The Boston Cocoanut Grove Nightclub fire in 1942: one of the greatest civilian disasters with key medical lessons
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.19230/jonnpr.2047Keywords:
Civilian catastrophe, Burns, Inhalation injuryAbstract
The Cocoanut Grove Nightclub fire in 1942 in Boston, killing 492 people and sending hundreds more to area hospitals was, probably, one of the largest civilian disasters in American history. The disaster resulted in a number of important advances in burn treatment, including the first comprehensive descriptions of inhalation injury, improvement in topical treatment of burn wounds, resuscitation of shock and understanding of the metabolic response to surgery. The fire also stimulated organization of burn care facilities, public safety legislation, and burn prevention. Forty years later a similar tragedy occurred in Madrid, Spain, when the discotheque Alcala 20 was burnt. Conditions of inadequacy and negligence of the place and patrons doubling the authorized number originated a disaster with 82 killed.
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