night club catches on fire- at least 75 dead

[Munchkin03]

I go to school in Providence, about 20 minutes away from where the fire took place. We were at the bar last night, and they were showing news footage, and there were no confirmed deaths--only 20 injuries. When I woke up at 8 this morning, there were already 54 dead. You have no idea what it's like to be here--everyone's waiting to hear if they knew someone who has been injured, or worse. RI is a small state, and everyone will be touched.

Throughout the day, we've been getting updates, and from what it looks like, the band didn't have permission to have pyrotechnics--and in the past few shows they've had, they have had them without permission. The club appeared, based on confirmed deaths and hospital admissions, to be at or slightly above capacity--reports are saying 350. This is clearly the worst fire in RI history, and the worst in US history in about 15 years. For one of my classes last fall, I did a paper about the Bronx social club fire (1990). It's eerie to see it happening again so close.

[damasa]

Originally posted by AlphaSigOU
Not quite... the Cocoanut Grove supper club fire in Boston back in the 40s killed 492.

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.

The Cocoanut Grove fire prompted major efforts in the field of fire prevention and control for nightclubs and other related places of assembly. Immediate steps were taken to provide for emergency lighting and occupant capacity placards in places of assembly. Exit lights were also required as a result of the concern generated by this fire.

[Source: http://www.ezl.com/~fireball/Disaster21.htm]

Another fire at the Beverly Hills Supper Club in Southgate, KY on June 28, 1977 killed 165.

http://www.cincypost.com/bhfire/ Detailed map of how the Beverly Hills fire started and spread: http://www.cincypost.com/bhfire/images/bhfire.jpg

sorry, it said "one" of the worst........my fault, i need to listen better....

[AlphaSigOU]

Originally posted by damasa
sorry, it said "one" of the worst........my fault, i need to listen better....

No prob there, damasa... don't worry about it. Just setting the record straight.

[pinkyphimu]

one of the things that i have heard today is that typically in fires in public buildings, people try to go out the same way they came in. it is really scary!

i am not surprised that people thought it was a part of the show. last year, i was flying out of logan airport and the fire alarm started going off. NO ONE even stopped what they were doing. the people who worked there just went along with what they were doing. sadly, i didn't leave either. i was sitting there thinking that if i were a child, i would have known that i needed to leave and i would have walked out. and just a few weeks ago, i was at a restaurant with some friends when the fire alarm went off. again, no one even missed a beat with their conversations. the manager came out and told us not to worry that it was a small fire in the kitchen that had been put out, but that the fire dept was on its way. he told us to stay where we were and that it was no big deal. sadly, again, no one moved. when the fire dept arrived, they were quite unhappy and the restaurant was fined!!!!! a little while later, the alarm went off again, and the manager asked us to leave.

i have almost always worked in places that have had fire escape plans and how as staff, we needed to get patrons out. i think that more businesses need to come up with plans and train their staff. i also think as patrons, we need to pay more attention to those things.

edited to add: confirmed deaths 96. possibly 2 more. all bodies have been removed. currently, 7 bodies have been identified and their families have been notified. eight more bodies will be able to be identified quickly. according to the ri gov on the 10 pm news.

[KappaTarzan]

my sorority has a brother fraternity that uses the same letters- Kappa Delta Phi, and one of my brothers is missing in this massive fire.. his death has not been confirmed, but he has still not yet been found... ironic, i didn't even know this when i started this thread... thoughts and prayers to his family.

[AlphaSigOU]

Originally posted by pinkyphimu
...last year, i was flying out of logan airport and the fire alarm started going off. NO ONE even stopped what they were doing. the people who worked there just went along with what they were doing. sadly, i didn't leave either. i was sitting there thinking that if i were a child, i would have known that i needed to leave and i would have walked out. and just a few weeks ago, i was at a restaurant with some friends when the fire alarm went off. again, no one even missed a beat with their conversations. the manager came out and told us not to worry that it was a small fire in the kitchen that had been put out, but that the fire dept was on its way. he told us to stay where we were and that it was no big deal. sadly, again, no one moved. when the fire dept arrived, they were quite unhappy and the restaurant was fined!!!!! a little while later, the alarm went off again, and the manager asked us to leave.

i have almost always worked in places that have had fire escape plans and how as staff, we needed to get patrons out. i think that more businesses need to come up with plans and train their staff. i also think as patrons, we need to pay more attention to those things.

I've got a feeling that one of the recommendations brought up after this fire's investigation it may become mandatory for staff and security personnel to become familiar with an evacuation plan and to usher people out of the buildings through designated emergency exits. Posting a sign just ain't gonna do it any more.

Having been in the Air Force, one of the first things that's drummed into a person is to react to ALL alarms quickly and without hesitation, save for an all-too-brief "What the f*ck?!?" moment that seems to go in slow motion before your brain engages into high gear.

Whether it's a fire alarm or the klaxon that once sent SAC alert crews running for their planes, or even the mention of "Alarm Red" (air raid/chem attack in progress), every alarm was taken seriously. It took me a LONG time to stop reacting to The William Tell Overture (the Lone Ranger theme) like it was an an alarm after I became a civilian. (It was played loudly on the base's "GIANT VOICE" (no kidding, that was its name!) public address system as the base's general recall signal. Usually followed by a monotonous voice repeating "base recall, base recall... all personnel report to your duty sections immediately!")

I remember one other time back when I was in college at OU and the tornado warning sirens went off. What did most people do (including myself) at the time? Run out to the quad and watch the roiling thunderclouds in the distance for a glimpse of a funnel cloud (A tornado had touched down in the western portion of Norman -- at the time it wasn't as heavily populated as it is today). Needless to say, the op-ed pages in the university paper the following day were screaming bloody murder over the stupidity of our actions that night. We may have gotten lucky, but don't push it! And we were reminded about what to do in case of a tornado by our RA.

