Il 28 novembre 1942, un incendio mortale si è verificato al Cocoanut Grove nightclub di Boston, Massachusetts, dove 492 persone perirono in totale. Il Cocoanut Grove era originariamente uno speakeasy, un illecito di bar durante il proibizionismo, e alcune delle sue porte wer
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On November 28th 1942, a deadly fire occurred at the Cocoanut Grove Nightclub in Boston, Massachusetts, where 492 people perished in total. The Cocoanut Grove was originally a speakeasy, an illegal bar during alcohol Prohibition, and some of its doors were bricked up or bolted shut. It was Boston's premier nightclub during the post-Prohibition 1930s and 1940s. There were flammable decorations throughout the building including cloth drapery and paper palm trees. The club had a licensed capacity of 500 people, and on the night of the fire there were about 1000 people in the building. At about 10:15PM that evening, a busboy had been ordered to fix a light bulb located at the top of an artificial palm tree in the corner of the basement Melody Lounge, but needed to light a match to locate the light socket. Several patrons thought they saw a flicker of a flame in the palm tree of the ceiling decorations. The bartenders tried to extinguish the fire with water and seltzer bottles. Some patrons started for the only public exit from the Melody Lounge, a four foot wide set of stairs leading to the Foyer on the first floor. As other furnishings ignited, a fireball of flame and toxic gas raced across the room toward the stairs. A wild panic ensued and attempts to open the emergency exit door at the top of the stairs were not successful. The fireball traveled up the stairs and burst into the Foyer area, where coatrooms, restrooms and the main entrance were located. Customers quickly moved to toward the exit. After a small number of people exited, the revolving door became jammed due to the crush of panicked patrons. Observers outside could only watch in horror as relatives and friends were crushed by the weight of the crowd surging against the jammed door. The tragedy shocked the nation and briefly replaced the events of World War II in newspaper headlines. It led to a reform of safety standards and codes across the country, and major changes in the treatment and rehabilitation
