[Scan-DC] 60 Years Ago Today

[b_thom@juno.com]

Boston's Cocoanut Grove fire occurred.

http://www.ezl.com/~fireball/Disaster21.htm

>>
During the early days of World War II, a major fire struck the Cocoanut
Grove nightclub in Boston, Massachusetts. On the night of the fire,
November 28, 1942, the club had approximately 1,000 occupants, many of
whom were people preparing to go overseas on military duty. A lighted
match used by an employee in changing a light bulb has been considered
the possible cause for this tragic fire, which took 492 lives. Almost
half of the occupants were killed, and many were seriously injured.
Flammable decorations spread the fire rapidly. Men and women were
reported to have clawed inhumanly in an effort to get out of the
building. The two revolving doors at the main entrance had bodies stacked
four and five deep after the fire was brought under control. Authorities
estimated that possibly 300 of those killed could have been saved had the
doors swung outward. It should be noted that the capacity of the
structure had also been exceeded.
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http://www.surfnetinc.com/chuck/terms15.htm
http://www.cs.umb.edu/~serl/oralhistory/Calapiz.html

Thanks to WBZ for the tip.