Beverly Hills Supper Club fire
Encyclopedia
The Beverly Hills Supper Club fire in Southgate, 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. A total of 165 persons died and over 200 were injured as a result of the blaze.
, Nashville
, Hollywood and New York
, among other places. The site had been a popular nightspot and illegal gambling
house as early as 1937; Dean Martin
had been a blackjack dealer there. It had opened under the then-current management in 1971. Several additions were completed by 1976, creating a sprawling complex of function rooms, corridors, and service areas connected by narrow corridors.
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. The headliner for the show, popular Hollywood singer and actor John Davidson
, was in his dressing room; comedians Jim Teter and Jim McDonald were performing the warm-up act. The Cabaret Room was the larger of two showrooms with a stage, and it was estimated that over 1,300 patrons had been squeezed into the room. Because of overcrowding, additional guests had been seated on ramps leading to the stage. Elsewhere in the club patrons were enjoying their meals and drinks in several restaurants, bars, private party rooms, and the Empire Room, the other performance room, where an awards banquet for 425 people was taking place. Upstairs, functions were taking place in the six Crystal Rooms.
at 9:01 p.m., and the first fire engine arrived in only three minutes. Meanwhile, the management used two fire extinguishers inside the Zebra Room, but to little effect. The fire had taken hold and could no longer be contained inside the room.
On October 28, 2008, Kentucky
Governor Steve Beshear
appointed a panel to investigate claims that arson may have been the cause of the fire. In March 2009, the panel, in recommending that the investigation not be reopened, characterized the new accusations as "a very tiny shred of evidence of arson and a huge mountain of conjecture, unsupported speculation, and personal opinion."
In a letter dated late June, 2011 from the Attorney General of Kentucky to a retired member of the State Police of Kentucky, some 30 boxes of color slides taken the day after the fire, including pictures of the club's basement during the aftermath, were ordered to be returned to the State archives for public accessibility, as per the Freedom of Information Act. According to the club's former busboy and witness, David Brock of Northern Kentucky, the slides were intentionally kept privately stored and away from the public since they were taken and prove arson. These slides depict unethical wiring, timers and other devices , which were intentionally placed in the club's basement leading to the Zebra Room in the days prior to the fire and was an intentional and malicious act of sabotage. "We are possibly looking at one of the worst mass-murders in America," according to Glenn Corbett, a high-profiled fire and safety trainer on the East Coast, who testified to US Congress after his inspection of the 911 tragedy in NYC in 2001.
Richard Whitt of the Louisville Courier-Journal was awarded the 1978 Pulitzer Prize
for Local General or Spot News Reporting for his articles on the fire. His citation reads: "For his coverage of a fire that took 164 lives at the Beverly Hills Supper Club at Southgate, Ky., and subsequent investigation of the lack of enforcement of state fire codes."
As of 2011, the site of the club has been left undeveloped.
" and one of the first disaster cases to sue as a class action
.
Southgate, Kentucky
Southgate is a city in Campbell County, Kentucky, United States, a part of metropolitan Cincinnati, Ohio. The population was 3,472 at the 2000 census.-History:...
is the third deadliest nightclub
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
fire in U.S. history
History of the United States
The history of the United States traditionally starts with the Declaration of Independence in the year 1776, although its territory was inhabited by Native Americans since prehistoric times and then by European colonists who followed the voyages of Christopher Columbus starting in 1492. The...
. It occurred on the night of May 28, 1977, during the Memorial Day
Memorial Day
Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War...
weekend. A total of 165 persons died and over 200 were injured as a result of the blaze.
The club
The Beverly Hills was a major attraction, less than two miles (3 km) outside Cincinnati, just across the Ohio River in Southgate, Kentucky. It drew its talent from Las VegasLas Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
, Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, Hollywood and New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, among other places. The site had been a popular nightspot and illegal gambling
Gambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
house as early as 1937; Dean Martin
Dean Martin
Dean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...
had been a blackjack dealer there. It had opened under the then-current management in 1971. Several additions were completed by 1976, creating a sprawling complex of function rooms, corridors, and service areas connected by narrow corridors.
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. The headliner for the show, popular Hollywood singer and actor John Davidson
John Davidson (entertainer)
John Hamilton Davidson, Sr. is an American singer, actor and game show host known for hosting That's Incredible!, Time Machine, and Hollywood Squares in the 1980s, and a revival of The $100,000 Pyramid in 1991....
, was in his dressing room; comedians Jim Teter and Jim McDonald were performing the warm-up act. The Cabaret Room was the larger of two showrooms with a stage, and it was estimated that over 1,300 patrons had been squeezed into the room. Because of overcrowding, additional guests had been seated on ramps leading to the stage. Elsewhere in the club patrons were enjoying their meals and drinks in several restaurants, bars, private party rooms, and the Empire Room, the other performance room, where an awards banquet for 425 people was taking place. Upstairs, functions were taking place in the six Crystal Rooms.
The fire
A wedding reception in the Zebra Room had ended at 8:30 p.m. Some guests complained that the room was becoming overheated, though no smoke was 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 looking for tray jacks entered the Zebra Room 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 departmentFire station
A fire station is a structure or other area set aside for storage of firefighting apparatus , personal protective equipment, fire hose, fire extinguishers, and other fire extinguishing equipment...
at 9:01 p.m., and the first fire engine arrived in only three minutes. Meanwhile, the management used two fire extinguishers inside the Zebra Room, but to little effect. The fire had taken hold and could no longer be contained inside the room.
