Graham Laseter
Ms. Clark
English 9
8 November 2017
Cocoanut Grove Fire
Thesis:
I. Background
A. History/Before the Fire
B. First-hand Story
C. Thesis
II. Sequence of Events
A. First
B. Second
C. Third
D. Atmosphere
III. Errors in Judgement
A. First
B. Second
C. Third
IV. Final Consequences
A. First
B. Second
C. Third
V. Preventive Measures
A. First
B. Second
C. Third
Graham Laseter
Ms. Clark
English 9
8 November 2017
Cocoanut Grove Fire
It was a rowdy November night on Broadway in Boston, Massachusetts. After the unexpected win of a local football team, people began pouring into the Cocoanut Grove nightclub. Irja Shepherd recalls sitting in a booth in the corner of the main dining room. Now, she would give anything to forget that horrifying night. Many of the big names in Boston poured in through the large doors at Cocoanut Grove night club. Buck Jones, locals, and many others were there celebrating the victory of the Holy Cross football team that night. The club, only licensed for 460, held over one thousand people. The owner of the club, Barney Welansky, was a notorious gangster. He was not very focused on the safety of his building, or getting it inspected regularly. He had only recently renovated Cocoanut Grove to fit more people than before. The street-level floor held the Melody Lounge, one of the most popular bars in Boston at the time. Upstairs, there was a large restaurant with the performers' dressing rooms directly below. The restaurant was very over-the-top, with a revolving stage in the center for shows. Irja Sheppard recounts the horror that was brought on that November night. The picture of the waiter who reached above her head to change a lightbulb, which some say caused the tragedy, hangs in her memory. This small move could have cost 492 people their lives, and changed hundreds more. She remembers the beginning of the fire, "Within a matter of moments, the whole ceiling was gone." She is now 78, and still lives in the Boston area. She did not panic, but kept quiet and got to the downstairs refrigerator. She was finally able to make it out of the building- minus her shoes. Irja said that she remember grabbing the coattail of a man in front of her. The man elbowed her as hard as he could, telling her that it was every person for themselves. A display at the Old State House Museum was set up to honor the victims of the 1942 tragedy. The fire led to sever restrictions on building occupancy as well as new fire codes in Boston, as well as many other cities on the East Coast. The cause of the Cocoanut Grove tragedy remains undetermined, but many speculate that the waiter's lightbulb was the cause, notes the “Cocoanut Grove Fire.” The Cocoanut Grove Fire was one of the most devastating fires in U.S. history, and it has forever changed United States fire laws.
The outside of Cocoanut Grove was relatively conservative compared to what was inside. Faux leather covered every wall, with velvet seating and paper mâchè palm trees placed throughout the main dining room. Large sheets of velvet fabric covered the industrial ceilings. Walnut veneer covered the plywood curved bar with ceiling lights made out of cocoanut husks. The entire place was gaudily Hawaiian! (Canning 50) Firefighters in Boston to this day are afraid of another disaster such as this happening again. Survivors of Cocoanut Grove to this day map out the exits of buildings, and call the fire department for small incidents. Many still go to therapy to deal with the emotional toll of guilt and grief. Ian Finn, a survivor of the fire, says, "You wonder, when there were so many people, why were you spared?” Before the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Red Cross had not been as well-known as it is today. After Pearl harbor, the Red Cross created disaster plans for large-scale disasters. The Cocoanut Grove Fire was the first time that those plans were used. All of Boston's ambulances were called, and the hospitals quickly became overflowed with new patients. The Red Cross did many things to help the patients, as well as provide support for the emergency workers, notes “The Cocoanut Grove Fire.” Many retired and serving nurses were recruited to help with the treatment of fire victims. During the week following the fire, nurses were called on a volunteer basis. After that week, the nurses would return home. “The Cocoanut Grove Fire” states, “Upon notification of the fire at the Cocoanut Grove night club, the chairman of the Boston Chapter’s Disaster Relief and Preparedness Committee called the fire department to ask what was needed. The reply was ‘ambulances’.” On average, eighty nurses were employed every day by the Red Cross. During all the commotion surrounding the event, many of the deceased and injured were difficult or impossible to identify. The number of deceased people grew so rapidly, that the identification of the bodies had to be done at the morgues, not hospitals. Thousands of letters concerning the wellbeing of loved ones were sent to the Red Cross. Many volunteers were sent to console the victims' families, while others were given the task of identifying the victims. Others planned funerals and memorial services, arranged burials, searched for homes for new orphans, and helped arrange transportation for the victims' families. All families were contacted personally by the Red Cross in the first day. Even though all Boston hospitals had individual blood banks, the Red Cross kept two-hundred fifty units of dry blood plasma as precaution for a large-scale disaster. Almost all of this was used during Cocoanut Grove, with 600 units being shipped in from the Washington D.C. chapter. The blood was estimated to have saved over one-hundred fifty lives. Not only did the Red Cross supply life-saving materials, but they also tried their best to get the victims' lives back to normal. A musician who had been badly injured during the fire lost a tuxedo, as well as his musical instrument. The Red Cross replaced both of these. The national agency had a total of $42,000 set aside for Cocoanut Grove rehabilitation. Cocoanut Grove opened on October 27, 1927. Mickey Albert originally ran it with his brother. The nightclub was a