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/ ~86 eeYe°~ O ego eeoo~OeO0 oooO oeOO~ gO0 -eoo~aa O THOSE unfamiliar released after the fire, Fire Commissioner William with the Cocoanut Arthur Reilly estimated that the fire took only two to four minutes to develop momentum and cross Grove, the name it- approximately 40 feet of the Melody Lounge to the only public stairway out of the room. In seconds self brings to mind it had flashed passed the first floor foyer and the palm trees, laughing main entrance, and into the main dining room. From the first appearance of flame until it had crowds, cocoanuts, explosively traversed the main dining room and dancing and just a passed, almost 225 feet away, to the entrance of the Broadway Lounge, the commissioner estimated at good place to go and total time of an incredible five minutes at most. At this point in time, all exits normally open to the enjoy oneself with friends. public, of which each had something functionally The Grove had all of this. But, wrong, were useless for a safe escape. In minutes, the Cocoanut Grove was an in- this is not how it's remem- ferno from one end to the other. Some escaped bered. In , the Cocoa- untouched but most did not. Rescuers pulled out trapped survivors and victims as quickly as pos- nut Grove is etched forever in sible, so that by midnight, the once bustling Cocoa- nut Grove was a blackened, soaking, but now history as a city's worst night- empty hulk of a building. Just like the fire itself, the mare, with piercing screams, entire incident was but an instantaneous flash in its history, but the ramifications of this inferno are felt wild-eyed panic, and terrible to this day. heartbreak. This story is an update of my original story that appeared in the NFPA]ournal ® in 1991. I have included additional information that relates to our On the chilly New England Saturday evening codes and standards that was not available when of November 28, 1942, the Cocoanut Grove was the story first ran. packed beyond capacity with upwards of 1,000 In addition, of the five individuals who were people. Just after 10 p.m. in the Melody Lounge interviewed for this article in 1991, I am aware that located in the basement, a small fire broke out in a Messrs. Graney, Collins, and Moore have passed fake palm tree, and then quickly spread across the away. On this basis rye revised the conclusion of ceiling decorations. each of their personal accounts to be independent In the official Boston report of time.

8 NFPAJOURNAL NOVEMBER/DECEMBER2007 BB

While interviewing the people included in feated with a very tough schedule, and they looked this article, they at times referred back to earlier forward to pounding Holy Cross in the traditional testimony and interviews. Any similarity to other end-of-the-season football rivair): In contrast to published material on this subject is based on the the BC strength, Holy Cross had a balance of wins interviewee's own reflections on such material. and losses in accordance with a rather mediocre Sixty-five years have passed since that fateful schedule. Sugar Bowl representatives were in at- evening. Many who were in the Grove and escaped, tendance on behalf of Boston College, and the only or were involved in some other way, are now gone. question before game time was by what margin BC But some remain, and nobody knows the Cocoanut would win. Grove's final moments better. Here are their stories. "I was, and still am, a Boston College fan, but what a sad afternoon it was for the Eagles. We were THE PATRON stunned," says Gray. "We went to watch Boston College beat Holy The final score was an incredible 55-12 upset, Cross, and instead it was one of the greatest upsets which remarkably were the same numbers of in college football history," says Hewson Gray of the two BC co-captains shown on the cover of Waltham, . That afternoon's big the game program. Yet, even more remarkable is football game was the first in a series of events how delicate the balance of fate really is, since BC that would lead Gray, along with his wife and their planned to hold the team's victory party that eve- companions, face to face with destiny. ning at the Cocoanut Grove. Major Tobin himself Hewson Gray and his wife, Hilda, went to the would have led the revelry. Of course, all thoughts game at that afternoon with Hilda's of a formal party were cancelled because of the sister Josephine Driscoll, and her husband, Francis. magnitude of the defeat, but that loss kept them Later that evening, they would meet two other from an event in which the odds were a mere one couples at the Cocoanut Grove for dinner. to one between life and death. The Boston College Eagles were better than six to But some of the BC contingent would carry on one favorites over Holy Cross. They were unde- with the evening's plans despite that afternoon's

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007 NFPAJOURNAL 49 J t

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debacle. Among these were the Grays and the not a big deal, it was somewhat annoying. Yet here Driscolls, who were obligated to meet up with the fate was kind, since there were four O'Briens killed other two couples. in the fire. Their reservation at the Grove was for late "We always wondered where the O'Briens sat; evening, and in the meantime, they journeyed to that is, where we should have been. We were several other clubs in the South End and Back Bay lucky," he said. districts of Boston. About 8:30 p.m., Gray parked With their table in the corner, Hilda Gray had his car on Berkeley Street so that the group could her back to one wall and remarked at one point cap the evening offwith dinner and a show at the that "the wall felt hot." To satisfy their own curios- Cocoanut Grove. ity, they each took a turn touching the wall and The other two couples met them at the Cocoa- found it warm to the touch. This novelty provided nut Grove. They were friends of Josephine Driscoll, an item of discussion, and since the outside tem- one couple being from Dorchester and the other perature was near freezing, the men joked that if from Newton. The Grays had never met those the women felt cold they should just lean against other two couples, but they fondly noted that the the walls. wife from Dorchester was eight months pregnant. "We can't imagine why the walls were noticeably Hewson and Hilda Gray had been married almost warm like they were," adds Gray, "But after the fire ten years, and despite trying to have children, it we had to wonder if this somehow contributed to would be another two years before their first child its violent spread. It was so fast." was born. The 's show was scheduled to be- After leaving their hats and coats at the coat gin about 10 p.m. Gray went to the men's room room, the party of eight waited momentarily in the located at the opposite corner of the dining room, lobby while their table was located. just offthe lobby at the top of the stairway that led "It was so crowded that you had to turn side- down to the Melody Lounge. Because he had to ways to get through the tables in the dining room," push through the crowd, this journey was more explains Gray. "They were having trouble getting us arduous than usual. a table despite our reservation. We had to go all the Just as Gray had returned to his table and had sat way across to the far corner of the dining room, over down, they heard a commotion from over by the to the other side of the stage. O'Brien was the name lobby where Gray had just come back from. Initially reservation on the table that they finally gave us." it sounded like people were shouting, "fight," with Even though this excursion to the far corner was some of the people bumping each other in an at-

50 NFPAJOURNAL NOVEMBER/DECEMBER2007 Photograph: NFPA tempt to clear out of the lobby area. Then they saw a and yellow sliver of flame flash up to the ceiling. With the realization that a fire was the cause of the activity over on the far side of the dining hall, the instantaneous reaction of those on the other side of the room was--nothing. They weren't sure the fire was bad and it was far across the other side of a very crowded room. One of the wait- ers immediately rushed across the dance floor and began fumbling through the drapery on the Shawmut Street wall of the dining room, and it became evident that there was a door behind these drapes and he was trying to open it. Then almost as quickly as the commotion had started, the small flame became a fireball, racing toward the center of the dining room, igniting tablecloths and anything else it could touch, and a solid wave of humanity jumped and started running away from it, toward Hewson Gray and his party of eight. The Grays, the Driscolls and the other two cou- ples in their group jumped to their feet and were pushed toward a service door behind them leading tide of humanity, and they could feel in the dark- Dance to rooms behind the stage. A mass of people was ness that they had come to still another door. But Floor coming toward them and there was nowhere to go it was locked. Several men near the front teamed palms, but through the service door and beyond. As they up to try and break it down. Just when this seemed post-fire were being swept towards this service door, the hopeless, with a loud crash, the door flung open waiter and the others with him got the Shawmut and there were firemen with axes. Outside the club Street door open, and people in the dining room became just as chaotic as the people in the small started to flood out this open door with fire over service rooms poured out into the street into the their heads. Although Gray and his party were strikingly cold air. This was one of the first doors relatively close to this now-opened door, they were opened by the fire department, which by tremen- being swept away from it and toward the service dous good fortune happened upon the scene after door in the corner by the crowd of terrified dining responding to a nearby car fire. room patrons. And then, just as Gray entered the "Once out of the building, we all stumbled in the service room off of the dining room, the lights night air across Shawrnut Street," says Gray. "Then went out. we realized the lady from Newton wasn't with us." In the darkness, they followed the person in The four men started to fight their way back front of them, not sure where they were going. through the outpouring crowd when all of a "We took a couple of corners and went up some sudden the missing woman was swept into their stairs. There were some more stairs that went midst. She quickly explained that she somehow got down, but we didn't take them. We followed a wall, separated and found herself going "down a stair- and took some more turns--it was very confusing case." Without hesitation, she had turned around in the darkness," says Gray. and now, was out. All eight in their group were Hewson and Hilda Gray and the others were still safe and reunited on Shawmut Street, allowing the all together, but a minute or two had passed and four men to return to the service door entrance as the smoke was starting to build in the little back people stumbled out of the burning club. rooms now jammed solid with people. Being at the "Now, people were collapsing as they came out, corner table allowed them to be at the front of the having had been exposed to the smoke and flames.

