Beverly Hills Supper Club Fire…Revisited
One of the deadliest fires in American history happened on the night of May 28, 1977, at the Beverly Hills Supper Club outside of Cincinnati, Ohio. I wrote about this fire in my book because it was a case study in how groups behave in disasters. People struggled to stay with the people with whom they had arrived. The guests became largely passive and obedient, while the waiters and cooks did the vast majority of life saving. Darla McCollister, who had her wedding at the Club that night, was kind enough to share her story for the book.
Now we have some news on this fire, 31 years later. Glenn Corbett, a respected expert on fire safety and engineering, told me in New York City last month that he was looking into this fire at the request of one of the survivors--who believes there is reason so suspect arson. Glenn has since spent some time in Kentucky looking over the records and decided the case is worth revisiting. He and a group of survivors have called on the governor of Kentucky to create a new commission to investigate the causes of the ferioucious fire---which had been officially blamed on faulty wiring.
To learn more about this development, check out the local news coverage here. Darla, the survivor featured in The Unthinkable, is one of those interviewed:
scott zeilenga said on October 31, 2008 at 2:26 pm
Very cool. Well, actually not, but interesting nonetheless. I just finished that section of your book and found it really interesting. Actually, that story made me look at the fire safety at my own job and evaluate its effectiveness.
Thanks for the update.
z.
Glenn Corbett said on November 01, 2008 at 8:54 pm
Here’s an update to the stories above - Kentucky Governor Beshear has agreed to forming a legal panel to look at the “Beverly Hills Supper Club Survivors for Justice” critique of the fire investigations conducted in 1977 (and civil litigation thereafter). This article was publsihed by the New York Times.
Amanda, I’ll update this blog when new things develop.
Panel to Review Arson Claims in Deadly 1977 Kentucky Fire
By STACY L. NEITZEL
Published: October 28, 2008
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — More than three decades after a fire at the Beverly Hills Supper Club in Southgate, Ky., killed 165 people, Gov. Steve Beshear appointed a panel on Tuesday to review assertions that arson may have been to blame.
Initial reports concluded that faulty aluminum wiring was the cause of the blaze, which also injured 200 people.
Fire officials said that crowding, lack of sprinklers and poorly marked exit signs contributed to the death toll. In addition, the building did not meet fire safety standards or code requirements.
But rumors of arson and survivor accounts of workers in the ceiling near where the fire started have persisted since the blaze, on May 28, 1977. Some survivors have said investigators dismissed their accounts.
This month, more than 20 fire experts from across the country met to review the case files.
Members of Mr. Beshear’s administration met recently with a group of survivors who submitted a report outlining their concerns about the possibility of arson, said Jay Blanton, a spokesman for the governor.
One member of the governor’s panel, Cecil Dunn, was the special prosecutor in the case. No criminal charges were ever filed.
The two others on the panel are William H. Fortune and Robert G. Lawson, both University of Kentucky law professors.
They will review the survivors’ report and share their findings with the governor’s office over the next several weeks, Mr. Blanton said.
The three panel members have intimate knowledge of the case and will act as a set of “independent eyes,” Mr. Blanton said.
Dave Brock of Florence, Ky., who was an 18-year-old busboy at the time of the fire and has been pushing for a new investigation, said he was pleased by the governor’s action. “I think it’s the best thing they could do,” Mr. Brock said.
The fire is the third-deadliest nightclub fire in United States history; the deadliest was the Cocoanut Grove fire in Boston in 1942, which killed 492 people.
Glenn Corbett said on November 17, 2008 at 2:34 am
Here is an update.....
Glenn Corbett said on November 17, 2008 at 2:35 am
http://www.fox19.com/global/video/flash/popupplayer.asp?ClipID1=3122749&h1=Beverly Hills fire reinvestigation request updated&vt1=v&at1=News&d1=127500&LaunchPageAdTag=Search Results&activePane=info&rnd=65643436
Christian Anthe said on June 06, 2009 at 4:20 pm
As of Oct. 2008, a panel of experts meet at Northern Kentucky University to determine the cause of the fire. A strange and mysterious man walked into the room where the meeting was being held, including several fire fighters, university professors of law, state officials, and stated the following: “a timer was placed in the wall and was not supposed to go off until the next day… no one was intented to be hurt or killed that evening...” and he left the room. No one questioned his identity nor stopped him, as he did not break any laws. He was however, strange and suspicious. Motive: It has been recent belief, that the Cleveland Mafia, of Cleveland, OH, who were the former owners of the club from 1936 though the 1960’s, arsoned the building, as the owners, Schilling family, would not “sell” back to them (as the mafia wanted to bring back gambling to the area). The building was vacant for a number of years when gambling was stopped in 1963. Most of the Cleveland Mafia, abandoned their business (gambling) interests then, and moved to Las Vegas. It is a common falicy, that the mafia moved out entirely from the Newport, KY area. They were, in fact, still operating there throughout the 1970’s. A waitress overheard threats being made to the owners (Schillings), about 1 month prior to the fire, “Those who don’t sell, may loose the building...”, made by two shady men dressed in pinstripe suits, sitting at the bar with the Schillings (Richard, Sr., Rick Jr.