huge success at first, but they began losing money after a couple of years in business. They eventually put the club up for sale in 1931, and Charles Soloman, a notorious gangster, bought it, records the Boston Herald. The building itself was originally a motion picture exchange and garage. This was a smaller building, so eventually three surrounding buildings were purchased to enlarge the nightclub. This gave the nightclub a strange floorpan and shape, most likely making it not in line with fire codes. The end result was a very large building that took up half a block. The Grove, the club's restaurant, was licensed for 100 tables, 400 chairs, and 30 stools, giving it a square footage of 10,250 square feet. This section did not have fire sprinklers, and it was not required in Boston at that time. Much of the furniture was later considered very flammable. Many materials included blue satin cloth and faux fur, which contributed to the fire spreading so quickly. The floor plan of the building had many confusing hallways, rooms, and closets. The most deaths were caused in the basement, where there were no doors to the outside. The foyer included one exit on the main level. From the foyer, people were able to access the main dining room, Caricature Bar, and Melody Lounge. The Caricature Bar was said to be the largest in Boston. The walls were adorned with signed photos of famous people who visited the bar. There was no exit from this area. The main dining room covered the largest open area in the building. You could access this area only by the foyer. In the middle of the room, there was a large stage for opera performances. The Terrace was a large balcony that overlooked the balcony, and was reserved for the wealthy and famous people that visited. During the summer, a retractable roof was lifted for dancing under the stars. There were three entrances that people used to escape the fire; the foyer that led to Piedmont Street, a set of stairs that waiters used to get to the kitchen, and a laundry chute in the basement. According to “The Cocoanut Grove Fire”, “There was both a main bar and a service bar. Tables and chairs formed a line on one side of the main bar. There were no outside exits from this area.”
Many other fires struck the Boston area during this time period. There was an 1832 fire that wiped out most of their city hall and town square. Just two years later, an angry mob torched he Ursuline Convent in Charleston, killing one person. Hotel Vendome, the deadliest fire in Boston Fire Department had ever seen struck only 30 years after Cocoanut Grove in 1972. When the firefighters arrived at the scene, they realized that it was unlike a normal, accidental fire. The poisonous fumes spread very quickly, and the fire raged through the building even faster. With this combination, they knew something was wrong. The majority of the deaths were caused by toxic smoke inhalation, not burns. The source of the fire was never determined, and the investigation is still open. One of the first thoughts to arise after the fire was the idea of arson. It took place in the middle of World War II, and many thought that the fire was an attack on the U.S. at first. The official cause of the fire was determined to be unknown, and here are still may theories as to how the fire got started.The busboy, 16 year old Stanley Tomaszewski, was thought to be the cause of the fire. Early in the evening, he changed a lightbulb at a booth in the corner of the main dining room. In the dark corner, he could not see very well, so he struck a match to provide some light. After more than 400 people died, he swore that he had put it out. The public thought that he was guilty, but he was not charges filed against him. Photos of the Broadway Lounge showed ceiling tiles, which were often very flammable when used with adhesive. They have contributed to many of the largest fires in the U.S.. One of the most popular theories for the cause of the fire was faulty electrical wiring. Electrical renovations had been done to the building just three years before the fire. The person who did the renovations did not have a license, and he was not experienced. In addition to this, there was no permit issued for the work. This is what many believed to be the cause of the fire. The witnesses who were in the Melody Lounge said that they saw a large burst of flames come from under the bar, which could have been a short circuit. Also, the fire spread very rapidly, with some survivors saying that it was like a fan blowing the flames across the room. Used in the filmmaking process, nitrocellulose is a highly flammable material. In many countries including the U.S., it is classified as an explosive. Before the building turned into Cocoanut Grove, it was a filmmaking studio. Some of the investigators believed that leftover film from the film shop had been left in the building, and that made the fire spread rapidly. Some of the faux leather used in the building's furniture contained small amounts of nitrocellulose also. In the 1940's, refrigerators required gas lines. If the fire started in the kitchen, a burst gas line to the refrigerator could have been the cause of the fire. In addition to being very flammable, many of these gasses are toxic, which could have been the cause of so many deaths from smoke inhalation. It was confirmed later that methyl chloride was used, which is very toxic and flammable. A call was made to the Boston Fire Department at 10:15 pm. This had nothing to do with the massive fire that was raging less than a mile away, but it was a small automobile fire that was quickly extinguished. Horror struck when one of the firefighters looked up and noticed black smoke barreling out of the Cocoanut Grove nightclub. Five fire alarms in Boston were sounded, and almost all fire crews were called to Cocoanut Grove. Twenty-five fire engines came to the fire in total. Eighteen streams of water and fire retardant were pointed toward building. Little did they know that that was the easiest part of the job that night. Days of going the rubble searching for bodies followed the fire. Every corner, cabinet, and room was searched by firefighters and volunteers.
