The Beverly Hills Supper Club fire was one of the deadliest nightclub fires in the United States' history, claiming the lives of 165 individuals on May 28, 1977. The fire brought about significant changes to fire safety regulations across the country, demonstrating how codes and standards are born out of tragedy. The Beverly Hills Supper Club was a popular nightclub and entertainment venue located in Southgate, Kentucky, just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, Ohio. The club, founded in 1941, had undergone several expansions over the years. The Cabaret Room, where the fire occurred, was expanded, and remodeled several times between 1966 and 1977, enlarging its seating capacity from 400 to over 1,200. The Cabaret Room was a winding …show more content…
The Cabaret Room was close to capacity, with over 1,300 guests in attendance. Smoke began to fill the room just before 9:00 pm, and panicked guests rushed to the exits, many of which were poorly marked and difficult to find. Most of the deaths were caused by smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning as guests became trapped inside the labyrinthine club. The cause of the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire has been attributed to a malfunctioning zoned lighting control system, which ignited a pile of debris behind a suspended ceiling. The fire spread rapidly due to the club's extensive use of decorative materials, such as flammable ceiling tiles and upholstered furniture. Despite the club's sprinkler system, the fire spread so quickly that the sprinklers were unable to contain it. The Beverly Hills Supper Club fire was a significant tragedy that brought about sweeping changes in fire safety regulations and codes in the United States. Prior to the fire, there was little consistency in fire safety regulations between states and even between municipalities. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) had been working on developing a national building code for several years, but the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire put new urgency into their