AllMovie

This series from the History Channel explores some of the most dangerous and deadly natural disasters of all time, including this episode on some of the most deadly fires that have taken place inside buildings. After a fire began because of faulty wiring in the Iroquois Theater in Chicago in 1903, people inside panicked and most were unable to escape. This fire killed over 600 people, but did lead to many changes in building codes and regulations. A fire in Boston in 1942 proved that not all buildings were built with these new codes. After a fire began in the basement bar of the Coconut Grove nightclub, all of the patrons rushed to one revolving door and were trapped, killing over 500 people. The most recent case of a horrific building fire is in New York City, when the Happy Land Social Club went up in flames, killing over 100 who were trapped inside the nightclub. Interviews with survivors of the Happy Land fire and with firefighters lend personal drama to these images of mass destruction.