TRAGEDY ROOTED IN CODE VIOLATIONS HOW IT …

1 Zebra RoomThe fire started in the ZebraRoom, a small room on the firstfloor used for small flashover occurred duringattempts by employees to fightthe fire with portableextinguishersHOW IT HAPPENEDThe day of the fire4 : A wedding takes place in the chapel at the rear of theclub. The reception follows in the Zebra 5 : The reception begins in the Zebra 6 : As traffic congests in the club driveway, atleast one driver notices puffs of smoke but sees no reasonto report it. Unexplained smoke was reported emitting fromthe building as early as 6:30 and at various times bydifferent people until 8:45 :30 : Guests begin leaving the wedding reception.

2 Duringthe festivities, some guests complained the room was too warmand asked that the air conditioning be turned up. At least oneguest detected a burning odor but assumed it was caused bylighted 9 : A reservation clerk sees smoke in the ZebraRoom. She runs to alert other employees. The fire departmentis flashover, or ignition of all combustible materials,occurred in the Zebra Room, it resembled a furnace; allcombustible furnishings were burning simultaneously. Asthe flames and hot gases entered the main corridor, thecarpet and the hardboard paneling began to contributecombustible spread rapidly down the main corridor, with visible firerolling along underneath the ceiling and a secondary-firetraveling along on the carpet behind the ceiling :01 : Southgate, Fort Thomas and Newport firefightersare :04 : A Southgate rescue van is the firstunit to arrive.

3 Smoke is visible from the evacuation has begun, with employeesassisting patrons. At some point, because ofdense smoke, employees redirect patronsthrough the :08 : Comedians Jim Teter and JimMcDonald, the opening act for John Davidson,are performing in the Cabaret Room whenbusboy Walter Bailey walks onstage, warnsthe audience of a fire and instructs the crowdto move toward the :08 to 11 : As the evacuation proceeds,bottlenecks develop along exit routes. Whenword arrives outside that people are trappedin the Cabaret Room, firefighters battling theblaze redirect their efforts toward rescuingthose inside.

4 At some point smoke fills theroom and engulfs those after midnight, the roof collapsesover the Cabaret Room. A collectiverealization ripples through rescueworkers that there is not muchchance anyone else is left : Furious efforts continue in adesperate attempt to save victims fromthe carnage, but by dawn 134 dead bodieswill have been removed from the exitsand overcrowdingBased on occupancy of the entire building (estimated at2,349 by the state fire marshal and 2,735 by the NationalFire Protection Association)

5 , the number of exits requiredwas number determined to exist at the time of the fire Therefore, total capacity should have been limited to1,511 people based on the exit provisions of the Life state fire marshal calculated the allowable occupancy ofthe Cabaret Room to be 536 maximum. Seating chartsrecovered from the club indicate normal capacity as 614,with maximum of night of the fire, the final estimate of 1,360 persons isbased in large part on a seating diagram developed by ahostess who worked in the Cabaret Room for several overcrowding, when combined with other factors,directly contributed to the loss of life and of deathThe major cause of death wasdetermined to be smokeinhalation and acute carbonmonoxide of constructionCode deviationsViolations were manifold and extreme.

6 They included: locks ondoors, absence of sprinklers and proper fire walls, hazardouswiring, overcrowding, inadequate exits, and improperconstruction. There was no active alarm club continued to operate although many of these violationswere known by its insurer, its operators and owners andwere on record in the Kentucky fire marshal's wiring was an electrician s nightmare. Most violationswere obvious even to a layman. Boxes or fittings werenot installed at every outlet, switch and juncture point. Someoutlet box were missing covers or were not securely 12 non-metallic wire was not run through metal noted: lack of proper grounding; absence of bushings;excessive number of conductors in a box; improper transformerinstallation; failure to close unused openings in boxes andfittings.

7 And failure to make electrical installations reducingto a minimum the possible spread of fire through fire-stoppedpartitions and other similar is required for each 1,000 feet ofconcealed space between ceiling and floor deckabove. Partition walls between the Zebra Room,ladies room, office, front entrance and bar area didnot extend to the floor deck above. The continuousand connected open space above those areascontributed to the supply of oxygen that fed the earlystages of the supportThere were no intermediate roof supports in any room,with the possible exception of the Garden Room.

8 Supportsthere are believed to be the walls of the older sectionsleft in place when the Garden Rooms were spans extended from wall to wall. Thepiecemeal construction, with rooms and groupsof rooms being added at different times, resultedin a structure with no common ceiling and decorative materials used extensivelythroughout the building provided a fuel supply for contiunedspread of fire. These material included wood framing, decorativepaneling, combustible ceiling tile, tapestries, carpeting andfoam padded ROOTED IN code VIOLATIONSMid-afternoon on May 28, 1977, employees were busy preparing for a hectic night.

9 HeadlinerJohn Davidson plus five private parties were sure to pack the house. The Southgate supper clubwill be occupied by at least 1,600 guests and perhaps as many as 3,400, plus 182 Scale0 50'feet1937: The original Beverly Hills nightclub isbuilt by Pete Schmidt on a 17-acre site alongthe west side of 27 in : After changing hands several times overthe years, the club shuts 11, 1969: The Beverly Hills reopens brieflyunder the ownership of two 30, 1969: The club, closed shortly afterits reopening, is deeded to the Schilling family,who plan to renovate and expand 1970: The Schillings obtain a buildingpermit for a $170,000 21, 1970: A predawn fire destroys muchof the unoccupied structure, still underconstruction.

10 A state arson investigation willprove 10, 1971: The new Beverly Hills Supper Club opens to the 26, 1971: The Enquirer reports that the club reopened without remedying 10major safety defects outlined by the state, including flaws involving stairwayenclosures and exits. The article says the state did not conduct a final inspection atthe site and that the state fire marshal had not approved the club for in Kentucky play down the controversy, saying they have been assured allhazards have been 8, 1974: The Schillings apply for a building permit to add a larger 10, 1974: A small fire, apparently caused by a short circuit, breaks out in theclub s main electrical control panel.