Beverly Hills Supper Club fire
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The Beverly Hills Supper Club fire in Kentucky is the third deadliest nightclub fire in U.S. history. It occurred on the night of May 28, 1977, during the Memorial Day weekend. 165 persons died and over 200 were injured amid scenes of horror. The fire is listed by the World Almanac among "Some of the Most Notable Fires Since 1835". It follows the Cocoanut Grove nightclub fire in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1942, which killed 492, and the Rhythm Night Club Fire in Natchez, Mississippi, which claimed the lives of approximately 209 persons during a dance in 1940.
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An unlikely setting for disaster
The Beverly Hills Supper Club was one of the Midwest's major entertainment showcases, located in Southgate, Kentucky. This is a suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio, located just south of the Ohio River. Top stars from Las Vegas, Nashville, Hollywood, and New York performed there. The club opened in 1971, although the site had been a popular nightspot and illegal gambling house as early as 1937 under previous management. Several additions were completed by 1976. The exterior of the club was redesigned in a modern Las Vegas style, with classical statues and fountains gracing the front portico. It is believed as many as 3,000 patrons and 182 employees were inside the club at 9:00 p.m. on the evening of the fire, just as the "early show" was beginning in the "Cabaret Room." This was the larger of two showrooms with a stage, and it alone was jammed with about 1,300 patrons. Because of the overflow crush, additional guests had been squeezed into this room on temporary seats erected on ramps to the stage.
Throughout the huge club patrons were enjoying their meals and drinks in several restaurants, bars, private party rooms, and the two large performance rooms. An awards banquet for 425 people was taking place in the "Empire Room." The "Viennese Room" and Main Bar were also crowded. Diners in the immense "Garden Room" could look through wide plate glass picture windows at the rear of the club, peering out as well as up at the stars through the glass ceiling. Their view offered manicured gardens, a bridge over a pond, a fountain, a pagoda, and pathways leading to a wedding chapel and a gazebo. Upstairs, functions were taking place in the six Crystal Rooms.
Top notch entertainment and tasty American cuisine proved to be highly popular when offered in "supper club style" -- appetizer, salad, entree, potato, vegetable, dessert, and beverage included in one reasonable price. Those enjoying both dinner and a show would pay a slightly higher price than patrons who would only come for supper in one of the restaurants. The "Frontenac Room," a fancy a la carte cafe near the main entrance, catered to those who did not wish to see a show. Children were welcome at reduced prices. No longer a gambling casino, the club had a well-earned reputation for being a respectable evening out on special occasions. Many guests dressed in tuxedos or gowns and arrived by limousine.
Cause of fire
The immediate cause was determined to be faulty "old technology" aluminum wiring at the front of the nightclub in the walls of the "Zebra Room," so named apparently after the historic Zebra Room at Cincinnati's Art Deco railway terminal. A wedding reception in that room had ended at 8:30 p.m., and some guests complained that heat was building up inside it. However, there was no smoke in evidence yet. The doors of the Zebra Room were closed after the reception ended and the fire continued to smolder undetected for another 25 minutes. Two waitresses who were looking for tray stands entered the Zebra Room by chance at about 8:56 p.m. They saw dense smoke hanging near the ceiling and notified management immediately. A phone call was placed to the fire department at 9:01 p.m. and the first engine arrived in only three minutes as it happened to be passing near the club at the time of the call. Meanwhile, the management used two fire extinguishers inside the Zebra Room, to little effect. The blaze already had a headway and could no longer be contained inside the room. It spread so quickly that it was not possible to fully evacuate the sprawling, crowded building. A lack of a sprinkler system and audible automatic fire alarms certainly added to the dangerous conditions. These basic safety standards were required by law, but had not been installed and the local all-volunteer fire department had not noticed the deficiencies.