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They were dropping all around, even some that sions lost in the fire. They also lost their car keys. looked okay, but some had soot around their faces. The Cross arranged for rides, and Hewson and They were lying everywhere." Gray says. Hilda Gray were driven home about an hour after In almost no time at all Shawmut Street had they had left the scene at the Cocoanut Grove. The become a seething mass of humanity. In addition next day Gray got a ride down to pick his car up on to the people coming out of the Grove, fire fighters Berkeley Street using a spare set of keys. A number and police officers were arriving on the scene in of cars were still there, and he paused for a mo- growing numbers as well as volunteers from many ment and thought about their owners if they had other facets of the community. People were also survived. About one week after the fire, while at coming from the other nearby clubs and hotels. home, Gray received a call from the Boston Police In all the commotion, the four men did what they Department. His keys, which had an ID tag on could to help the people get out of the club. It was them, had been found. now readily apparent to Gray and the other three with him that many people had not escaped and THE EMPLOYEE the smoke and flames within the building were On the evening of November 28, 1942, Daniel now unbearable. Weiss was working the cash register on one side of After helping all they could, the four men the bar in the Melody Lounge. returned to find that the four women were gone "The evening started, at least, just like any other from the other side of Shawmut Street. The men Saturday at work in the Grove, "says Weiss. knew they were out but they still worried. They The Melody Lounge was directly below the main searched the outside crowds for almost three- lobby of the Cocoanut Grove. A single stairway quarters of an hour, then finally came across them descended into the lounge, which was comprised sitting in a restaurant at the corner of Shawmut entirely of a bar in the center with seating around and Broadway having coffee. It turns out that a the bar and throughout the room. With a tropical lady had come by and taken them to her home to motif of palm trees, greenery and cocoanut husks, give them warm clothes as their coats had been left the dimly lit lounge could accommodate up to inside the Grove. The temperature had dropped about one hundred customers without discomfort, and was now below freezing, causing numerous but this evening, people were four deep around the ice patches to appear from the water being put on bar bringing the total in the basement lounge to the fire. To control the crowds, the police started probably twice that number. blocking offthe streets. The four women went Daniel Weiss was 24 years old at the time. In his to the lady's house, got the warm overcoats they fourth year as a medical student at Boston Universi- now wore, and then snuck back through the police ty he had worked weekends at the Grove for the past lines. They finally ended up in the restaurant in a three years for his uncle Barney Welansky, owner further attempt to stay warm. The party of eight, of the Cocoanut Grove. He was just a few months now reunited, was directed to a nearby hotel that away from beginning his career in medicine. was set up as a base for the Red Cross. About 10:15 p.m., some of the crowd started "As we walked up to the hotel a cop in the front to sing along with the lounge piano player as she was talking to a civilian and said to him 'They were hammered out a popular wartime tune. Despite all drunk--that's why they died.' We were furious, the overcrowding and the difficulty keeping track all of us, and we gave him hell!" says Gray. of patrons, there was a stir in the corner to the Their hats and coats weren't the only posses- right of the stairs that caught Weiss's attention.

52 NFPA JOURNAL NOVEMBEWDECEMBER2007 ,SHAWUUI' $TR((I'

FIRE SAFETY REGULAT][ONS

THE COCOANUT GROVE FIRE was an immense tragedy. Yet this event brought about very positive changes in regulations concerning . Furthermore, it stimu- lated action all over the nation. Fire officials from all over the country I / I came to Boston in the days follow-

ing the fire to take back with them PI(Oi40NT 6TR([I' .the painful lesson learned. Perhaps the most searing discus- Under this code, night clubs are , swing with the direction of flow. sion of this subject was published in 'rightly considered essentially a place Revolving doors are unacceptable | a front page article of the interna- of public assembly' he declared, 'in as exits and must be flanked by tional newspaper Christion Science the same class as a theater, but hav- standard exit door~ Monitor on the Monday following ing greater possibilities of fire." the fire. The following quotation is In the year following the fire, • Combustible Materials. No from this article, entitled "Call for building codes from coast-to-coast combustible materials should be 'Fire Trap' Cleanup Follows Night were revamped in accordance with used for decorations in places of Club Disaster'. the knowledge gained from the fire. public assembly. Materials used "Boston building laws are in In a United Press article entitled for interior finishes should con- a 'chaotic condition', subject to "Nation's Cities Order Stringent Fire form to nationally recognized test 'incompetent enforcement, political Prevention" that ran four days after methods. influence and careless management' the fire, changes in fire regulations charged Robert S. Moulton of the were referenced in St Louis, Miami, • Definition of Macesof Public National Fire Protection Associa- Cleveland, Philadelphia, Detroit, Assembly. Surprisingly, night tion. 'The Cocoanut Grove night club Des Moines, , Kansas City, clubs and restaurants had not been tragedy,' he declared 'is clearly due Albany, and Helena Montana. considered in many jurisdictions to gross violation of several fun- And of course the Massachusetts as places of public assembly. After damental principles of fire safety, legislature had introduced and the fire, however, this changed. The which have been demonstrated by adopted a flurry of new measures shortcoming of building regulations years of experience in other fires, regulating fire safety in public that had evolved based on politi- and which should be known to buildings. One of the first of a cal favoritism while neglecting real everybody'. series of changes affecting virtually danger were now painfully obvious. "Expanding upon his charge that every public building in the Com- Boston's building code is 'chaotic', monwealth of Massachusetts was ° Emergency Ughting. Lights for Mr. Moulton said, 'the most glaring symbolized by the removal of the an emergency situation should feature of this tragedy was the lack two revolving doors from Boston be permanently installed to allow of proper exits. Revolving doors have City Hall four days after the firs egress from the building. These long been considered by the National With the widespread and numer- lights should be reliable and inde- Fire Protection Association Commit- ous changes in fire safety regula- pendent from the regular lighting. tee on Safety to Life as a menace tions, the most notable advance- under fire and panic conditions. Even ments that had gained recognition • Automatic Sprinkler~ Even though a revolving door may be a so- can be summarized as follows: though overshadowed by such called collapsible type, it can readily flagrant inadequacies as the lack serve as a death trap.' The principal Exits. All portions of a building of proper exits, it was recognized Piedmont Street entrance to the used for public assemblies should that automatic sprinklers would Cocoanut Grove was a revolving door. have two separate and remote have dramatically changed the "Mr. Moulton pointed out that the means of egress. The necessary outcome of this fire. This gained National Fire Protection Association number of reliable exits should be recognition as an alternative to had formulated a standard Building available for the expected occu- difficult regulatory situations, such Exits Code through representative pancy. Exits should function only as an existing restaurant or night- committees of the Nation's experts. with approved panic hardware and club located below grade.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007 NFPAJOURNAL 53 • IG 11¢tu IIULZG~U IIIUIII~I/L~ ~¢tlllGl LIId.L UIIIG UI LIIK; UIcLL~I~ IJUI~ Ill LJJ~ IcLL)I 1~, WILll IILLI~ J~L~ UI lldlll~ white-jacketed bar boys had been conferring with jumping up and down on the imitation bamboo. the head bartender, John Bradley, about turning a "Get water quick. There's a fire!" someone shouted. light back on in the corner. Apparently, a patron The anxious pause that followed was as if the had unscrewed the light to place himself and his hearts of those who could see what was happening girlfriend in a veil of solitude in the already dimly skipped a beat. lit lounge. Weiss guarded his register as was expected of After the bar boy had turned the corner light him during any type of commotion while John back on and returned to the bar, a sudden flurry Bradley and several other employees made a frantic of movement occurred in the corner. While some but feeble attack on the flames. Water from a who were only a few seats away concentrated on pitcher and a siphon bottle of seltzer were ineffec- the singing and were oblivious to the commotion, tive. A bar boy swiped at the flames with a towel, several in the immediate vicinity had jumped to but the orange and blue flames continued their their feet, some backing off and peering up. And ever-widening circle across the ceiling decorations. there it was--a small flicker of blue light dancing Another employee returned from the kitchen with about the top of the palm tree where it met the an extinguisher, but the flames had advanced to a lowered ceiling. point beyond any appreciable service that the de- In the next instant, the blue spurt of energy be- vice could offer. The music had stopped, but even came a ring of orange outlining an ever-widening so, the noise of the crowd continued and many

