FE Volume 130 Issue 8

In the largest loss of life fire since the Cocoanut Grove 35 years ago, 162 persons lost their lives when fire swept through the huge Beverly Hills Supper Club in Southgate, Ky., last May 28. In addition, more than 100 persons, including several fire fighters, suffered smoke inhalation and burns.

Almost every sizable town—and some small ones—has a theater, a nightclub, a school, a hospital, a hotel and a few factories, all representing a heavy potential loss in life and property. These occupancies should be, and usually are, on the target-hazard list of every fire department. Unhappily all of them are on the list of famous fires and the lessons learned which make up our Pages From the Past in this issue. Our reports on these fires have been taken from contemporary accounts, including those that appeared in Fire Engineering, plus the investigations that were later conducted.

It took New York City firefighters only 18 minutes to knock down this 1911 fire. In less than that time, 145 employees were dead.