[DeltaSigStan]

The problem is that there are too many flase alarms. At one dorm here, the alarm goes off just about every day, and theyre all FAs. Here at frat row, when we first moved in, the alarms ALWAYS went off and they were FAs.


It;s just that they happen so much that people are like "Dont worry, false alarm", and dont realize it may be real this time.

[aggieAXO]

When I was a freshman at A&M the dorm room 2 doors down from caught on fire b/c someone had placed a scarf over a halogen lamp. I was taking a nap and heard the fire alarm go off and jumped out of bed grabed my pet newts and ran out of the building (zit cream on my face and t-shirt/boxer shorts-I am sure I looked fabulous I didn't hesitate for one second-luckily no one was hurt.

I get so anxious when they show the video of the crowd just before the place is on fire-I think about the faces in the video-happy/laughing and the likelihood that those people are dead-very sad. They showed a waitress on one of the news reports and talked about her life, how she had a 7 year old son and that she was trying to make money to go to school. She looked so happy in the video-she is one of the missing

[sigmagrrl]

I lived in RI for 6 years and still have friends up there. I am happy to report that everyone is ok and all of their loved ones are ok as well.

[lionlove]

The comapny I used to work for during breaks, the National Fire Protection Association, is responsible for writing most of the fire codes and they issued the following announcement:

Rhode Island Nightclub Fire
Educational messages for public assembly buildings

Before you enter

Have a communication plan
Identify a relative or friend to contact in case of emergency and you are separated from family or friends.
Plan a meeting place
Pick a meeting place outside to meet family or friends with whom you are attending the function. If there is an emergency, be sure to meet them there.

When you enter

Locate exits immediately
When you enter a building you should look for all available exits. Some exits may be in front and some in back of you. Be prepared to use your closest exit. You may not be able to use the main exit.
Check for clear exit paths
Make sure aisles are wide enough and not obstructed by chairs or furniture. Check to make sure your exit door is not blocked or chained. If there are not at least two exits or exit paths are blocked, report the violation to management and leave the building if it is not immediately addressed. Call the local fire marshal to register a complaint.

During an emergency

React immediately
If an alarm sounds, you see smoke or fire, or other unusual disturbance immediately exit the building in an orderly fashion.

Get out, stay out!

Once you have escaped, stay out. Let trained firefighters conduct rescue operations
Source: NFPA Public Education Division

http://www.nfpa.org/Research/FireInv...l_messages.asp

It's such a tragic situation. I only hope that future tragedies can be prevented.

[Peaches-n-Cream]

Originally posted by lionlove
The comapny I used to work for during breaks, the National Fire Protection Association, is responsible for writing most of the fire codes and they issued the following announcement:

Rhode Island Nightclub Fire
Educational messages for public assembly buildings

Before you enter

Have a communication plan
Identify a relative or friend to contact in case of emergency and you are separated from family or friends.
Plan a meeting place
Pick a meeting place outside to meet family or friends with whom you are attending the function. If there is an emergency, be sure to meet them there.

When you enter

Locate exits immediately
When you enter a building you should look for all available exits. Some exits may be in front and some in back of you. Be prepared to use your closest exit. You may not be able to use the main exit.
Check for clear exit paths
Make sure aisles are wide enough and not obstructed by chairs or furniture. Check to make sure your exit door is not blocked or chained. If there are not at least two exits or exit paths are blocked, report the violation to management and leave the building if it is not immediately addressed. Call the local fire marshal to register a complaint.

During an emergency

React immediately
If an alarm sounds, you see smoke or fire, or other unusual disturbance immediately exit the building in an orderly fashion.

Get out, stay out!

Once you have escaped, stay out. Let trained firefighters conduct rescue operations
Source: NFPA Public Education Division

http://www.nfpa.org/Research/FireInv...l_messages.asp

It's such a tragic situation. I only hope that future tragedies can be prevented.

Thank you for posting this. I remember fire safety instruction from when I was in grade school, high school, and college. Since then, I took a fire safety class from FDNY. In the past few years, there have been quite a few fatal fires in NYC and NJ so my co-op board provided this program, but they didn't focus on fires in clubs or public places. This information can definitely save lives.

A major mistake that people make during a fire is trying to exit the way that they entered. You need to locate the nearest exit and use it, not the way that you entered.

[lauralaylin]

I live about 4 miles from this fire. It's so weird because things like this are always far away from you. They aren't so close. I was in the shower when my husband told me about it, and I felt like throwing up. But I had my sorority conference that day and had to go to Syracuse. I felt so horrible leaving the state when all of this happened, but I sort of am happy I did because it's too tragic for me to handle. It seems like everyone I know knows someone who was there. And one of the names is really familiar, I think he was in a frat at URI and dated one of my sisters. And now he's dead, if it's who I think it is. I wish this wasn't real.

[DeltAlum]

The dramatic professional videotape footage inside the room came from a TV photographer from WPRI-TV in Providence. Ironically and sadly, he was there shooting a story on club safety.

According to CBS Evening News tonight, one of the owners of the club is the reporter who was doing the story. He chose his own club in which to shoot.

Now, he's pretty much not talking, and the station has issued a statement saying it had no intent of promoting the club.

Highly questionable journalistic ethics, along with the tragedy.

A word about professional news photographers. This one knew enough to get out. When he realized the gravity of the situation, he put his camera down -- saying, "To hell with the story" for all intents and purposes -- and helped evacuate those he could.

While not every photog would do that, it is my experience, and my belief, that most would. It speaks very highly of his character in a highly stressful and competitive business.