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" ++'+.,-..., a EMERGENCY DISASTER PREPAREDNESS

IT WAS 1942 and the United At times, a question existed area's hospitals. The custom- States was at war. On the as to who had authority over ary hospital serving this area is weekend before the Cocoanut who at the fire scene, this being Boston City Hospital, and this Grove fire, a mock disaster of compounded by the presence of single medical facility received a supposed German Luftwaffe the Fire Commissioner, Police the lions-share of victims. "blitz" tested the response of Commissioner, Mayor, State Boston City Hospital became some thirty thousand of met- Fire Marshall, Commissioner so overwhelmed that while vic- ropolitan Boston's Civil Defense of Public Safety, Civil Defense tims, living and dead, lined the workers. All activity throughout Director, and a variety of United corridors of the admitting area, the city came to a halt as close States Military Officials. But vehicles of every kind were to 200 simulated explosions this problem was academic, outside lined up out of sight, and fires produced approxi- since attacking and extinguish- waiting to unload their maca- mately 300 phantom casualties. ing the fire was relatively bre cargo. Finally, word of this Authorities were pleased with straight-forward and accom- situation reached the fire scene the outcome of the drill, but plished effectively by the Fire and the overflow was diverted nobody would have guessed Department. The primary focus to Massachusetts General that even before the passing of of the event was rescue, and Hospital, this being the other of a single week the value of this this was more an instinctive op- the two medical institutions to drill would be put to its ulti- eration that proceeded urgently receive most of the victims. mate test. with minimal needed direction. In summary, the following By tremendous good fortune Today, the topic of disaster hospital statistics highlight the the preparedness is directly ad- challenges that faced the medi- happened upon the Cocoanut dressed several documents but cal community following the Grove scene after responding to perhaps most notably NFPA Cocoanut Grove fire: and extinguishing a nearby car 1600, Disaster~Emergency fire. This providential circum- Management and Business General Hospital stance was credited by one Continuity Programs. Many Statistics estimate as saving upwards of of the details of the Cocoanut • Mass General received 114 100 of the building's occupants. Grove Fire, and in particular the casualties by 12:45 a.m. In all, the five alarms sounded overall response to the disaster, Sunday morning, second only for this fire brought twenty-five relate to the concepts ad- to Boston City Hospital which engine companies, five ladder dressed by NFPA 1600. received over 300. Numerous companies, one water tower, For this disaster, the greatest other civilian hospitals and one rescue company, and a challenge was the disposition military installation received variety of other emergency ap- of the human wreckage. The only a few patients each. paratus. The Police Department numbers of injured, dying, and This includes about 30 other provided ambulance service, dead were staggering beyond victims distributed among maintained law and order in anyone's comprehension. Peo- the following hospitals: Peter the vicinity, roped off streets, ple, both living and dead, were Bent Brigham, Beth Israel, and provided routes for emer- transported to the hospitals in Cambridge City, Kenmore, gency vehicles to transport the all available vehicles that in- Faulkner, St. Elizabeth's, casualties. Many other agen- cluded ambulances, police cars, Malden City, Massachusetts cies responded to the scene or taxi cabs, private cars, and even Memorial, Carney, and St. shifted into operation, including newspaper delivery trucks. Margaret's. members of the United States The only lack of coordina- Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Civil tion evident in hindsight was • The total casualty list, of both Defense, Red Cross, and Salva- the failure to more evenly surviving and dead, included tion Army. disperse the victims among the persons from twenty-five of

6 NFPAJOURNAL NOVEMBER/DECEMBER2007 the forty-eight states and the Profile of Boston City 39 were still alive to be treat- District of Columbia, plus one Hospital ed. Seventy-five were dead from Brazil. • In little more than one hour on arrival or before treat- after the first Grove victim ment could be given. (Many • Fifty-one servicemen and two was received at Boston City of the dead were not burned). WACS were killed, and 26 Hospital, over 300 had been Three married couples were others were hospitalized. The received. This calculates to among the survivors, but 17 fatally injured servicemen, one Grove victim being re- were among the dead, and a some of whom had ironically ceived at Boston City Hospital number of other survivors had returned safely from battle every 11 seconds over a time relatives who succumbed. overseas, included 17 from the period of approximately 1 Army, 26 Navy, 3 Marines, and hour and 15 minutes. This is Ten of the 39 living admitted five from the Coast Guard. one of the all-time highest to Mass General had signifi- admittance rates anywhere in cant injuries. The other • Anticipated injury to death the world. 29 had slight or no external ratio for a disaster is typi- , but some of these suf- cally 3 to 5 injured for every Within 2 hours of the fire, fered gravely from severe lung death. This disaster had those Boston City Hospital had damage and anoxia (restricted numbers reversed. admitted 132 injured victims, oxygen supply to body tis- with over 200 dead and still sues). All 39 patients at Mass • In two separate reports, 54% counting. General were bedded down of Grove survivors from Bos- by 3 a.m. Sunday morning. ton City Hospital interviewed • By the end of December, 1942, This included 21 males and were afflicted with "post- Boston City Hospital's mortal- 18 females. Thirty-two were traumatic neuroses"; this was ity rate was close to 30% (36 in stable or good condition, 7 about 44% at Mass General. out of 132), with a number of were critical, including movie It was observed that a sur- these wholly or partially at- star Buck Jones. prising number of relatives tributable to "full thickness" or and friends had an "emotional third-degree burns. Mass General lost 7 of its upset that attained propor- original 39 surviving patients tions of a major psychiatric ° By February 1943, the official in the first 3 days. Buck Jones condition and needed trained death toll was 488 and only 3 was the fifth among these. intervention." survivors remained critical, all at Boston City Hospital. By the end of December, 1942, • Recognizing that this was a Mass General's mortality rate community misfortune, the In May, 1943, the last Grove was about 18% (7 our of 39). hospitals rendering service casualty, a woman from None of these were directly never charged any of the pa- Dorchester, MA died at attributable to burn deaths. tients from this fire. The Red Boston City Hospital after five Cross provided considerable months of withstanding both By the end of January, 1943, relief in the form of financial grave burns and compounded nine of the original Grove aid to both the public and internal injuries. survivors remained at Mass private hospitals. This was es- General Hospital. pecially helpful to Boston City Profile of Massachusetts Hospital, receiving generous General Hospital • In April, 1943, the last survi- volunteer medical assistance • Of the 114 Grove victims deliv- vor from Mass General was to offset its enormous influx ered to Mass General within discharged, four and a half of patients. two hours after the fire, only month after admittance.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER2007 NFPAJOURNAL 57 A floor seemed to be unaware of the growing concern. some, John Bradley had flung open the camouflaged plan Few people made any effort to leave, as if hypno- service door and a small group was shepherded into of the tized with fascination and disbelief. John Bradley, the kitchen. But most were unaware and scrambled nightclub and a busboy struggled to yank the palm tree, now towards the stairway, which had now become a details ablaze like a torch, down offofits wall mooring. chimney. A few lucky ones made it out before the the ac- With a mighty yank and a shower of sparks, the tree flames, but without hesitation a wall of bodies ap- cess and finally came down, glancing offthe howling Bradley peared as quickly as the panic, blocking the only exit egress and dragging a piece of flaming satin ceiling decora- and trapping the mob in the now-searing inferno. points. tions onto the arms of the busboy. Unfortunately, During the panic, "l hesitated, staying at my post their efforts were to no avail. The fire was now well despite being terrified," Weiss says. involved in the ceiling fabric, and as if signaled by By instinct, the cashiers were entrusted with the falling tree, it suddenly flashed across the satin safeguarding the bank during a disturbance, which ceiling decorations with terrifying speed. normally would include such comparatively At that moment the spellbound crowd panicked. mundane occurrences like a fight. But this situ- Screaming and shouting, the mob rushed madly ation was very different. The other cashier had to the stairs, the only obvious exit. Fortunately for already scrambled into the kitchen, and as Daniel

