ipl-logo

The Cocoanut Grove Fire

1526 Words7 Pages

The Cocoanut Grove fire was one of the deadliest nightclub fires in the United States I will be using this as an event that serves as a catalyst for change in the fire community, And I also believe it had a major impact and many positive changes when it came to the fire service and how we implement are regulations, codes, overall fire prevention and firefighting. But first I am really going to tell you what happened that night at the Cocoanut grove and how all these changes happened and what changes were done to the betterment of the fire service. Over 490 people were killed and hundreds injured at the night club. This massive inferno happened a little over 10:00 p.m. on November 28, 1942. The death toll was attributed to locked exit doors, …show more content…

As you know the exit doors where lock so that nobody could walk out the door without paying for meals, drinks, and shows, etc.… this problem exceeding allowed occupants loads, insufficient complying exits from delineated exit paths, have been the exact problem and contributing factors in at least three of the five most deadly nightclub fire in the United States. A great example In the Cocoanut Grove nightclub fire the occupancy limit of the club exceeded safe at an occupant load max of 400 people. What the occupant load determines the minimum number of and width of requires exits based on calculations of the type of assembly occupancy structures, buildings or a portion of each. What these guidelines help do is give fire officials a fundamental basis for their inspection programs. Exiting is the most critical of all requirements for any assembly occupancy, it provides easy identifiable exit paths so fires or collapsing structures do not easily block people from leaving any building in a tragedy like this one. Most guidelines are developed by the NFPA but in general terms occupancies require to have a minimum of at least two exits from the main entrance/exit and able to accommodate at least half of the occupant load. And all doors much swing in the direction of the path traveled and have panic hardware. Which the Cocoanut Grove club had none of these actions in to …show more content…

Speed of the fire and the air that choked the club was the main devil in the tragic event. In the Cocoanut Grove incident the fire started when the artificial coconut palm tree was ignited. The NFPA actually reported and stated "The interior, with its low ceilings, combustible wall and ceiling finish and flammable decorations was actually a death trap, but the building structure itself was 'fire proof'." But todays codes require that most interior materials be all fire tested to determine their flame spread and smoke development. If walls or ceilings are required to have any noncombustible construction, then the finish materials must be applied directly to the fire assembly and all voids must be filled with fire-resistant materials to prevent the fire from spreading in concealed spaces. Also all interior decorations are required to be treated with flame-retardants. Even with these standards, most of which have been in effect even before the 1942 Cocoanut Grove fire. Have served a purpose for fires how they are spread. Most people at that time didn’t put these codes into effect at that time because of the cost and economy and most couldn’t offered it because of world war two. But the main over view and what changes were made for future fires and how it changed and served as a catalyst for the fire service profession in a positive way

Show More
Related
400 Words | 2 Pages

In Cleveland, Ohio there was a fire that occurred on June 22, 1969, around 12pm on the Cuyahoga river. People called it the “burning river”. The river caught on fire because there were floating pieces of debris that was slicked with oil. The debris ignited by sparks that came from a train that was passing over the river. The reason it happened is from years of people dumping pollution into the river.

Read More
466 Words | 2 Pages

On the night of the fire, overcrowding and insufficient egress options contributed to the tragedy. An estimated 1,000 individuals were present in the nightclub, well beyond its authorized capacity. The building's layout included a main floor, balcony, and multiple connected spaces, creating a very complex

Read More
443 Words | 2 Pages

Shoaib Sheikh HIST 1312, Zimmer 9/29/2015 "Preventable Fires" A little over a hundred years ago, America suffered one of the most deadliest industrial accidents in the country's history. On March 25th, 1911, a fire ignited by a cigarette began on the eight floor of the Triangle Shirtwaist Company. The fire spread to the entire building and eventually resulted in the death of 146 shirtwaist workers (mostly girls.) This tragedy exposed the horrible conditions in which these workers were forced to work and the disregard of the safety of the workers by the factory owners.

Read More
857 Words | 4 Pages

The burning went on for hours more firefighting foam was used till firefighters gained control which ended up around 4 pm. Afterwards management stood up and took control and implemented changes in safety on the site where the fires happened, also other sites that store dangerous goods on all Coode Island Facilities. Overall the Coode Island fire was among one of the series of incidents were it helped change the hazard facility safety outlook in many ways. There are so many lessons to be learned and I think lessons were learned and taken very serious.

Read More
1454 Words | 6 Pages

Also having fusible doors and inflammable materials is important, although they might be more expensive the safety of a human is more valuable than money. Towards the end of the book Esposito proposes the reader with advice to help prevent such disaster to happen again. Some of his tips to avoid being caught in a public building on fire are to look for exits as soon as you enter the place. In addition, he to reacting if a fire alarm goes of or the smell of smoke becomes obvious.

