List of nightclub fires explained

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.

Name	Location	Country	Year	Deaths	Injuries	Origin	Accelerant	Notes
Study Club fire	Detroit, Michigan	United States	1929		50	undetermined; possibly a lit cigarette	draperies, decorations^[1]	Prohibition-era speakeasy nightclub
Rhythm Club fire	Natchez, Mississippi	United States	1940		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		130	undetermined (disputed)	draperies, decorations, possibly a refrigerant leak (methyl chloride)	Deadliest club fire in history, and the second-worst single-building fire in American history (second only to the Iroquois Theatre fire)
Karlslust dance hall fire	Berlin, Germany	Germany	1947		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				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		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			discarded match	polyurethane, papier-mâché
Blue Bird Café fire	Montreal, Quebec	Canada	1972		56	arson	gasoline
Playtown Cabaret fire	Osaka	Japan	1972		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			arson	gasoline
UpStairs Lounge arson attack	New Orleans, Louisiana	United States	1973		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		32	arson		Future Kiss drummer Eric Carr survived the fire, he played there with the band Creation.
Time Club fire	Seoul	South Korea	1974			short circuit		The total death toll for the entire Daewang Corner building fire was 88; 8 died from jumping out of windows
Beverly Hills Supper Club fire	Southgate, Kentucky	United States	1977		200	possibly electrical	carpeting, wooden paneling	Third-worst club fire in American history
Infinity Disco fire	Manhattan, New York	United States	1979	0	0 News: . 15 February 1979. Club Patrons Routed By Fire in Building. The New York Times. 9 August 2024.	possibly arson		Former location of Pfaff's Beer Cellar
Limelight Disco fire	Hallandale, Florida	United States	1980	0	1 ^[2]	possibly arson		Formerly the Old Heidelberg restaurant and Rumbottoms disco
Denmark Place fire	Central London	United Kingdom	1980		23	arson	gasoline
Stardust fire	Artane, Dublin	Ireland	1981		214	electrical	cooking oil (225 gallons)
Alcalá 20 nightclub fire	Madrid	Spain	1983		27	electrical
Chowon (Greenfield) disco fire	Daegu	South Korea	1983		67	short circuit		mostly underage victims; exit reportedly chained shut to prevent them from leaving without paying^[3]
Common People fire	Seoul	South Korea	1984		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		6	arson	gasoline	Fifth-worst club fire in American history
Daegu Gosonggwan fire	Daegu	South Korea	1991		13	arson	6 liters of gasoline	Fire started by spiteful rejected customer
Kheyvis fire	Olivos, Buenos Aires	Argentina	1993		24	burning furniture (prank)		Second-worst club fire in Argentine history
	Fuxin, Liaoning	China	1994		16	sofa (caused by burning newspaper)^[4]	decorations
Ozone Disco fire	Quezon City	Philippines	1996		95	unknown, possibly electrical	acoustic foam	Worst fire in Philippine history
Rolling Stones fire	Seoul	South Korea	1996		3	discarded cigarette butt	wet paint	fire trucks delayed by cars parked in narrow alley
Gothenburg discothèque fire	Gothenburg	Sweden	1998		213	arson		Most victims were underage - event for secondary school students
Incheon club fire	Incheon	South Korea	1999		78	basement construction work		mostly underage victims; exit reportedly chained shut to prevent them from leaving without paying^[5] ^[6]
Luoyang Christmas fire	Luoyang, Henan	China	2000		7	welding		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		24		gas canisters^[7]
Volendam New Year's fire	Volendam	Netherlands	2001		241	pyrotechnics (sparkler)	decorations (Christmas)
Canecão Mineiro nightclub fire	Belo Horizonte	Brazil	2001		197	pyrotechnics
Myojo 56 building fire	Kabukicho, Shinjuku	Japan	2001		3	suspected arson		Fifth-deadliest fire in post-war Japanese history
Club La Guajira fire	Caracas	Venezuela	2002		28		Christmas decoration	Bouncer delayed exit asking patrons not to leave without paying
Utopía nightclub fire	Santiago de Surco, Lima	Peru	2002		57	torch
The Station nightclub fire	West Warwick, Rhode Island	United States	2003		230	pyrotechnics	acoustic foam	Fourth-deadliest club fire in American history
República Cromañón nightclub fire	Buenos Aires	Argentina	2004		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		3	arson		Firefighter killed in fire; initially thought to have been started by a truck, quickly ruled as arson^[8]
911 nightclub fire	Moscow	Russia	2007		4	pyrotechnics^[9]
Factory nightclub fire	Quito	Ecuador	2008		35	pyrotechnics
Wuwang Club fire	Shenzhen, Guangdong	China	2008		88	pyrotechnics
Santika Club fire	Watthana, Bangkok	Thailand	2009		222	stage pyrotechnics	tar paper, plastic waterproofing
Lame Horse fire	Perm	Russia	2009		≤160	pyrotechnics	decorations (willow twig)	Worst fire in Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union
Sabor Latino fire	Rome	Italy	2010			electrical^[10]	acoustic foam
	Taichung	Taiwan	2011		13			Originated during a fire show by a male dancer on stage, described as holding sparklers,^[11] a torch,^[12] or LED torch that malfunctioned and produced sparks^[13]
Tiger Disco fire	Patong, Phuket	Thailand	2012		11	electrical	acoustic foam	Officially attributed to a short circuit,^[14] some reports stated that the fire started when lightning struck a nearby transformer.^[15]
Kiss nightclub fire	Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul	Brazil	2013		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		160	pyrotechnics	acoustic foam (polyurethane)	Worst club fire in Romanian history
Ghost Ship warehouse fire	Oakland, California	United States	2016		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.
Hanoi karaoke bar fire	Cầu Giấy, Hanoi	Vietnam	2016			welding^[16]
Magway karaoke bar fire	Magway	Myanmar	2017			gas leak^[17]
Yaoundé nightclub fire	Yaoundé	Cameroon	2022		8	fireworks		Fireworks ignited the ceiling; eventually spread to gas bottles, causing explosions^[18]
Sorong nightclub fire	Sorong, West Papua	Indonesia	2022			rioting^[19]		One victim died from stabbing during clashes.
Mountain B nightclub fire	Sattahip, Chonburi	Thailand	2022		22		soundproof foam
2022 Binh Duong karaoke bar fire	Thuận An, Binh Duong	Vietnam	2022		3	short circuit
Kostroma café fire	Kostroma	Russia	2022		5	pyrotechnic flare		Initial reports say that a pyrotechnic flare was released by a Russian soldier who had just returned from Ukraine.^[20]
Fonda Milagros nightclub fire	Murcia	Spain	2023			unknown