ENTRANCE BROADWAY

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58 NFPA,JOURNAL NOVEMBER/DECEMBER2007 Illustration: NFPA, International News Photos Weiss watched in horror as people were being In the darkness and in the silence, Weiss did the burned alive on the stairs and were falling victim only thing he could do---he waited. As the sec- to the ever-thickening smoke and fumes fed by the onds slowly ticked away, he desperately wanted blowtorch over their heads, he knew he had to get to get out, and crawled to the bar gate, but again it out. Just as he sprang for the gate underneath the wouldn't budge. Terrified at the thought of dying bar, the lights went out. with the rest, Weiss took a deep breath, rose, and Dropping to his hands and knees, he scrambled lunged over the counter. But instead of the floor, he in the darkness to the bar gate and pushed, but landed on bodies. it was blocked. Remembering the sight of those Scrambling in horror and somehow still holding being asphyxiated, he stayed low. It was becoming his breath, he fumbled through the service door difficult to breath, so he maintained his crouch, into the welcomed chill of the smokeless passage- reaching into one of the sinks and soaked a bar way to the kitchen. Weiss believes he was probably towel in the dishwater. With a seething maelstrom the last person to leave the Melody Lounge alive. all around him, he placed the cloth over his mouth Feeling his way through the dark passageway, and nose and lay face down on the floor. Weiss found his way into the spacious basement "The closer I was to the floor, the easier it was to kitchen. Under the light of a single bulb he was as- breathe," Weiss says. tonished to find several dozen people, most of them The smoke was thick and choking, but for the patrons, huddled around in an anxious daze. Some moment this quick-thinking tactic was working. of the kitchen help were there, including the club's Weiss then realized that the screaming and crying food cashier, an older lady named Katherine Swett. that filled the lounge had subsided into only moan- "I always thought of her as 'the Irish lady," Weiss ing and scratching, and this in turn was followed says. Dutifully, she had no intention of leaving her by an eerie foreboding silence. What was happen- register and later would become a victim to the ing? Even the fire seemed to be gone. intensifying fumes in the basement.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER2007 NFPAJOURNAL 59 In a flurry of anxious talk, it was unclear as to drifted about on Shawmut Street in a stunned why these people remained huddled and were not daze, becoming oblivious to the maddening scene. making an effort to leave. Weiss took the initiative Not sure what to do, he realized his family would and headed for the kitchen stairs that served the be worried so he wandered over to the nearby Rio main dining room. wondering if the people up in Casino, owned by his Uncle Jimmy. He was happy the club had any idea what had happened in the to find that some of the Grove's help and entertain- Melody Lounge. ers had also ventured over to the Rio Casino. "I got halfway up the stairs, and then it hit me As expected, Weiss's frantic parents were greatly like an inferno---the heat upstairs was unbearable," relieved to receive his phone call. Immediately, Weiss says. they rushed to meet him. Daniel's father was him- It had never occurred to him that the rest of selfa doctor, and upon seeing blood on Daniel's the Cocoanut Grove was now experiencing on a neck insisted on going to Boston City Hospital. much greater scale the same disaster suffered in the The scene at City Hospital, which had received Melody Lounge. Before retreating, he recalled once the majority of the victims, was like a war zone. again hearing screaming, crashing of furniture, People were everywhere. Over 300 casualties and the crescendo of the fire itself. were received over a period of a little more than Remembering the service stairs beyond the fur- one hour. It was calculated that one Grove victim nace room on the other side of the kitchen, Weiss arrived at Boston City Hospital every 11 seconds convinced the fearful and hesitating group to fol- over a 75 minute period, ranking this as one of the low him through the darkened passageways. These highest hospital admittance rates ever. stairs led to the service rooms behind the main On Sunday, the day after the fire, the police se- dining room stage, and then directly out to Shaw- cured the area around the Cocoanut Grove. None mut Street. But as the group apprehensively came of the people who were in the Grove during the through the storage room, they opened the door disaster would see the inside of the building again, to the furnace room and were hit by the warm air except for the few public officials who were in the and soft light from the club's boiler plant. As one Grove when the fire broke out, like Civil Defense woman screamed, another yelled, "He's leading us Director John Walsh who escaped out the Shaw- into the fire!" and the group broke ranks in a panic, mut Street exit--and Daniel Weiss. retreating to the kitchen. On Sunday afternoon, Weiss was allowed to pass Once again they were all in the kitchen and he through police lines with an escort to assist in se- pleaded with the group. Smoke was now curling curing the money located in Cocoanut Grove's cash around the light bulb. This time. clinging to the registers. The building was gutted, with everything security of the kitchen, none would follow him and black and broken and sad, Weiss says. Furniture Weiss could only promise that he would send help. was upended and scattered everywhere. Below, the As he came to the top of the service stairs, he Melody Lounge was eerie and water logged. found himself exiting among gasping survivors "I was only doing my duty, it was not necessarily who were somehow still stumbling out of the strange. The magnitude of the event was not fully upstairs part of the club. The scene on Shawmut known, I'm not sure I fully realized the extent of Street was chaotic. People were running every- what had happened at the time," Weiss says, who where: firemen, policemen, servicemen and civil- recalls the moment with a multitude of emotions. ians. There was shouting, screaming and sirens. While the building was heavily damaged and Singed survivors stumbled around in a daze, and first assaulted his senses as a blackened hulk, he everywhere there were bodies, tossed about like noticed how the fire damage in many places was rag dolls. strangely limited to the upper portions of the facili- Once outside, Weiss cried out that others were ty. In the Melody Lounge much of the bar appeared trapped in the basement. Fire fighters were now to be untouched. Even in the main dining room entering the building in numbers and for him try the fire damage seemed to be confined to the upper and re-enter the club was clearly impossible. He reaches. A hole was in the dining room ceiling and

