NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 15

VICTIMS' VOICES A new documentary film illuminates
Boston's devastating Cocoanut Grove fire of 1942.

MODERN CINEMA

THE GROVE, REVISITED
77 YEARS LATER, A NEW FILM DOCUMENTS
THE WORLD'S DEADLIEST NIGHTCLUB FIRE
By Angelo Verzoni
ucked away on a narrow,
cobblestoned street in
Boston's Bay Village
neighborhood, the Cocoanut Grove was a swank,
South Seas tropics-themed nightclub,
popular with socialites and soldiers
alike. Seventy-seven years ago in November, it also became the site of the world's
deadliest nightclub fire, killing nearly
500 people who were unable to escape
through hidden and locked exits.
A new documentary film, "Six Locked
Doors: The Legacy of Cocoanut Grove,"
makes sure we don't forget. Directed by
Boston native Zachary Graves-Miller,
the film examines the conditions, from
corruption to code violations, that led
to the fire's monumental death toll, as
well as how the fire spurred revolutionary changes in medicine and fire and
life safety codes.
In October, I attended a screening
of the 70-minute film at a historic theater in the neighboring community of

GABE HURWITZ, DAVID BLANEY, AND ZACHARY GRAVES-MILLER/SIX
LOCKED DOORS PRODUCTIONS

T

Brookline, about three miles from the
site where the Cocoanut Grove once
stood. The film recounts how, on the
evening of Saturday, November 28,
1942-following a shocking upset win
by Holy Cross over Boston College in an
afternoon football
NFPA.ORG/
game at nearby
DISPATCHES
Fenway Park-the
Read an article
club was packed
from the May/June
2017 issue of NFPA with revelers,
Journal that highincluding Holy
lights the ongoing
Cross fans, serviceresearch on how
men on holiday
the Cocoanut
Grove fire spread
leave, and hundreds
so rapidly.
more. The club was
reportedly filled with more than 1,000
patrons-over double its capacity-when
a fire broke out in a basement lounge.
"Six Locked Doors" is largely carried
by the powerful stories of five survivors,
including one who climbed through
an air duct to escape, and another who
escaped via the roof of the building.
It leaves viewers with two important

messages: never forget historic tragedies
like Cocoanut Grove, and don't become
complacent about fire safety, even in
your own home-a lesson that was especially meaningful on the night of the
screening, which marked the start of
NFPA's Fire Prevention Week.
Although it's been almost eight
decades since the legendary blaze,
the fire is far from forgotten in New
England's largest city. As the lights came
up at the film's close, it was clear that
"Six Locked Doors" had resonated with
the audience of 150, which broke out
in raucous applause. Some wiped tears
from their eyes.
The film was the culmination of
roughly five years of work for GravesMiller, who grew up just steps from the
site of the Cocoanut Grove. In 2013, he
attended the renaming of Shawmut
Street Extension, where Cocoanut Grove
had been located, to Cocoanut Grove
Lane as part of the fire's 71st anniversary
recognition. He brought his camera and,
coincidentally, met two survivors of the
fire. "It was then that I knew I had to
keep filming," Graves-Miller told NFPA
Journal. The five-year filmmaking journey took Graves-Miller and his team to
many locations in and around Boston,
including NFPA headquarters.
For more information on the film,
including upcoming screenings, visit
sixlockeddoors.com.
N F PA . O R G / J O U R N A L * NFPA JOURNAL

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NFPA Journal - November/December 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - November/December 2019