As a result of the tragedy, many were injured, or died of their injuries. Many different hospitals and treatments were used for the patients. During this time period, the treatment for burn victims was undergoing a big change. Usually, people in this case would be treated with the tannic method. Acid would be rubbed on the person's skin to prevent infection. This was usually ineffective, and caused the patient to go through a lot of pain. The tannic method was used for people mainly at the Boston City Hospital. The soft technique was a new method used on burn patients at the Massachusetts General Hospital. This was a much gentler treatment compared to acid thinning. Gauze with Vaseline would be applied to the patient's burned skin. Surprisingly, the survival rates for both hospitals were very similar. According to the Boston Herald, “There was no cleansing or debridement of burns. A surgeon from the Mass. Eye and Ear Infirmary was there within the hour and no one but he touched the eyes before the nurses could irrigate.” Tannic acid was brought to an end after thirty percent of these patients died of their injuries, while the rate was at none for soft treatment. These rates were taken one month after the fire. A total of thirty-four people were admitted to Boston City Hospital, not including the one hundred eighty bodies that went through the hospital. Some were not counted as patients, because they died right before entering the hospital. Two hospital wards were opened in addition to the regular emergency rooms. Tannic acid, nitrate, soft treatment, and triple dye were all methods used to treat the patients. The hospitals became relatively disorganized, so exact statistics of the patients will never be available. Over one thousand units of blood plasma were used to treat the victims. Some of the worst cases did not receive plasma until days after the fire. Morphine was the primary source of pain relief. Chemotherapy was used to treat many of the victims. The times for this treatment varied. The worst cases received chemotherapy for the rest of their lives, while some only needed it for a week. Few cases turned into pneumonia, but many were left with lasting lung conditions. After Pearl Harbor, Massachusetts General Hospital prepared itself for a large-scale disaster. This was very beneficial during the Cocoanut Grove Fire, because of the sheer number of victims. They had a large stock of sanitizing instruments, emergency supplies, and disaster manuals. The MGH also had its own blood bank. It was toward the end of the shift for most doctors when the victims started coming in. Since a disaster plan was already in place, the doctors followed procedure instead of waiting for instruction. Most of the men were easy to identify in the makeshift morgue, since they carried wallets. Many of the women did not have their purses, which made the identification process difficult. Most of the identification was done by the family or friends. When starting burn treatment, they would give morphine, and remove all damaged clothing. Next, plasma was given and ointment was applied. Most people who arrived at the hospital alive dies within twelve hours, while only five were discharged from the hospital after the first week. The use of soft treatment largely contributed to fast patient recovery.
The Cocoanut Grove Fire was one of the most devastating fires in U.S. history, and it has forever changed United States fire laws. It shows that the irresponsible actions of just one person can change the course of hundreds of other lives. The Cocoanut Grove Fire was one of the largest nightclub fires in U.S. history, and it has forever impacted fire codes across the country.
Works Cited
Canning, John, editor. Great Disasters. Gallery Books, 1976.
"Cocoanut Grove Fire- Building History." The Cocoanut Grove Fire, www.cocoanutgrovefire.org/home/building/history. Accessed 22 Oct. 2017.
"The Cocoanut Grove Fire- Red Cross." The Cocoanut Grove Fire, www.cocoanutgrovefire.org/home/fire/red-cross. Accessed 22 Oct. 2017.
Richardson, Franci. "Cocoanut Grove Fire Survivor Recounts Horror." Boston Herald [Boston, MA], 20 Oct. 2017. Student Resources in Context, ic.galegroup.com/ic/suic/NewsDetailsPage/NewsDetailsWindow?disableHighlighting=false&displayGroupName=News&currPage=&scanId=&query=&docIndex=&source=&prodId=SUIC&search_within_results=&p=SUIC&mode=view&catId=&u=jack82522&limiter=&display-query=&displayGroups=&contentModules=&action=e&sortBy=&documentId=GALE%7CA61204146&windowstate=normal&activityType=BasicSearch&failOverType=&commentary=. Accessed 20 Oct. 2017.