Read More
133 Words | 1 Pages

This is a violation against human dignity. The United Nations must rise and take a stand against this. The United Nations must enforce the Fire and Building Safety accord universally, and hold

Read More
639 Words | 3 Pages

As the responder’s lacked this specialized training, firefighters arrived on the scene without the tools necessary to effectively perform a risk assessment. This would have enabled them to make the informed decision of not fighting the fire (U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, 2013). Firefighters must have the ability to ascertain the scene of a fire emergency, including changes in the characteristics of a fire (U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, 2013). Instead, they made decisions lacking situation awareness, which ultimately cost the department 12 lives. It is evident that emergency response leaders sent firefighters unprepared to the scene of the WFC incident.

Read More
1428 Words | 6 Pages

The Triangle Fire The Triangle fire that claimed the lives of 146 people, most of them immigrant women and girls, caused an outcry against unsafe working conditions in factories. Firefighters arrived at the scene, but their ladders could only reach the 6th floor of the ten-story building, while the hose could only reach the 7th floor. Workers were trapped inside because the owners had locked the fire escape exit doors to prevent theft, so workers jumped to their deaths. The government could’ve prevented the Triangle fire earlier if they listened to the workers’ plea for a safety working environment. Union organization tried to address the employees’ working conditions but wasn’t recognized.

Read More
821 Words | 4 Pages

Wild fires can happen where droughts occur and there are sufficient dry combustibles in the form of foliage, but they are more common in certain areas of the country, so check the records first. Research about other natural hazards, but keep in mind there is no property immune from certain occurrences but you have to know the frequency of the most common ones. Fifth Concern: Security and

Read More
715 Words | 3 Pages

Beverly Hills Supper Club Fire Introduction On May 28, 1977, the Beverly Hills Supper Club in Southgate, Kentucky, experienced a tragic fire that claimed the lives of 165 people and injured hundreds more. The incident remains one of the deadliest nightclub fires in U.S. history and serves as a reminder of the importance of fire safety codes and regulations. This paper will explore the events leading up to the fire, the fire code violations that contributed to the tragedy, the changes that were made to fire safety regulations as a result, and the legal actions taken against those responsible. Background The Beverly Hills Supper Club was a popular venue that attracted many celebrities, politicians, and other notable figures. The club was known

Read More
1900 Words | 8 Pages

I now understand that it does not only have to be fires or car accidents in which the fire service must be involved. In the academy, I have learned that the fire service mission is to “save lives and protect property and the environment from fires and other hazardous situations.” Because the amount of fires are not as numerous as it used to be, the approach has slightly changed to saving lives and protecting from all hazards, not only fires. Firefighters are involved in emergency medical services, technical rescue services, and dealing with hazardous material. They are also involved in fire prevention and public safety education to help educate children and adults on how to prevent fires and what dangerous habits may cause fires.

Read More
718 Words | 3 Pages

The Great Fire of 1910 lasted for two days and spread from hurricane winds that shot trees up like flying torpedos ( 4

Read More
779 Words | 4 Pages

The Grenfell Tower fire tragedy is presumed to have claimed 79 lives. Initially, the local council authorities were blamed for approving the construction of substandard high-rise buildings that threatened public safety (Scott p.1). On the contrary, it appears most of these assumptions were flawed, since additional revelations were exposed. For example, construction experts blamed the rapid spread of the fire on the of the 1967 archaic design standards. In addition, the failure was attributed to the external cladding that had been installed in the £10 m refurbishment.

Read More
680 Words | 3 Pages

According to Fire Science, “In the last eleven years, nearly 80 million acres have been consumed by wildfire, an area greater than the state of New Mexico” (“Worst States for Fire Danger”). The United States has suffered many wildfires in the past and still is. Wildfires have always been a major problem in the United States particularly in the west. There are many causes of wildfires. Along with how it affects the natural environment.

Read More
1453 Words | 6 Pages

The Cedar Fire was not the only fire burning, there were several other fires burning in California, limiting resources to San Diego County (CDF, 2004). The size of the fire crossed city and county jurisdictions requiring a multiple agency response, but coordination and communication was difficult due agencies not being fully equipped to response amongst each other (CDF, 2004). The fire not only raged through the wildlands of San Diego County, but destroyed planned communities and businesses, closed freeways, suspended flights, and even cancelled Monday Night Football (which was to be held at Qualcomm Stadium), since the stadium was being used as the main evacuation center (Dillion, 2003). The Cedar Fire was the worst case scenario, but many lessons were

Read More

More about The Cocoanut Grove Fire

Open Document