closed (Cocoanut Grove Fire, nd).
A few customers managed to get to the revolving door at the front exit, but the revolving door jammed due to their high numbers, making it impossible to get out. The fireball eventually exploded in the dining area, where the majority of the patrons were. The fire engulfed the whole building, burning fast and hot due to the combustible materials within the clu...