List of nightclub fires

This is a list of notable nightclub fires at indoor and outdoor venues. Deadly nightclub fires often attribute to pyrotechnic failures, hence some of the list also feature in the List of fireworks accidents and incidents.

List

Name	Location	Country	Year	Deaths	Injuries	Origin	Accelerant	Notes
Study Club fire	Detroit, Michigan	United States	1929	22	50	undetermined; possibly a lit cigarette	draperies, decorations [1]	Prohibition-era speakeasy nightclub
Rhythm Club fire	Natchez, Mississippi	United States	1940	209	200		Spanish moss sprayed with Flit	At the time of incident, second-worst club fire in American history
Cocoanut Grove fire	Boston, Massachusetts	United States	1942	492	130	undetermined (disputed)	draperies, decorations, possibly a refrigerant leak (methyl chloride)	Deadliest club fire in history, and the third-worst single-building fire in American history (third only to the Iroquois Theatre fire and the September 11 attacks)
Karlslust dance hall fire	Berlin, Germany	Germany	1947	81	150	stove pipe		Worst fire disaster in Berlin since World War II; death toll reported between 80-88, but considered to be 81
Top Storey Club	Bolton, Lancashire, England	United Kingdom	1961	19			solvents, paints	14 died in the fire and 5 died of injuries received from jumping out of windows
Dale's Penthouse	Montgomery, Alabama	United States	1967	26	8	non-extinguished tobacco pipe left in jacket pocket in the cloakroom		Restaurant/lounge on the top floor of an 11-story building with no fire escape
Club Cinq-Sept fire	Saint-Laurent-du-Pont	France	1970	146		discarded match	polyurethane, papier-mâché
Blue Bird Café fire	Montreal, Quebec	Canada	1972	37	56	arson	gasoline
Playtown Cabaret fire	Osaka	Japan	1972	118	81	discarded match or cigarette butt	clothing	Club on the top floor of a seven-story building with no fire escape
Whiskey Au Go Go fire	Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, Queensland	Australia	1973	15		arson	gasoline
UpStairs Lounge arson attack	New Orleans, Louisiana	United States	1973	32	15	arson	Ronsonol lighter fluid	Deadliest arson attack in New Orleans at that time, and one of the deadliest attacks on LGBT people in United States history
Gulliver's nightclub fire	Port Chester, New York	United States	1974	24	32	arson		Future Kiss drummer Eric Carr survived the fire, he played there with the band Creation.
Time Club fire	Seoul	South Korea	1974	64		short circuit		The total death toll for the entire Daewang Corner building fire was 88; 8 died from jumping out of windows
Puerto Rican Social Club fire	New York City	United States	1976	25	24	arson	gasoline
Beverly Hills Supper Club fire	Southgate, Kentucky	United States	1977	165	200	possibly electrical	carpeting, wooden paneling	Third-worst club fire in American history
Infinity Disco fire	Manhattan, New York	United States	1979	0	0 [2]	possibly arson		Former location of Pfaff's Beer Cellar
Fire at Stadt [3]	Borås	Sweden	1978	20	59	most likely a discarded cigarette	-	High-school graduation party at city hotel
Denmark Place fire	Central London	United Kingdom	1980	37	23	arson	gasoline
Stardust fire	Artane, Dublin	Ireland	1981	48	214	cigarette on couch, flammable internal materials
Alcalá 20 nightclub fire	Madrid	Spain	1983	82	27	electrical
Chowon (Greenfield) disco fire	Daegu	South Korea	1983	25	67	short circuit		mostly underage victims; exit reportedly chained shut to prevent them from leaving without paying [4]
Common People fire	Seoul	South Korea	1984	10	2	oil stove knocked over during quarrel	oil fire spread to the couch	fire broke out at 4:20 am; victims mostly underage
Happy Land fire	The Bronx, New York	United States	1990	87	6	arson	gasoline	Fifth-worst club fire in American history
Daegu Gosonggwan fire	Daegu	South Korea	1991	16	13	arson	6 liters of gasoline	Fire started by spiteful rejected customer
Kheyvis fire	Olivos, Buenos Aires	Argentina	1993	17	24	burning furniture (prank)		Second-worst club fire in Argentine history
Yiyuan Disco fire  [ zh ]	Fuxin, Liaoning	China	1994	233	16	sofa (caused by burning newspaper) [5]	decorations
Ozone Disco fire	Quezon City, Metro Manila	Philippines	1996	162	95 [6]	possibly electrical		Worst fire in Philippine history
Rolling Stones fire	Seoul	South Korea	1996	11	3	discarded cigarette butt	wet paint	fire trucks delayed by cars parked in narrow alley
Gothenburg discothèque fire	Gothenburg	Sweden	1998	63	214	arson		Most victims were underage - event for secondary school students
Incheon club fire	Incheon	South Korea	1999	56	78	basement construction work		mostly underage victims; exit reportedly chained shut to prevent them from leaving without paying [7] [8]
LA2 fire	London	United Kingdom	1999	0		pyrotechnics		Pyro from the band Toilet Böys set fire to netting suspended from the ceiling. [9]