Investigation
The investigation into the fire found the following deficiencies, as enumerated by the Cincinnati Enquirer:- Overcrowding. Although seating charts recovered from the club after the fire show that the Cabaret Room (the largest facility in the club) normally held between 614 and 756 people, a hostess who had worked at the club for several years estimated occupancy on the date in question to be well over 925.
- Inadequate fire exits. Full occupancy of the entire complex was estimated to be roughly 2,750, which under Kentucky law would require 27.5 exits. The club only had 16.5 exits, many of which were not clearly marked or easily reached. Some exits could only be reached by passing through three or more interior doors and corridors. Many victims perished in dead ends and after becoming lost.
- Faulty wiring. Governor Julian CarrollJulian CarrollJulian Morton Carroll is a politician from the US state of Kentucky. A Democrat, he is presently a member of the Kentucky Senate, representing Anderson, Franklin, Woodford, and part of Fayette counties. From 1974 to 1979, he served as the 54th Governor of Kentucky, succeeding Wendell H. Ford, who...
's report on the fire called the club's wiring an "electrician's nightmare", and alleged multiple, wide-ranging code violations. Bridgetown electrician H. James Amend, who inspected the fire site at the request of a local attorney Stan Chesley a year and a half later said, "I cannot believe that any of this was ever inspected." - Lack of firewallsFirewall (construction)A firewall is a fireproof barrier used to prevent the spread of fire between or through buildings, structures, electrical substation transformers, or within an aircraft or vehicle.- Applications :...
. This allowed the fire to spread, and in addition allowed it to draw oxygenOxygenOxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
from other areas of the complex. - Poor construction practices. The club had been built piecemeal with inadequate roof support, no common ceiling space, and highly flammable components.
- Extreme safety code violations. There was no sprinkler systemFire sprinklerA fire sprinkler system is an active fire protection measure, consisting of a water supply system, providing adequate pressure and flowrate to a water distribution piping system, onto which fire sprinklers are connected...
and no audible automatic fire alarm, and some doors were locked. - Poor oversightOversightOversight may refer to:*Oversight , a French Thoroughbred racehorse*Regulation – rulemaking*Separation of powers - the concept of separate branches of government or agencies exercising authority over one another...
by regulatory authorities. The local volunteer fire departmentVolunteer fire departmentSee also the Firefighter article and its respective sections regarding VFDs in other countries.A volunteer fire department is a fire department composed of volunteers who perform fire suppression and other related emergency services for a local jurisdiction.The first organized force of...
is said by the Enquirer to have known of the deficiencies, but had not ordered them to be corrected.
On October 28, 2008, Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
Governor Steve Beshear
Steve Beshear
Steven Lynn "Steve" Beshear is an American politician who is the 61st Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. A Democrat, Beshear previously served in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1974 to 1979, was the state's Attorney General from 1980 to 1983, and was Lieutenant Governor from...
appointed a panel to investigate claims that arson may have been the cause of the fire. In March 2009, the panel, in recommending that the investigation not be reopened, characterized the new accusations as "a very tiny shred of evidence of arson and a huge mountain of conjecture, unsupported speculation, and personal opinion."
In a letter dated late June, 2011 from the Attorney General of Kentucky to a retired member of the State Police of Kentucky, some 30 boxes of color slides taken the day after the fire, including pictures of the club's basement during the aftermath, were ordered to be returned to the State archives for public accessibility, as per the Freedom of Information Act. According to the club's former busboy and witness, David Brock of Northern Kentucky, the slides were intentionally kept privately stored and away from the public since they were taken and prove arson. These slides depict unethical wiring, timers and other devices , which were intentionally placed in the club's basement leading to the Zebra Room in the days prior to the fire and was an intentional and malicious act of sabotage. "We are possibly looking at one of the worst mass-murders in America," according to Glenn Corbett, a high-profiled fire and safety trainer on the East Coast, who testified to US Congress after his inspection of the 911 tragedy in NYC in 2001.
Aftermath
The last victim of the fire, Barbara Thornhill of Delhi Township, died on March 1, 1978, ten months after the fire. Many early sources (including the Pulitzer citation below) give the death toll as 164. Some sources give the death toll as 167 to include the unborn foetuses of two pregnant women who died in the fire.Richard Whitt of the Louisville Courier-Journal was awarded the 1978 Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
for Local General or Spot News Reporting for his articles on the fire. His citation reads: "For his coverage of a fire that took 164 lives at the Beverly Hills Supper Club at Southgate, Ky., and subsequent investigation of the lack of enforcement of state fire codes."
As of 2011, the site of the club has been left undeveloped.
Lawsuit
This was the first lawsuit to utilize the concept of "enterprise liabilityEnterprise Liability
Enterprise liability is a legal doctrine under which individual entities can be held jointly liable for some action on the basis of being part of a shared enterprise...
" and one of the first disaster cases to sue as a class action
Class action
In law, a class action, a class suit, or a representative action is a form of lawsuit in which a large group of people collectively bring a claim to court and/or in which a class of defendants is being sued...
.
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 0-87765-113-2.
External links
- "The Fire That Still Rages", published by The Cincinnati EnquirerThe Cincinnati EnquirerThe Cincinnati Enquirer, a daily morning newspaper, is the highest-circulation print publication in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. The Cincinnati Enquirer, a daily morning newspaper, is the highest-circulation print publication in Greater Cincinnati (Ohio) and Northern Kentucky. The...
, originally published by The Cincinnati PostThe Cincinnati PostThe Cincinnati Post is a discontinued afternoon daily newspaper that was published in Cincinnati, Ohio. Distributed in Northern Kentucky as The Kentucky Post, it was owned by the E. W. Scripps Company. Since the 1980s, its editorial stance was usually conservative. The Post published its final...