General Resources
Fire in America by Call Number: TH 9115.N28 1976Publication Date: 1976Panic in the Cocoanut Grove p. 180-183- NFPA Case Study: Nightclub FiresThis study, which was carried out in response to the Station Nightclub Fire, also includes summaries of and lessons learned from several major nightclub fires,including the Cocoanut Grove Fire, which is discussed on pages 4-7.
- NFPA Case Histories: Fires Influencing the Life Safety CodeThis report by the NFPA covers several fires that influenced the NFPA Life Safety Code, including the Cocoanut Grove fire, which is discussed on p. 1150-53.
Cocoanut Grove Fire: Introduction
The Cocoanut Grove fire occured on November 28, 1942 in Boston, Massachusetts. 492 people were killed, making it the deadliest nightclub fire in U.S. History. The club was filled beyond capacity that night; though the building's capacity was supposed to be 460 people, it is estimated that over 1000 people were in attendance. The club had a complex layout; it was originally a garage and warehouse but had undergone renovations and expansions over the years. There were paper and cloth decorations on the walls and ceilings, which helped the fire spread quickly. The fire started in a basement lounge and quickly blocked the basement's public exit. The people on the main floor only became aware of the fire when it had reached that floor. People rushed to the main door, which was a revolving door and quickly became jammed. Other doors were locked, while some unlocked doors opened inward and were unusable due to the number of people pushing against them.
Resources at the IFSI Library
These links take you to the IFSI catalog. To request an item, click "Add to Request Bin." This takes you to a page where you can fill out the online request form and submit to the IFSI library. To request items, you must be an Illinois resident with a library card from an Illinois library.
Proceedings: Second International Conference on Fire Research and EngineeringCall Number: TH9112.C748 1997Publication Date: 1997Includes The Cocoanut Grove Fire: A Fire Modeling Case Study, but Doug Beller (p. 61-71).
American heat: 2006 December: Fires that caused change (VHS and DVD) by Call Number: TH9120 .Am35 DEC 2006Publication Date: December 2006
Blaze: the forensics of fire: walls of fire (VHS) by Call Number: TH9180 .B614 2001 tape.3Publication Date: 2001
Online Resources
- Cocoanut Grove Coalition--The Cocoanut Grove FireThe Cocoanut Grove Coalition is an organization of Boston-area historical societies, archives, and museums that want to bring together information they have about the fire and make it accessible to people researching to the fire. The website includes information about the building's history, the fire and the emergency response to it, the victims, their medical treatment, and the legal investigations after the fire. It also includes a bibliography of sources on the fire and links to collections of photographs.
- NFPA--Last Dance at the Cocoanut GroveThis article, originally published in the November/December 2007 issue of the NFPA journal, is an updated version of an article originally published in a 1991 NFPA journal. It is based on interviews with five people who either escaped from or were part of the emergency response to the Cocoanut Grove fire, including a patron, an employee, a civilian firefighter, a Navy firefighter, and a doctor.
- NFPA--On the 70th Anniversary of the Cocoanut Grove Nightclub Fire, NFPA launches a new effort to collect and conserve the event's stories and artifactsThis article, originally published in the November/December 2012 issue of the NFPA Journal, discusses the formation of the Cocoanut Grove Coalition and the importance of preserving historical material related to the fire.
- Boston Fire Historical Society--The Cocoanut Grove FireThis site includes a description of the fire and its aftermath as well as maps, floorplans, and photographs. The Special Section with documents and historical information contains fire reports, personal accounts by patrons and firefighters, the club's ledger and menu, various government reports and investigations that took place after the fire, and many other primary source documents about the fire.
- Boston Fire Commissioner--Report Concerning the Cocoanut Grove FireThis site provides links to various reports concerning all aspects of the fire; from electrical reports, maps, and lists of casualties to stories and interviews with people who were involved or affected.
Videos
In this video by the NFPA, survivors of the Cocoanut Grove fire describe their experiences.
In this video, Casey Grant, research director of the Fire Protection Research Foundation of the NFPA, gives a presentation on the Cocoanut Grove Fire and the changes in fire regulations, emergency response, and medical treatment that were enacted in response to the fire.
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