Luoyang Christmas fire	Luoyang, Henan	China	2000	309	7	welding		Second deadliest nightclub fire in history. Construction and retail staff in the same building evacuated after internal broadcast, nightclub patrons on level 4 were forgotten about
Lobohombo explosion	Mexico City	Mexico	2000	22	24		gas canisters [10]
Volendam New Year's fire	Volendam	Netherlands	2001	14	241	pyrotechnics (sparkler)	decorations (Christmas)
Canecão Mineiro nightclub fire	Belo Horizonte	Brazil	2001	7	197	pyrotechnics
Myojo 56 building fire	Kabukicho, Shinjuku	Japan	2001	44	3	suspected arson		Fifth-deadliest fire in post-war Japanese history
Club La Guajira fire	Caracas	Venezuela	2002	47	28		Christmas decoration	Bouncer delayed exit asking patrons not to leave without paying
Utopía nightclub fire	Santiago de Surco, Lima	Peru	2002	29	57	torch	acoustic foam
The Station nightclub fire	West Warwick, Rhode Island	United States	2003	100	230	pyrotechnics	acoustic foam	Fourth-deadliest club fire in American history
República Cromañón nightclub fire	Buenos Aires	Argentina	2004	194	1432	pyrotechnics	plastic net (media sombra), styrofoam and wood decorations, acoustic panels	Worst club fire in Argentina history
El Festival Ballroom fire	Houston, Texas	United States	2004	1	3	arson		Firefighter killed in fire; initially thought to have been started by a truck, quickly ruled as arson [11]
911 nightclub fire	Moscow	Russia	2007	10	4	pyrotechnics [12]
Lounge cafe fire	Novi Sad	Serbia	2008	8	2	arson	shag carpet on the walls	Fire was intentionally set by a patron named Miloš Malešev. He was sentenced to nine years and his companion to two years. Two owners of the bar were sentenced to seven years each. [13] [14]
Factory nightclub fire	Quito	Ecuador	2008	15	35	pyrotechnics [10]
Wuwang Club fire	Shenzhen, Guangdong	China	2008	43	88	pyrotechnics
Santika Club fire	Watthana, Bangkok	Thailand	2009	67	222	fireworks or electrical explosion	tar paper, plastic waterproofing
Lame Horse fire	Perm	Russia	2009	156	≤160	pyrotechnics	decorations (willow twig)	Worst fire in Russia since the dissolution of the Soviet Union
Sabor Latino fire	Rome	Italy	2010	4 [15] [16]		electrical [17]	acoustic foam
Jack Daniels nightclub fire  [ zh ]	Taichung	Taiwan	2011	9	13			Originated during a fire show by a male dancer on stage, described as holding sparklers, [18] a torch, [19] or LED torch that malfunctioned and produced sparks [20]
Kontrast discotheque fire	Novi Sad	Serbia	2012	6	4	electrical		Four persons were sentenced to between five and nine years in 2014. [21] [22]
Tiger Disco fire	Patong, Phuket, chiangmai	Thailand	2012	4	11	electrical	acoustic foam	Officially attributed to a short circuit, [23] some reports stated that the fire started when lightning struck a nearby transformer. [24]
Kiss nightclub fire	Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul	Brazil	2013	242	630	pyrotechnics	acoustic foam	Worst club fire and second worst fire disaster in Brazil, third deadliest club fire in history
Colectiv nightclub fire	Bucharest	Romania	2015	64	160	pyrotechnics	acoustic foam (polyurethane)	Worst club fire in Romanian history
Ghost Ship warehouse fire	Oakland, California	United States	2016	36	2	undetermined, possibly electrical	N/A	Converted warehouse used as an art collective and venue. Fire officials say staircase to second floor was made out of wooden pallets.
2016 Hanoi karaoke bar fire	Cầu Giấy, Hanoi	Vietnam	2016	13		welding [25]
Magway karaoke bar fire	Magway	Myanmar	2017	16		gas leak [26]
Yaoundé nightclub fire	Yaoundé	Cameroon	2022	16	8	fireworks		Fireworks ignited the ceiling; eventually spread to gas bottles, causing explosions [27]
Sorong nightclub fire	Sorong, West Papua	Indonesia	2022	19		rioting [28]		One victim died from stabbing during clashes.
Mountain B nightclub fire	Sattahip, Chonburi	Thailand	2022	26	22	possibly electrical	soundproof foam
Binh Duong karaoke bar fire	Thuận An, Binh Duong	Vietnam	2022	32	3	short circuit
Kostroma café fire	Kostroma	Russia	2022	13	5	pyrotechnic flare		Initial reports say that a pyrotechnic flare was released by a Russian soldier who had just returned from Ukraine. [29] [30]
Fonda Milagros nightclub fire	Murcia	Spain	2023	13		unknown
Gayrettepe nightclub fire	Beşiktaş, Istanbul	Turkey	2024	29	8	possibly welding
2024 Hanoi karaoke bar fire	Hanoi	Vietnam	2024	11	2	arson [31]	gasoline	Fire started by patron following an argument with staff
Kočani nightclub fire	Kočani	North Macedonia	2025	62	195	pyrotechnics		Sparks from pyrotechnics hit the ceiling, which was made of highly flammable material, before rapidly spreading. [32] [33]

See also

• List of fires
• List of fireworks accidents and incidents, many of which caused a nightclub fire.