60 NFPAJOURNAL NOVEMBER/DECEMBER2007 the wall and plate glass windows on both sides of 35. This company was located in the old firehouse the room had been smashed through, letting in the on Broadway by Warrenton Street, near the Don day's sunlight. Bosco High School along with Engine 26, Rescue 1, Dr. Daniel Weiss became a well-known psychia- Water Tower 2 and District Chief 5.In many ways, trist. Highly respected in his field, he often served Saturday night began like any other, but the mood as an expert witness in major court cases. Occa- was still somber in the firehouses throughout sionally, he still gets calls from people asking if he Boston. Just two weeks prior, six fire fighters were knows what happened to a certain individual. killed at a major fire in Maverick Square in East ~I could hardly keep track of myselfl" says Weiss. Boston. Graney had also worked on that Saturday "The only person I ever kept in touch with through evening and Engine 35 had responded to the fire the years was a fellow nicknamed 'tar baby'. He was on the fourth alarm. Just after they had arrived at the other bartender working in the Melody Lounge." the scene the building came down. Ladder 8 was A report by Dr. John W. Powell, a Maryland in front of the building and was crushed by the psychiatrist, studied many aspects of the Grove fire debris. Ladder 8 was known as the white elephant, and classed it as one of the rare instances of true so named because it was too big to maneuver panic in this century. in Boston's small streets and was painted white "i'm not directly familiar with Poweli's report instead of the traditional red. As bad as on the Grove fire, but it indeed was one of the rare this tragedy was, it would soon become overshad- instances of true panic in the twentieth century," owed by a calamity of greater proportions. says Weiss. At 10:15 p.m. an alarm box had begun to sound: "Certainly, at the time 1 had no idea that it would one.., five.., one.., four. Fifteen-fourteen; be such a prominent historical event," he says. Stewart and Carver Streets, South End. This was a border line call on two districts. The firehouse THE FIRE FIGHTER was only a short distance away and the apparatus George "Red" Graney reported to work on Sat- arrived in very short time to find an automobile fire. urday evening, November 28, 1942. Graney had The rear seats of the car were aflame and someone been on the Boston Fire Department for five years had pulled the street box. Graney and the others on and at the time was assigned to Engine Company Engine 35 immediately went to work by pulling the

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER2007 NFPAJOURNAL 61 A police seats out of the rear of the car and throwing them mediately ordered one of the fire fighters to get to o~cer onto the sidewalk. The booster hose from Engine 35 nearby box fifteen-twenty-one and skip the second peers was then used to quickly extinguish the small fire. alarm and sound a third. This was received at into the Once the fire was extinguished, Graney and Boston Fire Alarm Headquarters at 10:23 p.m. One nightclub. fellow fire fighter Arnie Snell were loading the minute later at 10:24 p.m, Chief Crowley ordered a booster hose back on the reel. Hearing a commo- fourth alarm be sounded for what would eventu- tion the fire fighters turned around at which point ally be a five-alarm fire. one of them exclaimed, "Hey look, there's another Engine Company 35 was a two-piece engine one around the corner." With the hose now back company with a hose wagon and a pumper. The on the pumper, they immediately backed around pumper was driven and operated alone by Paul and drove over to the Broadway Street side of the Rodd. On the wagon along with Graney were Cocoanut Grove parking, right in front of the door Arnie Snell, Webby Mansour and Captain Jerry to the new lounge. "Haddock-Ears" Cronin. The apparatus was able People were running everywhere. Smoke was to pull up on Broadway Street right in front of the pouring out the Broadway Street door of the new building. Rescue 1 followed them, but had trouble lounge as screams pierced the air. District Fire maneuvering between parked cars. Chief Daniel Crowley who had also responded to Graney went to grab the hose from the pumper the car fire had seen enough upon arrival. He im- as Paul Rodd yelled to bring a hose-line to the nearby high-pressure . This section of Boston has high-pressure fire hydrants that can be used directly and don't require a pumper. Then Graney noticed the fire fighters running away from the fire apparatus. As he lugged the hose the entire side of the building suddenly lit up, he saw what the other fire fighters had run to. Inside the door at the corner of Broadway and Shawmut was a man stumbling out in a sheet of flames. By tremendous good fortune, the fire depart- ment had gained a significant time advantage by virtue of coming upon the scene with their equip- ment. Yet because of the swiftness of the Grove fire, much of this advantage was lost. By the time the men had been able to even approach the club, it was ablaze from the Melody Lounge all the way out to the Broadway exit. The Broadway Street wall of the new lounge had a wall made of glass bricks. This wall and a small nearby window started to fail from the heat of the fire. Fire fighters worked frantically around the Broadway Lounge door. Inside, they could see people collapsing and bodies piling up, as they desperately tried to gain access and rescue them. Graney now dragged the charged high-pressure hose-line toward the corner of Shawmut Street and Broadway to the Broadway Lounge door. As he pressed in with the water from the hose deflecting offthe ceiling, fire fighters worked to reach un- burned limp bodies lying just inside the doorway.

i~12 NFPAJOURNAL NOVEMBER/DECEMBER2007 Photograph: NFPA COCOANUT GROVE

As these people were dragged out, he noticed that the extent of fire damage could be seen. Out smudges around their noses and lips. on the street first aid was given to those who could The fire fighters now moved forward into the still receive it. entrance-way. Graney looked down and saw a "1 remember seeing a priest standing, quiet and sol- young woman who, while unburned, was on her emn, watching as we carried out the bodies," he says. back pinned down to the floor by bodies. When Graney eventually worked his way through she saw Graney she yelled to him, "Please get me the building and found himself downstairs in the out, my father will be worried!" Just then the fire Melody Lounge. ~There were small piles of belong- flashed over Graney's head and as he backed out he ings everywhere," he says. yelled to the girl to "hang on!" Yelling for another Most of the bodies were now removed, and the hose line, he didn't wait. but instead pressed in- fire fighters continued with their overhaul duties. ward again, allowing the girl to be pulled by others Venturing into the Melody Lounge was Mayor out to safety. Tobin and the Boston Fire Department doctor Never before had Graney confronted such a Martin Spellman. mountain of human beings. "It was incredible." he "All of a sudden a small portion of the ceiling says. "I couldn't go forward or to the right because came down and Spellman yelled 'Get out!'" says of the bodies, I couldn't even get in with the hose." Graney. "He said this remembering Maverick In testimony to the desperation of the rescue ef- Square, but it turned out to be only a piece of the fort, the fire fighters made the noblest of attempts false ceiling material." to rescue as many as they could as quickly as they Despite the magnitude of the event, the fire was could, but they were overwhelmed by the shear extinguished and the bodies removed in a rela- number of people trapped by the fast-burning fire. tively short period of time. Red Graney and Engine Though no fire fighters were included in the list of Company 35 were not released from the scene those who died, several of those first on the scene until around 4:30 to 5:00 a.m. in the morning. The succumbed to the smoke and flames during their entire event seemed so unreal and taxed reality by rescue efforts. One of those men was Charley Ken- playing on everyone's fatigue. ney, Sr. of Rescue 1 who, after pulling over a dozen "At the time we had no idea how many were people out the Shawmut Street Dining Room door, killed, and we guessed that maybe 200 people had finally went down. Later in the hospital it was no- been lost," Graney says. ticed that among his injuries he had claw marks on In the days following the fire, the fire fighters his legs, offering a mute testimonial of the desper- who were involved in the event were asked to ate final moments of so many. submit any reasons or thoughts on why the flames The fire was knocked down quickly. In a short had spread so fast. This information would eventu- period of time, the fire fighters made an effective ally assist the official fire department investigation. entry into the main dining room. If this fire had Graney was not among those who were asked occurred in an unoccupied building, it would have for official testimony: however, there was much been knocked down even more quickly: however, speculation in the firehouse. rescue was obviously the paramount concern. "There were all kinds of thoughts," Graney says. With the flames now subdued, Graney now "There was talk that vapors from alcoholic drink- found himself with a policeman in the main dining ing along with a lot of smoking contributed to the room carrying out bodies. fire. Some also were saying that it was German "The tables weren't all burnt and in some places sabotage since there were a large number of suspi- people, though dead, were only singed, still at their cious fires during the war years." chairs and drooped over their tables. Yet elsewhere There was much conjecture, but it would be other bodies were so badly burned you couldn't tell over a year before the official Boston Fire Depart- the men from the women," Graney says. ment report became available and provided some The false walls on the Shawmut Street wall had answers to why the fire had spread with such been breached and soon lights were brought in so incredible ferocity.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER2007 NFPAJOURNAL ~13 MEDICAL ADVANCES

