Coconut Grove Fire By Jace Laidig

Coconut Grove fire By: Jace Laidig
On November 28, 1942, this club was the scene of the deadliest nightclub fire in history,killing 492 people (which was 32 more than the building's authorized capacity) and injuring hundreds more. This tragedy shocked the nation, briefly taking the headlines in the newspaper over World War 2.This fire led to a reform of safety standards and codes across the country, and major changes in the treatment and rehabilitation of burn victims. The Cocoanut Grove fire was the second deadliest single-building fire in American history. The Iroquois theater fire in 1902 in Chicago had taken more than 605 lives, with the Cocoanut fire taking 492 lives. Around the time 10:15 P.M. The Ignition of synthetic palm tree decorations is what is believed to have started the raging fire but it was never proved. There are many theories on what happened, but the ignition of fake palm trees by a match is believed to be the case. The main suspect Barney Welansky, had locked exits, concealed others with draperies, and even bricked up one emergency exit to prevent customers from leaving without paying] Coincidentally, on the night of the fire, he was

Both of the death tolls were placed and blamed on the managers of the buildings, by blocking doors and exit ways. Both buildings also had some kind of safety violations. Both managers had teenagers working for them for minimum wage and a lot of which were killed. Both locations had or were made into some kind of landmark, the Triangle factory was made into a historic landmark. But the nightclub was built a bronze plaque on the sidewalk to ember the dead and to show the major changes that were made. Lastly, both fires led to dramatic changes in safety codes and modifications to building, like having wider hallways, an evacuation plan and open exits at all