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Local News
Fire Prevention Month
October 20, 2009 at 8:06 am
By JT staff reports
Officials urge safety in places of public assembly
Fire Prevention month is held every year in conjunction with the anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Other tragic fires — in the number of human lives lost — include the Iroquois Theater of 1903 (571 dead), Coconut Grove Nightclub fire of 1942 (492 dead), Southgate Kentucky Nightclub fire of 1977 (164 dead) and the Station Nightclub fire of 2003 (100 dead).
What do all of these more recent fires have in common? They occurred in places of public assembly. Public assembly occupancies incorporate business, religious, school and civic facilities where people gather. Lax fire-safety practices anywhere, but especially in public assembly occupancies, can have disastrous consequences.
Take the Station Nightclub fire, for example: Late on the evening of Feb. 20, 2003, 462 people gathered in a nightclub in Rhode Island to hear a band. The facility was overcrowded, exits were poorly marked, there was no sprinkler system, and pyrotechnics were used by the band “Great White” which ignited flammable sound insulation in the walls and ceiling around the stage. This created a flash fire that engulfed the nightclub in five minutes. One hundred thirty-two escaped uninjured; 230 were injured; and 100 died — many of the dead being crushed in the ensuing panic.
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