IN NOVEMBER of 1942, the city sive, and scarce. On Wednesday, simplified method required the of Boston was able to include December 2, 1942, Cocoanut burned surfaces to be swathed upon its voice of recognition the Grove survivors at Massachusetts in gauze impregnated with superior medical and scientific General Hospital became the boric petroleum, promoting a research facilities within its first recorded general patients to natural healing of the burns domain. After almost a year at receive dosages. Much later when that harnessed the bodies war, the urgency of improving more was known about the new formidable regenerative pow- certain medical techniques had drug, however, it was determined ers. This innovative method had been given new focus, and Bos- that it was administered in dos- just been implemented prior to ton found itself directly involved ages that were much too small. the fire at Mass General, and in these efforts. the patients who suffered only Medical research initiatives Surface and Surgical from severe burns (without sponsored on a national scale Management respiratory or other complica- included the search for im- At the time of the Cocoanut tions) were recovering nicely. proved methods to deal with Grove fire, research on surface In a crisis situation, the method burn victims. It was expected management (burn treatment) had proven itself as virtually an that the casualties of war and on surgical manage- unqualified success. would place new demands on ment (skin grafts) was partly Boston City Hospital, how- burn treatment, and better underway. Rather than the fire ever, used the traditional methods were needed. Thus, allowing for new discoveries tanning process to treat their early in 1942, research proj- on these subjects, it instead patients. This was because of ects had been initiated under served as the ultimate test for the overwhelming influx of contract to federal entities like new methods that were already Grove victims for which they the Office of Scientific Research becoming recognized. were not fully prepared to and Development and the Office The accepted method of sur- handle with a new method that of Naval Research. face management in 1942 was was just becoming policy. But Regarding burn treatment, the "tanning process" that in- to the credit of this institution, the on-going research in 1942 volved the application of a solu- the treatment of one young focused on the following four tion of tannic acid. This created Coast Guardsman named Clif- topics: a leathery scab over the wound ford Johnson made medical that acted as a shield against history. Under the care of Dr. 1) surface management; both the invasion of bacteria and Newton Browder, Johnson was 2) surgical management; for the loss of vital bodily fluids. given no chance to live after 3) fluids management; and, Yet this was a time-consuming, having been brought in with 4) respiratory management. cumbersome, skill-dependent horrible third-degree burns over process that subjected the pa- more than 50 percent of his While the greatest steps tient to agonizing pain because body, and another 25 percent of forward for Cocoanut Grove re- of the scrubbing procedure this flesh blistered by second- lated medical advances are most required before the application degree burns. At that time, it appropriately addressed into of the chemical dyes. was a medical rarity for anyone these 4 groups, other milestones A new method of surface to survive third-degree burns were made on related topics. One management referred to as over as much as 20 percent of of these was the fortification the "soft" technique had been the body. But after almost 12 against infection. A new weapon devised by Dr. Oliver Cope and months and a tremendous or- against infection was , his colleagues at Massachu- deal involving diligent care, Clif- but in 1942 it was new, expen- setts General Hospital. This ford Johnson was discharged

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Coconut fects of the deadly poison gases from Boston City Hospital as a vancements made in modern Grove used in the first World War. medical phenomenon. burn treatment because of the victims Similar in occurrence was the Cocoanut Grove fire is that are at- strange loss of life encountered Fluids Management involving respiratory manage- tended in the 1929 Cleveland Clinic fire Another research topic con- ment (injury to the lungs). to at that killed 125. This involved cerned with burn treatment Victims who had succumbed to Boston x-ray films that released was fluids management (shock). respiratory tract injuries were City phosgene gas into the ventila- This research was well under- significant. Hospital. way and the Boston hospital's Much to the dismay of medi- tion system. With the Cocoanut were well prepared with stock- cal staff, the effects of these Grove, suspicions were aroused piles of blood and plasma. But injuries were often delayed that somehow, perhaps from despite these supplies, immense and involved individuals who the pyrolysis of the interior fin- quantities were used on the vic- showed very little outward ish, a deadly poisonous gas had tims of the fire. In the first 24 signs of being in danger. A num- been released. hours alone, more blood plasma ber of these victims had walked It was apparent that many was given to Cocoanut Grove into the emergency rooms un- of the hospitalized patients victims than had been used in der their own power and were had inhaled a toxic substance. Hawaii following the attack on put aside for patients who were These victims developed post Pearl Harbor. On the day after more obviously hurt, only to traumatic pulmonary injury and the fire, 1,200 citizens offered succumb shortly thereafter. required constant monitoring. blood, and within days the local Postmortem examinations The lessons learned from the Red Cross had collected a much revealed a strange pattern of Cocoanut Grove fire brought needed 3,800 units. massive pulmonary edema that an entirely new focus onto the developed late and suddenly. respiratory management of Respiratory Management This suggested the effects of burn victims that revolutionized Foremost among all the ad- poison gases, much like the ef- pulmonary treatment.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007 NFPA JOURNAL 65 The fire- Red Graney retired from the Boston Fire Depart- lead by Navy Lt. Commander Peter Hogstrom, ravaged ment after a prestigious career. While president originally from the New York City Fire Depart- bar area of Local 718 of the International Association of ment. at the Fire Fighters during 1952 and 1953, he was one of The school in Boston was referred to as a class A nightclub those responsible for introducing the muscular school, complete with a simulated ship structure is a grim dystrophy campaign to the fire service. He is more made of concrete. Located at East First and I streets scene. widely known for the "Graney Plan," the widely in South Boston, the intent was to prepare the navy adopted fire department work schedule system still fire service for shipboard fire fighting tactics. John used today throughout North America. Collins and the other instructors lived in barracks located at 500 East First Street. An emphasis was THE SERVICEMAN given to several innovative techniques, including John Collins had been on the Boston Fire Depart- the use of foam, and also the use of fog streams. ment for about one year when the attack occurred It was a Saturday night like any other and John at Pearl Harbor. Like many, he enlisted before the Collins, who was on standby, was passing the idle , immediately after Pearl Harbor. The year time. As the evening came to a close he had just 1942 that followed was arguably the most hec- laid down on his double-decker bunk when the Lt. tic for the gearing up of the U.S. military during Commander came in and shouted for everyone to World War II. get their turnout gear. They were being called to Because of his fire fighting background, Collins a bad fire in the "film district" of Boston. The men found himself as the first man in the U.S. Navy's grabbed their equipment, jammed into a single fire fighting program based in Boston. This was navy wagon and sped offto the scene. one of five U.S. Navy fire fighting schools located Upon their arrival, the fire itself was quickly around the country. The others were located in becoming subdued. However, a massive rescue Norfolk, VA; Pearl Harbor, HI; San Diego, CA and effort was under way and the services of the Navy Bremerton, WA. The school in Boston had at any Fire fighters were clearly needed. As the group given time ten fire fighters, half of whom were approached the Cocoanut Grove building, they from the New York City Fire Department and half came upon the main entrance revolving door on from the Boston Fire Department. This group was Piedmont Street. A row bodies had been laid out on the street and the rescue efforts had only cleared out the revolv- ing door itself. Inside, a gruesome pile of bodies could be seen piled seven and eight high. People were run- ning and hollering everywhere, Collins says. Standing near the revolving door exit di- recting operations was Boston Fire Commis- sioner William Riley. Being a member of the Boston Fire Department on military leave, John Collins introduced Lt. Commander Hogstrom

