How Many Deaths Will It Take? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Cocoanut Grove

On 28th November, 1942, the Cocoanut Grove was filled to more than twice its legal capacity. Although the official causes remain unknown, it is believed that the fire began when a busboy lit a match to try and adjust a lightbulb that a patron had unscrewed.

The fire started in the palm trees that were used for decoration and spread rapidly to the ceiling. In about five minutes, the whole venue was on fire. The main entrance of the building was a revolving door, which made it impossible to escape through it. Other exits were located in hard to access areas, and some of them opened inwards. It all added up to cause a massive number of deaths, either by smoke inhalation or by burn wounds.

The case gave way to several regulations for nightclubs, which included the banning of flammable decoration, the provision that all emergency exits must be unlocked, and that revolving doors should not be used as exits.

The rest of the options were also infamous club fires that took place in the USA.

Answer: Paraguay

Ycua Bolanos was a shopping mall chain based in Asuncion, Paraguay. One of its stores, located near the botanical gardens of the capital, caught fire on August 1st, 2004, after a couple of explosions on a faulty chimney in the food court, which quickly expanded to the whole complex.

In a highly controversial decision, the owners, allegedly, ordered all doors to be locked in order to prevent customers from stealing goods or to leave without paying. As a result, people trapped inside succumbed to the scorching heat and the toxic fumes. Those who were closest to the initial site of the explosion were burnt to ashes and bones due to the excessive heat of the discharge.

In total, 424 people died in the fire, although survivors and relatives of the victims claim the number to be much higher. In fact, at least 6 people are reported as missing, as their remains were never found. It was the greatest tragedy in the history of Paraguay.

The owners of the chain, Juan Pio Paiva and Victor Daniel Paiva, among others, were tried and convicted for involuntary manslaughter. Victor died from COVID-19 in 2020.

Answer: Great White

The Station nightclub fire took place on February 20th, 2003, in West Warwick, Rhode Island. On the opening song by Great White, pyrotechnic devices installed on stage started firing sparks towards the ceiling, igniting the background decoration and quickly spreading to the rest of the club.

The crowd rushed to the main exit, as the others were virtually inaccessible, and became jammed at the door. The fire soon took over the whole club and a total of 100 people lost their lives, including the band's guitarist Ty Longley.

The case became especially infamous due to the whole incident being recorded on live camera. Ironically, the cameraman had been hired to shoot a video on nightclub safety, as a few days before, an incident took place on a club in Chicago, in which 21 people were killed.

Answer: A circus

The Niteroi fire, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, happened during a sold-out performance at the Gran Circus Norte-Americano ("Great North American Circus") and took the lives of 503 people, mostly children.

The fire was started by an ex employee, Adilson Marcelino Alves ("Dequinha"), who had a criminal record and was mentally unstable. Alves was dismissed by the circus' owner due to his erratic behavior, and became so enraged that, together with two accomplices, set fire to the tent in the middle of the show, as retaliation. It didn't help that the tent was coated with highly flammable paraffin wax. Being a small town, Niteroi's hospitals, funerary agencies and cemeteries were completely overwhelmed by the high number of victims.

Answer: Romania

Goodbye To Gravity was formed by singer Andrei Galut, guitarists Mihai Alexandru and Vlad Telea, bassist Alex Pascu, and drummer Bogdan Enache. They released their self-titled album in 2012, receiving very good reviews not only in their native Romania, but on many neighboring countries.

As they were performing on that fateful night, a pyrotechnic device started shooting sparks towards the main hall of the club, some of which hit the acoustic foam placed around the pillars. Galut took note of the fire and jokingly remarked "This was not part of the plan", but quickly asked for an extinguisher as the fire rose to the ceiling and spread to the whole club.

A total of 64 people lost their lives due to the fire - 27 on site, and the rest in hospitals. The high number of victims was too much for Romanian health system to handle, and many were transferred to hospitals all across Europe. It was reported that some died because of infections, due to the disinfectants being diluted with water by the manufacturer.

The only survivor of the band was Galut, who suffered burns to 45% of his body and remained in critical condition for months.

