Many who believe it was arson feared for their safety if they came forward back then. The mafia was supposedly involved. I think it is a shame that it is being brought up again, knowing someone who personally got out while his teenage daughter did not. I know it breaks these families hearts over and over when the news does anniversary stories, but I agree with birdsfan that if my loved one had been murdered, I would want to know and I would want the person or people responsible to be punished.

 

30 years later, the person/people responsible has a good chance of being dead. 30 years does a lot to peoples' memories. Most evidence is long gone. As I said before, I cant believe that any more will come out of this than more theories. How can they possibly PROVE anything?

 

I guess only those who were directly affected in this tragedy can say whether it is good or not. I am lucky not to have that problem.

The survivors are the ones calling for the inquiry

Arson in this instance makes no sense at all. You don't burn down a building full of people.

Arson in this instance makes no sense at all. You don't burn down a building full of people.

 

 

Exactly, even the mob rarely ever goes after that many. Had the mob been responsible it would have been done in the wee hours of the morning while it was empty, or sparsely staffed.

 

The design of the place and the overall lack of enforcement of the few fire codes that were in existence as it was is the biggest crime involved in the ignition of the fire. The Special Prosecutor's investigation to the Governor, the Official Report on the Fire AND the NFPA's reports all made it pretty clear to me in my research what was the cause of the fire. Especially the lack of enforcement of the few fire codes that actually existed in KY and the local town at the time. The owners of the building really deserve much of the blame as well as their desire to get maximum occupancy out of the building that night was directly responsible for the number of deaths.

Exactly, even the mob rarely ever goes after that many. Had the mob been responsible it would have been done in the wee hours of the morning while it was empty, or sparsely staffed.

 

The design of the place and the overall lack of enforcement of the few fire codes that were in existence as it was is the biggest crime involved in the ignition of the fire. The Special Prosecutor's investigation to the Governor, the Official Report on the Fire AND the NFPA's reports all made it pretty clear to me in my research what was the cause of the fire. Especially the lack of enforcement of the few fire codes that actually existed in KY and the local town at the time. The owners of the building really deserve much of the blame as well as their desire to get maximum occupancy out of the building that night was directly responsible for the number of deaths.

 

:thumb:

I went to a couple of shows there. You were literally elbow to elbow crowded into those rooms......not to mention exit doors being chained shut so that people could not sneak in. As I recall from the news coverage, bodies were piled in front of such doors.

 

The cause of the fire may be up for debate, but the cause of so many deaths was pretty well proven, IMO.

 

I would hope the survivors would take some comfort in the laws and saftey changes that have been made since then. Hopefully, lives have been saved because of this tragic event.

Arson in this instance makes no sense at all. You don't burn down a building full of people.

Nobody said they thought it would burn when it did.

 

I know about all the terrible fire code violations; but I believe the survivors and families at least deserve to have all their questions examined. This was not done at the time of the initial investigation. Part of that, as was said, was because the witnesses were afraid to come forward.

It was a very tragic event but I just don't understand why these people are now coming forth about it possibly being arson. I understand that they are claiming that there was a mob connection.

I wonder how many survivors are calling for an investigation as compared to survivors who want to let it rest.

 

I also wonder how many tax dollars are gong to be spent in this investigation.

I was not born yet when this happened, but I love hearing my mom, dad, aunts and uncles tell stories about it. There are some really good home videos on youtube of the spot where the building used to be.

Nobody said they thought it would burn when it did.

 

I know about all the terrible fire code violations; but I believe the survivors and families at least deserve to have all their questions examined. This was not done at the time of the initial investigation. Part of that, as was said, was because the witnesses were afraid to come forward.

 

 

Well if anyone actually knows when something is going to burn, that it would make things a whole lot safer wouldn't it?

 

As it is there are a few things that still stand out to me:

 

1) The wiring in much of the Club was aluminum. Aluminum tends to get hotter than copper and gold wiring and as such it tends to expand and contract more. The more expansion and contraction you get in any electrionic equipment increases the risk of failure and accidents. In the case of the aluminum wiring it caused gaps that caused the electricity travelling down these wires to arc, which in turn eventually caused the fire. As a matter of fact I remember reading an account of an electrician who worked on the facility that made mention of the substandard wiring and was told that he would never be asked back there again for work if he mentioned it to the authorities.

 

2) The fact that none of the wiring was conduit laid, meaning that there wasn't a metal pipe of sorts surrounding the already shoddy wiring. Said conduits could have helped to prevent a fire that night.

 

3) The overbooking of the facility plus the many additions built, including the Zebra Room that was where the fire started, had NO permit. The Zebra Room itself was one BIG violation.

 

 

I am not going to go further into the absurd overcrowding that also contributed to that tragic night. I feel as though people who are looking for a mob connection here are looking for someone to blame when the fact of the matter is that there was no malice in this whole tragedy. It was a tragic loss of life brought on by lapsed enforcement of what minimal fire codes were in existence and the cost cutting (and profit maxing) measures in construction at the sake of safety by management that caused this unfortunate and dark night in Kentucky and American history. It was a crime of negligence, not one of malice or revenge.

I am not going to go further into the absurd overcrowding that also contributed to that tragic night. I feel as though people who are looking for a mob connection here are looking for someone to blame when the fact of the matter is that there was no malice in this whole tragedy.

First of all, it's pretty presumptuous of you to assume to know the motivations of other people. Secondly, as I said, the fire code and overcrowding issues are well known.

 

Maybe that's the cause...maybe not. But to bury our head in the sand and not listen to all these people who witnessed strange activity by mysterious characters is just wrong. This place had a long history of mafia connection and that alone should have been reason to look into the possibility.

 

Maybe if you had lived it, as many of us did--if you passed the site everyday--if you could still smell the smoke--still see the victims--you'd be more willing to explore even the most remote theory for the disaster. I think it's worth checking out.