One of the most tragic accidents due to negligent security in the United States is the Cocoanut Grove Nightclub fire. It happened on the 28 of November 1942, in Boston, Massachusetts. What started as a regular night of partying turned into a tragedy that led to the death of over 492 people, leaving several others injured. The worst part of the tragedy is that it was completely avoidable, or the damage could have at least been minimized to reduce the casualties. What went wrong, and what did we learn from this tragic event?
A Devastating Case of Negligent Security
When you own a club in a big city like Boston, Las Vegas, or anywhere else, you need to take the safety of your patrons seriously. Otherwise, you’ll face a class action lawsuit that only a Las Vegas negligent security attorney can help you navigate. This was the case for the owner of Cocoanut Grove back in 1942.
The club in Boston’s Bay village was well over capacity that night. More than 1,000 people gathered there, dancing and enjoying the Thanksgiving celebrations. Long before the event, Barney Welansky, the owner of the club, had been notified that the building was entirely covered by fire hazards. Rather than close the place briefly to repair it and bring it up to code, he left it open because he didn’t want to disturb his cash flow. He might as well have killed all those people with a historic tank because the life of the devastation of the fire was just as bad.
The Tragic Fire
The fire started when a busboy accidentally set a decorative palm tree in flames while trying to replace a light bulb during active hours. Considering the multiple flammable decorations in the building, it didn’t take long for the fire to spread. As expected, everyone started to panic as they attempted to escape from the nearest exit. Unfortunately, the club’s corridors were too narrow, and the doors were locked, making it practically impossible for people to get out. They struggled to open the doors as they matched each other in a stampede.
As if the locked doors weren’t bad enough, the fire alarms and sprinkler systems were not fully functional or efficient enough to quench the fire. Considering the size of the building and the scale of the event, the owner could have mitigated the crisis by opening the doors, creating more exit routes, or, at the very least, not overcrowding the place and filling it up with flammable decorations.
The Aftermath
After the tragic fire, Barney Welansky was charged with nineteen counts of manslaughter. The case went to court, and he was imprisoned for four years. He lost the business as expected and faced civil lawsuits from multiple people. The tragedy was also a wake-up call for fire safety in the United States. Clubs and other businesses were made to follow more stringent regulations to get approval from the city to operate. Over the years, there have been many other cases of negligent security, but only a few come close to the Cocoanut Grove fire.