A frantic warning saves hundreds of lives
As the fire erupted at the front of the club, the comedian team Teter and McDonald were performing on stage down the corridor in the Cabaret Room. Singer/actor John Davidson, the scheduled headliner, was in the dressing room preparing for his show. A teenage busboy named Walter Bailey, who had witnessed the onset of the fire, raced down the long hallway to the rear of the building. As he made his way along the corridor, he shouted warnings into the various bars and rooms that he passed. Inside the Cabaret Room he took the initiative to grab a microphone from the comedians on stage and warn the audience to begin evacuation. He pointed out the exits and urged them to move quickly but without panic. Many patrons immediately began to heed instructions, but many others apparently hesitated because they thought the fire warning was part of the comedy act. At this time there was no hint of smoke or danger in the Cabaret Room. The comedians themselves attempted to calm people by suggesting that the show would continue once the fire was extinguished.
Only two minutes after Walter Bailey's warning, the conflagration burst its way along the corridor and exploded into the Cabaret Room with a fireball. It was a classic "flashover." Thick smoke simultaneously filled the building's ventilation system, making it dificult to see and breathe. Full scale panic ensued at this point, with some in the crowd jumping from table to table and many becoming entangled at blocked exits. Screaming patrons ran in different directions, their bodies and clothes completely enveloped in flames. Lights throughout the complex failed, adding to the panic. Later, at one of the tables, the bodies of six incinerated patrons would be found still sitting upright in their seats. Bodies were heaped in piles at either side of the stage. The majority of the deaths would be blamed on poorly marked exits, flammable carpeting, and seat cushions that emitted toxic fumes when burned.
After searching the hospitals, John Davidson found his music director dead in the temporary morgue. The comedian team and Walter Bailey escaped the blaze. President Carter sent a hand-written letter from the White House to personally thank the young busboy for his bravery and initiative in spreading the news. Fire experts agreed that the death toll would have been much higher without his timely warning.
Investigation and aftermath
Investigation revealed that local and state government oversight of the building's fire safety standards had been woefully inadequate. The nightclub owner, Richard Schilling, and his three hard-working sons ran the business in a hands-on, well-intentioned manner. They treated both their customers and employees well and encouraged a team spirit. The great success of the club could be attributed to this form of management style. However, their understanding of the cardinal rules of fire safety was sadly lacking. They made additions to the building in a piecemeal fashion and had no comprehension themselves of the need to have certain wires or non-flammable materials used in the construction and decoration. Their architect seemed equally oblivious to necessary requirements and it later was revealed that he was not licensed to practice in the state of Kentucky. They took great pride in a graceful spiral staircase at their club, unaware that it did not meet codes requiring that the staircase be enclosed with fire doors on each level of the building. Important state and federal lawmakers visited the club from time to time and they were also ignorant of basic fire safety lapses throughout the building. So, too, the general public were unaware of the inherent dangers that lay hidden within the modern and tastefully designed nightclub.
The tragedy led Kentucky Governor Julian Carroll to bring about a revamping of the way in which state government supervises code enforcement. Governor Carroll hoped that his Attorney General would be able to prosecute various officials. However, a secret Grand Jury and an independent investigator both recommended to him that there was no criminal liability sufficient to seek indictments for homicide. They felt that there was no ill intent or malice involved by anyone, although there certainly was evidence of malfeasance and reckless behavior.
"Old technology" aluminum wiring would be banned in places where it was not already prohibited.
John Davidson later performed in Cincinnati at a huge charity concert to raise funds for children who had lost their parents in the fire.
The supper club was never rebuilt.
Lawsuit
This was the first lawsuit to utilize the concept of "Enterprise Liability" and one of the first disaster cases to sue as a class action.
Further reading
- Beverly Hills: The Anatomy of a Nightclub Fire, by Robert G. Lawson. Athens, OH: Ohio University Press, 1984. 304 pages. ISBN: 0-8214-0728-7.
- Inside the Beverly Hills Supper Club Fire, by Ronald E. Elliott and based on an original story by survivor Wayne Dammert. Paducah, KY: Turner Publishing Company, 1996. 280 pages. ISBN: 1-56311-247-7.
- Reconstruction of a tragedy: the Beverly Hills Supper Club Fire, Southgate, Kentucky, May 28, 1977, by Richard L. Best. Boston, MA: National Fire Protection Association, 1977. ISBN: 0877651132.
See also
External links
At the time of the twentieth anniversary, the major local newspapers published a number of articles on the fire. These are collected as follows:
- "The Fire That Still Rages", published by The Cincinnati Enquirer
- "The Beverly Hills Tragedy", published by The Cincinnati Post