(a.k.a. Dick) and Ron Schilling, who ran the club together). One of the pinstripe suited men at the bar, who were talking at length with the Schillings, was 6’4” with black hair and in his early 30’s, the other man was in his 50’s, short and stalky with gray hair. She also saw one of the same two men (middle aged, short and stalky) appear that morning, 05-28-77, in the Zebra room, where the fire started. Busboy Dave Brock whitnessed them tampering with the electrical wiring in the chandalier (which was the easiest access to the wall behind) and saw them a few minutes later wiping liquid on the upper half of the walls with some kind of liquid chemical. They appeared nervous at his entry into the room (as Dave Brock was setting up the table for a wedding party banquet that early evening), and ordered him out of the room twice and to come back later. Dave Brock later questioned in his mind, “Hey, there isn’t any air conditioning unit in the Zebra Room...) Also, as many as eight Beverly Hills club employees saw threel other people in the long cooridor that lead to the Cabaret Room (a woman and two men) on ladders nervously and quickly wiping down the walls with a liquid chemical, who were not scheduled or invited for “maintenance” or any other type of work that day. No one had any identification badges or logos, and were dressed in long sleeve shirts and trousers, when the weather was in the upper 80’s that day. Several employees questioned what they were doing (as the club was sold out, expected to be extremely busy that evening). The person’s response on the ladders were, “Oh, the gentleman were working on the air conditioning and spilled some chemicals. We are trying to clean it up, so the club doesn’t smell or create an unpleasant situation for the guests...” The two men on the ladder in the Zebra room said they were coming to “fix the air conditioning”. There was in fact, no air conditioning unit the the Zebra room, and they were tampering with the chandalier wiring, not ventilation ducts or machinery. It is believed the chemical wiped on the upper half of the walls was liquid graphite, a clear/milky chemical substance, which is highly reactive, after hours of being soaked into the panelling and walls of the Zebra room. Currently, a busboy, Dave Brock (age 18 then), who whitnessed the activities in the Zebra room that morning of the fire, is taking matters to Federal prosecutors. It is believed both Ohio and KY state government know the identity of the two “purported arsonists” are and were questioned by phone during the “pre-investigation” meeting at NKU last autumn. Both men denied being on the site that day. Today: matter is still unresolved. Threatening death threat calls were made to a surviving waitress from the club to “not talk or else...” and her son was found at the bottom of a swimming pool the next day or so (recently came out at the meeting at N.K.U. in Oct., 2008). The mafia got the wrong waitress. Then calls began to the correct waitress, who overheard the threatening conversations to the Schillings and the man working on the wiring in the chandalier that morning… and death threat calls to her and her family continued for at least another 10-12 years. She remained silent the entire time, as her children were growing up. When she remarried, changed her name, and moved to the suburbs of Lexington, KY, the calls stopped in the late 1980’s. She is willing to come out and speak about it now, and is working together with the surviving busboy (Dave Brock), who saw the suspicious men’s activities that day in the Zebra Room. Sure, electrical wiring played a part in the fire, but was not the chief cause. The cause was 99% sure to be the activity of the mafia and arson. This did not come out until whitnesses/survivors came out and spoke up in 1998, after their children were grown up and moved out of the home. Current KY Governor Beshear, dismissed all this as “allegations lacking in substance, and conjecture, with a mountain of records to be sifted through”, and refused to reopen the investigation. As many as eight night club fires were set in the Newport, KY area since the 1930’s, some proven, others suspected. Note: Beverly Hills Club was also burned in 1970, when the Schillings had just remodeled it. Arson was proven to be cause, but no one was indicted. Facts: To this day, no major court trials or indictments (charges) have been raised about the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire. Strange governor reactions and KY Fire Investigators decisions were made, such as removing the contents of the Zebra Room the next morning and almost immediate tearing down of the remains of the club as well, before proper investigations could be conducted. Local Historian and book writer, Bob Webster, author of Northern Kentucky Fires is scheduled to come out with new book on the Beverly Hills Supper Club Fire in 2010. In addition to extensive research, interviews with noteworthy persons, such as Johnny “TV” Peluso, survivors, and x-wife of Ron Schilling (co-owner of BHSC), etc. A museum is being created in Ft. Thomas, KY, across the street from the Armory, where the temporary morgue was set-up, following the fire. A $1.5 monument to the Beverly Hills fire will accompany the museum. It will be a tall obelisk with etched pictures of the club before and during the fire, along with the names of the victims. It will have a large marble patio-like foundation. Sale of bricks with engravings in them and accompanying photos have and will continue to fund the monument. Dick Schilling, of Boca Raton, FL, who now lives in his father’s former home, paid $2000 for a bronze historical plaque, which now sits on the side of Alexandria Pike, Rt. 27, Southgate, KY, at the entrance to the former club. Today, the club’s property was bought by a nursing/resident home corporation and due to zoning issues, has remained undeveloped.
Todd McKee said on July 03, 2009 at 12:22 am
I am interested with how many of the fire “experts” were called to be interviewed for the re-investigation?