~16 NFPAJOURNAL NOVEMBER/DECEMBER2007 COCOANUT GROVE

to Commissioner Riley. At least with regard to the nearly complete. Bodies were removed from the Navy, Lt. Commander Hogstrom appeared to be Grove and laid out upon the street so rapidly that the ranking Navy officer on the scene. Riley said the transportation to the nearby hospitals and that he thought there were about 200 dead. morgues could not begin to keep up with the high ~1 couldn't believe it," says Collins. "Two hundred number of dead. Fire department officials forced dead--it seemed so high for such a small place." entry into a garage across the street, making it a The navy men split up and immediately started temporary morgue, laying out row upon row of to work. The fire was being brought under control bodies on the cold concrete floor. and the task at hand was to get the people out. John Collins and the other Navy fire fighters Collins began helping to remove bodies at the en- stayed until all the bodies were removed. In the trance on Piedmont Street through the now tomb- early morning hours, they gathered together with like main entrance where the revolving doors had their Lt. Commander and went to the nearby May- been. Just a few feet away other fire fighters finally fair Hotel to have coffee. The night was cold and broke down an adjacent door with much effort, the nearby hotels and other facilities had opened only to reveal a shocking sight. Bodies were piled up, offering coffee, blankets, and anything else to chest-high against the door. help those working at this disaster. This door was located at the top of the stairs "Afterwards as we talked, it seemed so unreal, from the Melody Lounge in the lobby and was almost as if it was a bad dream," Collins says. equipped with panic hardware, but it was double- With fatigue blending into reality, they gathered bolted shut, with lifeless forms piled against it their equipment and went back to the Navy fire from the inside. After it was broken open, bodies fighting school in South Boston. In the early morn- were brought out through this opening originally ing hours, they had showers and attempted to get intended to provide safe escape. back into their normal routine. "Some bodies were very badly burned, but some Like most of the people in Boston at that time, were not. It was very, very strange," says Collins. John Collins followed very closely the inquiries "But more than anything else, the stench of burned and activities that transpired after the fire. Con- flesh was terrible. It was overwhelming." vened the following day was a public hearing by The stairway to the Melody Lounge was now be- the Boston Fire Department. This was chaired by ing cleared, and the fire fighters had finally gained Fire Commissioner Riley and was intended mainly access down into the basement Lounge from the to clarify fire department involvement. The final lobby. Surprisingly, the fire damage downstairs report from these provocative hearings would ap- was minimal. Except for the overhead area, there pear over a year later. seemed to be very little damage from the fire itself. Another investigation began in the legal forum. "Of all the vivid impressions made upon me that Requiring more time to collect sufficient evidence evening, perhaps the most unforgettable was when to present to the grand jury, the state attorney gen- we first went down into the Melody Lounge," says eral and the county district attorney's office were Collins. "There, sitting at a table was a very pretty working on criminal indictments that would even- girl. She was sitting with her eyes open and her tually be handed down to ten individuals. Nearly a hand on a cocktail glass, as if waiting for someone. month would pass before they would hand down As I first looked at her I wondered why she was just these indictments. sitting there, thinking she was okay. But, of course, The investigation by the Boston Fire Department she was dead. It seemed very strange." began less than 24 hours after the disaster. Among The large number of fire service personnel the questioners with the Fire Commissioner were supplemented with the many other rescuers at representatives of various municipal and state the scene allowed the fire to be controlled and agencies, Army and Navy brass, and Federal Gov- overhauled quickly. The bodies themselves were ernment representatives, including the FBI. Among removed from the building at a rapid pace, so the first witnesses called by Commissioner Riley that by midnight that urgent task at hand was was one of his own inspectors, Lt. Frank Linney.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER2007 NFPAJOURNAL 67 Linney had inspected the Cocoanut Grove ap- to keep pace with the relentless questioning. proximately a week before the fire and turned in "All of a sudden, Linney just fell apart and broke the routine report, terming the Grove's safety con- into tears. It was heart rendering," says Collins. ditions as "good." This entire single-page report Lewis, the shrewd lawyer that he was, was able was printed on the front pages of area newspapers. to demonstrate that Linney had never intentionally Now, despite having several commendations for meant to do anyone harm and had only followed heroism, Frank Linney found himself in every fire standard, albeit terribly inept, inspection proce- inspector's worst nightmare. dures. Following the testimony, the jury deliber- Linney was pressed to elaborate on his written ated three and a half hours. The verdict: not guilty. report during the hearing. Another part of the The painful legacy of Frank Linney in the Cocoa- report had stated glaringly that there were "no nut Grove disaster serves as a classic lesson for all inflammable decorations." Linney indicated during who may find themselves involved in fire inspec- the hearings that he had taken some of the fabric tions. Years later John Collins would recall this and tried to light it with a match after it had been lesson as he was walking to work one evening to removed. He found the material was very difficult Ladder 26 in Boston's Back Bay. In uniform, he was to ignite. This was the normal procedure. The fal- passing by Symphony Hall and noticed that a big lacy of these test methods would later be shown, show was about to go on for that evening. As he but this unfortunately would not assist Linney sometimes did, he would pass through Symphony during his testimony. John Collins followed the hall, more for curiosity than anything else, gaining testimony of his comrade very closely. access as a fire department representative. Riley's hearings were meant to do nothing more "It was a big show, and I was shocked to see that than to bring forth public information as quickly they had put chairs in the aisles blocking some of as feasible, and would not result in any criminal the exit paths," says Collins. "In my mind I wasn't actions. The fingers of blame pointed in many di- sure what to do, I could're walked out and pretend- rections and even included Mayor Tobin himself. In ed that I had never seen any of it." other parts of Boston at the end of 1942, the grand He didn't. Instead, he contacted the management jury handed over the criminal indictments. Among and told them that they could not start the show these indictments, charged with accessory after the until they corrected the problem. As expected, the fact of manslaughter and willful neglect of duty, management was furious, but they had no choice. was Lt. Frank Linney, inspector for the Boston Fire The show was delayed momentarily while the Department. chairs were cleared, and as a result, some of the Linney went to trial in October, 1943. Defending patrons were removed from the audience. Linney was an African-American lawyer by the ~I thought of the Cocoanut Grove and I thought name of Lewis, one of the top criminal lawyers in of Frank Linney, and I couldn't bring that upon Boston at that time. Linney was a man of modest myself. What he went through should never hap- means and it was not clear to Collins how he had pen again," Collins says. attained such prestigious legal defense. After his naval service, John Collins returned John Collins went to one of the court sessions to the Boston Fire Department where he stayed relating to the Cocoanut Grove fire, and this was until retirement. He ended his career as a Captain, when Frank Linney was being cross-examined by serving as the department's public relation officer. his own lawyer. In this capacity he appeared numerous times as "I remember when Linney was on the witness the fire department representative on radio and stand and was being examined by Lewis. Lewis television. kept asking questions and rebuking him, making Linney look bad," says Collins. THE DOCTOR Collins could not understand why Lewis was On November 28, 1942, Dr. Francis D. Moore was doing this, chastising his own client instead of de- working as an assistant resident at Massachusetts fending him. Linney, though despondent, managed General Hospital in Boston. This was the third of

