The fire that killed at least 36 people Friday during a dance party at an Oakland, California, warehouse ranks among the deadliest nightclub blazes in US history.
Five others, including one attributed to arson, claimed more lives, between 1940 and 2003.
1. The Cocoanut Grove
The deadliest nightclub fire in America killed 492 people after a lit match set an artificial pine tree on fire in Boston on November 28, 1942.
2. The Rhythm Club
Windows had been boarded up to keep out people who didn’t pay admission at the Natchez, Mississippi, club on April 23, 1940. Spanish moss had been hung and treated with flammable pesticides, which helped the fire spread quickly inside, where about 200 people died.
3. The Beverly Hills Supper Club
Overcrowding, faulty wiring and a lack of enough fire exits were cited as contributing factors to the blaze that killed 165 people at the entertainment complex in Southgate, Kentucky, on May 28, 1977.
4. The Station
Some rock fans of metal band Great White thought sparks and smoke were part of the pyrotechnics starting the concert in Warwick, Rhode Island, on February 20, 2003. As the fire quickly spread, most people inside didn’t try to use emergency exits, instead jamming the front door they had used to get in; 100 were killed.
5. Happy Land
Intending to kill his ex-girlfriend, a man set fire to the New York social club March 25, 1990, pouring gasoline on stairs and trapping people inside. She survived, but 87 people did not.
