Buildings rise, cities spread. And sometimes, when the mood strikes them, they come burning down. With mankind’s long history with fire, it’s almost surprising how long it has taken us to take fire safety seriously. When corners are cut, fire will most certainly follow. Today, modern technology and fire-prevention techniques have fortunately minimized the sheer amount of damage fires can do. But prior to the 20th century (and even during it), little regard was given to fire danger. Sure, the entire city could go up in flames, but it would probably wouldn’t, right? Worst of all, however, is when fire safety was ignored in buildings that would be regularly crowded with people. Here are just a few of those buildings.
Cocoanut Grove
Image via Wikipedia
The second worst single building fire to ever occur within the Unites States. If we’re just counting nightclubs, then this is the worst fire ever. The Cocoanut Grove was a nightclub designed to hold 460 people. On the night of November 28th, 1942, one thousand people were inside. Downstairs, in the dimly lit “Melody Lounge”, a busboy replaced a light bulb that had been removed by one of the guests to provide a little more privacy. Whether it was, the heat from the bulb, or the extinguished match, something set the club’s highly-flammable tropical decorations on fire. Side exits had been welded shut to prevent patrons from leaving without paying, and the main entrance was a narrow revolving door. A large front window had also been boarded up. Alternate exits that did exist all opened inward. 492 people would die, and hundreds more would be injured. The club’s owner would be convicted of involuntary manslaughter.
Iroquois Theater
Image via Wikipedia
Quite simply, this is the worst single-building fire ever to occur in the United States. For lack of a better word, this tragedy was disgusting. The building was flat-out advertised as fire-proof even though construction had been rushed, and the fire inspectors bribed with free tickets. On December 30th, 1903 in Chicago Illinois, during the second act of a performance attended mostly by mothers and their children, an arc light shorted and ignited a curtain. Within 20 minutes, 571 people, mostly women and children, would be dead. The death toll would climb to 602 as more would die in the hospital later. For aesthetic reasons, most of the fire escapes had been disguised. Those who did find a door (which opened inward) would quickly discover them locked with bascule locks that most Americans would be unfamiliar with. Fire escapes were unfinished, and the asbestos curtain meant to protect the audience was likely not even made from asbestos. Ultimately, those responsible would get away with their crimes, but the tragedy did result with the creation of many safety standards that are still in use today.
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory
Image via About.com
Before 9/11 this was the worst workplace disaster to ever take place in New York City. So when did it happen? All the way back in 1911. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory was located within what is now known as the Brown Building of Science (then known as the Asch Building). On the afternoon of March 25th a fire broke out on the 8th floor of the building. Strangely, while the the 10th floor was warned in time, the 9th floor was not. In all, 146 people died and 70 were injured. But this does encapsulate the true horror of what happened. There were only two main exits from the floor, one was locked, and the other blocked by flame. The elevator was rendered inoperable and the fire escape outside hadcollapsed under the weight of people trying to flee. Left with no other choice, as crowds of bystanders stood and watched, 62 women began jumping a few at a time from the 9th story buildings, choosing suicide over being burning alive. The mass suicide took several minutes as the women filed out of the sparse windows. Some who hesitated would be caught by the flames and fall from the building as horrific, human torches.
The World Trade Center
Need we say more? Few moments in history come down only needing their date to define them. There are still a lot out there, however, who believe it was the impact of the planes alone that brought down the towers. On the contrary, credit must be given where it is due. The World Trade Center towers were awesome buildings, and not just for their size. The buildings survived direct impacts from full sized passenger jets traveling hundreds of miles an hour upon impact. But the planes did not directly take down the World Trade Center… the resulting fires did. The World Trade Center towers utilized an unusual type of construction. A good amount of their structural support was provided by the buildings’ outer shells. Unfortunately, while this allowed the buildings to survive a massive collision, it also allowed for the fuel within the planes to penetrate far inside the tower. Had the towers been more traditionally built, it’s likely the fuel would have remained mostly on the exterior of the building, or at least more towards the perimeter. As it was, the fuel ignited and began to burn the core of the two buildings. Support columns were weakened and floors began to sag. This pulled perimeter columns inward reducing their ability to support the building above. Both buildings would collapse, cascading down. 2,750 people were killed.
It has taken millennia, but it is fortunate that now, finally, fire seems to be taken seriously and given the respect it deserves. One can only imagine the sheer amount of treasures, artifacts, and just plane history that have been lost to fire’s indiscriminate flames. Today, our cities are built and our treasures stored with fire very much in mind. Thank heaven.