References

1. Buildings: Report. January 1979. ISBN   9780877622284.
2. "Club Patrons Routed By Fire in Building". The New York Times. 15 February 1979. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
3. Engman, Aron (7 June 1978). "20 ungdomar miste livet i hotellbranden i Borås". SVT Nyheter.
4. "24 Reported Dead, 70 Injured In Fire in South Korean Disco". The New York Times. 18 April 1983. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
5. "China holds 31 responsible for disco blaze". United Press International. 23 December 1994. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
6. [Philippines sentences over 1996 Ozone Disco fire Philippines sentences over 1996 Ozone Disco fire] from BBC News .November 2014.
7. "54 Die in Fire at Youth Hangout in South Korea". The New York Times. 31 October 1999. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
8. Shin, Bong-gun (31 October 1999). "Fire Kills 54, Injures 75 at Illegal Bar in S. Korea". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
9. "Kerrang! review".
10. "Brazil, Mexico And Other Deadly Nightclub Fires In Latin America". The Huffington Post . 2013-01-28.
11. "Ballroom blaze that killed firefighter arson". Houston Chronicle. April 6, 2004.
12. Пожар в "911": клуб сгорел из-за бутафорских огнетушителей? [Fire at "911": Did the club burn down because of fake fire extinguishers?]. RIA Novosti (in Russian). 26 March 2007.
13. "Obeleženo 16 godina od tragedije u kafiću "Laundž", život izgubilo osmoro mladih" [16 years have passed since the tragedy at the "Lounge" cafe, where eight young people lost their lives]. JMU Radio-televizija Vojvodine (in Serbian (Latin script)). Retrieved 16 March 2025.
14. "Jedna od najvećih tragedija u istoriji Novog Sada: Četvoro dece poginulo u požaru" [One of the greatest tragedies in the history of Novi Sad: Four children died in a fire]. BBC News na srpskom (in Serbian (Latin script)). Retrieved 16 March 2025.
15. "Il rogo alla discoteca Sabor ora c' è un indagato per i 4 morti - la Repubblica.it". Archivio - la Repubblica.it (in Italian). Retrieved Jun 23, 2020.
16. "Le vittime del rogo al Sabor Latino: il dj, le colf e il ragazzo rumeno - Corriere Roma". roma.corriere.it (in Italian). Retrieved Jun 23, 2020.
17. "Cuatro jóvenes de origen latinoamericano mueren en incendio en Roma". andina.pe (in Spanish). 14 March 2010. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
18. "Nine die in pub fire in Taiwan". Sydney Morning Herald. 2011-03-06.
19. "Taiwan nightclub fire kills 9". UPI. 2011-03-06.
20. "9 die in night club fire in central Taiwan city of Taichung". The China Post. 2011-03-06. Archived from the original on March 9, 2011.
21. "Godišnjica požara u diskoteci "Kontrast": "Da svi odgovorni budu sankcionisani"" [Anniversary of the fire in the "Kontrast" discotheque: "Let all those responsible be punished"]. N1 (in Serbian (Latin script)). 1 April 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
22. "Šestoro mrtvih u požaru u diskoteci "Kontrast" u Novom Sadu" [Six dead in fire at "Kontrast" disco in Novi Sad]. JMU Radio-televizija Vojvodine (in Serbian (Latin script)). 1 April 2012. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
23. "Owner Walks Free Despite Four Dying In Disco Fire". Stickboy Bangkok. 9 September 2015. Archived from the original on 19 July 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
24. "Four killed in disco fire at Phuket club". CNN. 17 August 2012. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
25. "Hanoi karaoke bar blaze kills at least 13". Vietnam Plus. 2 November 2016.
26. "16 killed in local karaoke bar fire in Myanmar". Daily Sabah. 3 April 2017.
27. "Cameroon nightclub fire: More than a dozen dead in Yaounde blaze". Al Jazeera. 23 January 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
28. "At Least 19 Dead In Stabbing, Fire At Indonesian Night Club". Agence France-Presse. NDTV. 25 January 2022.
29. "Nightclub fire that killed 13 'started by Russian soldier told to return to frontline'". The Telegraph. 5 November 2022. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
30. "Russian Nightclub Fire Kills 13; One Person Arrested". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 5 November 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
31. "Arson at karaoke bar in Vietnam's Hanoi kills 11, police say". Al Jazeera. 19 December 2024. Retrieved 17 March 2025.
32. "Dozens feared dead in North Macedonian nightclub fire". BBC News. 2025-03-16. Retrieved 2025-03-16.
33. "North Macedonia nightclub fire death toll rises to 60 after burn victim dies". EuroNews. 4 April 2025. Retrieved 4 April 2025.