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his five years required for post medical work. That National Research Council Project regarding the evening, he was one of the staffdoctors on duty treatment of burns and walked straight into a crisis and would find himself thrust into the mist of an that would put the new burn treatment techniques event that would become a milestone in the field of that they had developed to an unparalleled test. medical treatment. Also arriving in the early stages of the staff "Chadie Burbank and I were in charge of the response was Dr. Nathaniel Faxon, the hospital ad- emergency room," says Moore. The evening was ministrator. He immediately ordered the full use of cold and the hospital had been very quiet. The first all phases of the war disaster plan, leading to activ- Grove patient arrived at Massachusetts General ity in every wing of the giant hospital. Emergency Hospital at approximately 10:35 p.m. equipment and extra supplies were assembled and "I was upstairs and came down after hearing the rushed to the Cocoanut Grove Ward. sirens," says Moore. As staffwas being mobilized, the accident floor This would be the beginning of an unprecedent- was cleared of all non-Grove patients. Despite ed onslaught of patients. But as bad as it would this action, victims continued to pour in and the become, it would be worse at nearby Boston City hospital was running out of space quickly. Thus, Hospital. For every four victims sent to Boston patients on the sixth floor of the White Building City Hospital, only one went to Massachusetts were rolled, in their beds, to other wards• The General. Later, when City became badly over- entire floor was quickly converted into a Cocoanut loaded, this ratio shifted so that about half of the Grove Ward. victims went to Massachusetts General. "The first few hours were spent stabilizing the The victims that were brought in were wet from victims and clearing the dead," says Moore. the fire hoses, dirty from the soot and grime and Within two hours after the fire, 114 Cocoanut suffering from the rough handling necessary to Grove victims were delivered to Massachusetts get them out of the Grove. They presented with an General Hospital. Seventy-five were dead on ar- assortment of afflictions, including burns, partial rival or before treatment could be given. This left asphyxia, exposure to the cold, shock and fright. 39 patients to be treated. Unlike the situation at Some stared blankly and said nothing. Others Boston City Hospital, this was a number that could screamed and raved, flinging their arms and legs so be effectively accommodated at Mass General. violently that they had to be restrained. None of these patients showed any sign of drunk- The magnitude of the disaster became quickly enness. Also, in spite of the wild panic, only a few evident as victims arrived in quick succession. were bruised and none had suffered broken bones. Massachusetts General staffwho could not im- Ten of the 39 patients admitted to Mass General mediately be assigned to medical work were asked had significant burn injuries, yet the other 29 had to telephone doctors and nurses associated with slight or no external burns. Some of them suffered the hospital. gravely from severe lung damage and anoxia (re- Not long after the arrival of the first patients, Dr. stricted oxygen supply to body tissues). As the ca- Oliver Cope arrived. Cope headed an important sualties continued to arrive, one facet of the crisis

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that increasingly confounded the medical staffwas assigned directly to each patient. Moore's responsi- the seemingly inordinate number of fatalities from bility was to monitor the emergency room, taking causes other than extensive burn damage. Some of an overview of the area. By 3 a.m. on Sunday the victims appeared to have died instantly without morning, all 39 patients at Massachusetts General burns at the scene of the fire, while others suc- were bedded down. cumbed after they had reached safety or en route "This flood of patients dominated everything to the hospital. The most baffling were those who for the next several days, there was little rest for came into the hospital apparently with only minor anyone," says Moore. injuries or none at all, and then with little warning, The research project headed up by Cope was collapsed and died. intended to develop a superior and simple method Typifying this phenomenon was a 23-year-old of treating burns. Throughout the year every Navy Ensign, who was one of the first to arrive at patient suffering burns was treated in accordance Massachusetts General Hospital. He walked into with these studies. The new plan of therapy was the accident room under his own power with carefully tested and developed, and involved the hands that were badly burned and some burns on use of ointments containing boric acid. After his face and neck. Aside from a flushed appearance Pearl Harbor, Massachusetts General Hospital and his agitation, he seemed to be fit enough to be administrative staffhad developed a plan by which held aside as the flood of more desperate victims the institution's full facilities could respond to a arrived. Despite being told to lie down and stay disaster of war by virtue of their mobilization plan calm, he was soon pacing back and forth waving and this ongoing burn research. The hospital was his hands in pain. Suddenly, he fell to the floor ready for the crisis that impacted them following hardly breathing. Further examination revealed the Cocoanut Grove fire. that his nostrils were deeply burned. He soon The awful toll in human life of the Cocoanut developed a swelling of the throat and then rapidly Grove fire produced taught medical professionals began to experience obstruction of the upper a lesson of enormous value. Those who lost their respiratory passages. Hours later, he died. lives and those who suffered agonizing pain and As the crisis continued, one young doctor was misery in the days that followed were to make

70 NFPA,JOURNAL NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007 Photograph:NFPA COCOANUT GROVE

available through their sacrifice knowledge that to the hospital despondent over the loss of his was to save thousands of victims in the future. wife, only to end his suffering by throwing himself Summarizing the diverse hospital experiences of through a closed sixth floor hospital window. the Cocoanut Grove victims is difficult. Each was As testimony to the healing power of time and excruciating in its own way, but each contributed how much has changed through the years, finding something to the knowledge of medicine. The the precise location of the Cocoanut Grove today is Cocoanut Grove fire, with its terrible number of challenging, even for those considering themselves victims, became one of the most informative single native Bostonians. When standing at the former tragedies ever approached by physicians. Grove site, one can see that even the streets have After the Grove fire Moore spent many years been altered to accommodate a high-rise hotel practicing in the field of medicine. As one of those complex over most of the Grove's main dining directly involved in this tragedy, he was intimately room and Broadway Street Lounge. Shawmut familiar with the medical advances that followed. Street now curves into Piedmont Street right at the Among his noteworthy professional achievements, site that was the Grove's main lobby area. he became Mosely Professor of Surgery-Emeritus Today's quiet residential streets at Shawmut and at the Harvard Medical School and Surgeon-in- Piedmont in Boston's Bay Village allow a person Chief- Emeritus at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital. to stand at the exact location of the revolving door and at the top of the stairway to the Melody DECADES LATER Lounge---a place were bodies were piled seven and With the march of time the fire at Boston's Cocoanut eight high. Grove has become an event from far away and long The shock of the fire's death toll drove society ago. And yet to some, it seems like only yesterday-- to make significant changes in fire regulations and a bad dream they are still waiting to forget. emergency procedures that would have taken years The fire was a tragedy of immense proportions. to change otherwise. Perhaps most demonstrative of its magnitude is With regards to advances in medicine, the sheer that a few lingering questions regarding the final enormity of the work done in Boston's hospitals death toll still continue to remain unanswered. along with the timeliness of war-related research al- News reports finally settled on the figure of 492 lowed significant strides forward in medical knowl- dead based on their information gathering efforts. edge. The fire, with its terrible aggregate of victims, But depending on the particular count, questions became one of the most informative single tragedies persisted about certain individuals who had been ever approached by physicians. counted twice or not counted at all, or who died Perhaps the greatest irony of this tragic event is later in the hospitals either from direct physical that, at least in Boston, there will never be another injuries or from serious and deteriorating psycho- Cocoanut Grove nightclub fire. There is only truth logical scars. in this statement because immediately following In this regard Fire Commissioner Reiily's report the fire, the Boston Licensing Board ruled that no carried a "Master List" of the dead and injured that place of entertainment could ever again use the indicated 490 dead and 166 injured. This list had an name Cocoanut Grove. Of course, this was only effective date of December 10, 1942 and adjusted a measure to prevent future exploitation of this to October 16, 1943. Yet despite its claim to cancel tragedy and not to prevent fires. and supersede all other tallies, it did not include the Unfortunately, we all know that fires of this mag- name Eleanor B. Powerell, who had succumbed at nitude continue to be possible. We can only take Boston City Hospital. Also, regarding the injured, comfort by hoping that we've learned from our mis- the list did not include patients treated and im- takes, mistakes like the fire at the Cocoanut Grove. mediately released, or servicemen and women admitted to military hospitals. And then their were CASEY C GRANT PE. is Rese(irch Director for the Fire victims like Francis Gatturna, who several weeks Protection Research Foundetion. He c(m be reoched ot after recovering from his own injuries returned cgront (a:,nfpa.org.

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