Answer: Mesa Redonda

The Mesa Redonda district (which translates to "Round Table", hence the hint in the question text) concentrates a large number of small businesses in a few blocks separated by narrow streets. When nearing the holidays, it would become filled with street vendors, most of them selling fireworks. That would also attract a mass of customers, as those are usually part of the holiday celebrations.

Around 7:15 p.m., local time, one of the vendors ignited one of the pyrotechnics as a test for potential buyers. However, the explosion started a chain reaction that affected nearby stores. Since most of them had huge stocks of fireworks stored, the situation worsened quickly. In about an hour, four whole blocks were devoured by the flames, which took nearby two days to be extinguished completely.

The official death toll is 277, but it is estimated to be much higher. As most of the bodies were carbonized by the intense heat, many victims were buried without being identified at all. Some took years to be confirmed via DNA-analysis.

Despite the devastating effects of the tragedy, fireworks are still being sold without control in the area, which saw a few more minor fires in the years following the disaster.

Answer: Russia

In what was the worst fire in Russia since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Lame Horse fire originated from cold-flame fireworks lit by an entertainer. An amateur video shows the master of ceremonies giving a speech when the fire was first noticed, and asking the crowd to evacuate.

At first, the evacuation was calm, with people leaving through two different exits. But, as oxygen intake grew, so did the fire, leading to a stampede that made it more difficult.

Some survivors and volunteers have stated that emergency services were very slow to react, with one of them saying that injured people were left unattended on the cold streets for no less than an hour.

Answer: Puttingal Temple

Many religious festivals in India feature large displays of fireworks as a tribute to the deities, with annual competitions taking place, mostly in the state of Kerala, home to the Puttingal Temple.

On the seventh day of the Bhadrakali festival, at around 3:30 IST (22:00 UTC on April 9th), two groups of devotees set off some fireworks for the competition. One of them, instead of shooting up into the air, fell down to the ground and sent off sparks all around. Some of the sparks landed on a stash of heavy fireworks known locally as "Amittu", producing a massive explosion that caused the collapse of nearby buildings and heavy damage to over 100 houses in the proximities. The explosion is said to have been heard over a kilometre away from the area.

A total of 111 people were killed in the disaster, mostly due to being crushed by the collapsing building.

Answer: Republica Cromanon

On the night of December 30th, 2004, Callejeros started the third of a set of concerts that began two days before, all of them held at Cromanon. The band was so popular at the time, that the club was filled at more than twice its legal capacity.

Within a minute of the opening song, and despite warnings by the band and the club owner, some people in the crowd started lighting flares and pyrotechnical devices. One of those shot a flare towards the ceiling and ignited the ceiling foam and decoration (unlike the other concert-related fires, this one was started by the crowd rather than by devices installed by the performers).

Shortly after, the place was filled with toxic smoke and the lights went out -- with no proper emergency lighting, and with four of the six available exits chained shut, a massive crowd crush ensued, and the smoke quickly overcame most of the victims, being the main cause of death.

Investigation proved that the club's fire license was expired at the time of the tragedy, that most of the extinguishers were unusable, and that safety inspections were long overdue. As a result, Anibal Ibarra, Mayor of Buenos Aires, was eventually removed from office, while Omar Chaban, manager of the club, was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Band members and other government agents were also convicted for the fire.

The street where Cromanon once stood is now partially closed to the traffic, with a small memorial square being built in the place.

Answer: Karamay

The fire started during a variety performance that was attended by around 500 schoolchildren. It began after the curtains at the rear of the stage were ignited by the heat of a spotlight that was too close to them. Handling of the situation was very poor, as the first firefighter teams to arrive did not have proper equipment, and the theatre lacking adequate extinguishers.

However, controversy arose after reports that claimed that the crowd were ordered to sit still and let the officials walk out first. This has been denied or disputed by official sources, but it became a major catchphrase among Karamay citizens.

This disaster wasn't too-known internationally until a Chinese reporter for CCTV posted a documentary on the case on his website, in May 2007. Up to that point, references to the tragedy were obscure - authorities even intended to demolish the theatre only a week after the fire, to the outrage of the victims' families. Only the front hall remains in place nowadays, and a park was built around it, but there are no plaques or any mention to the tragedy to be seen at either the hall or the park.