See also

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

References

1. Book: Buildings: Report. January 1979. 9780877622284.
2. https://www.newspapers.com/article/fort-lauderdale-news/25366072/ Limelight disco in Hallandale is destroyed by fire
3. News: 24 Reported Dead, 70 Injured In Fire in South Korean Disco . 14 September 2021 . The New York Times . 18 April 1983.
4. Web site: China holds 31 responsible for disco blaze . United Press International. 23 December 1994. 28 February 2017.
5. News: 54 Die in Fire at Youth Hangout in South Korea . 14 September 2021 . The New York Times . 31 October 1999.
6. News: Shin . Bong-gun . Fire Kills 54, Injures 75 at Illegal Bar in S. Korea . 14 September 2021 . Los Angeles Times . 31 October 1999.
7. Web site: Brazil, Mexico And Other Deadly Nightclub Fires In Latin America . 2013-01-28. The Huffington Post.
8. Web site: Ballroom blaze that killed firefighter arson. Houston Chronicle. April 6, 2004.
9. Web site: Пожар в "911": клуб сгорел из-за бутафорских огнетушителей? . РИА Новости . ru.
10. News: Cuatro jóvenes de origen latinoamericano mueren en incendio en Roma . 20 February 2024 . andina.pe . 14 March 2010 . es.
11. Web site: Nine die in pub fire in Taiwan. 2011-03-06. Sydney Morning Herald.
12. Web site: Taiwan nightclub fire kills 9. 2011-03-06. UPI.
13. Web site: 9 die in night club fire in central Taiwan city of Taichung. The China Post. 2011-03-06.
14. Web site: Owner Walks Free Despite Four Dying In Disco Fire. Stickboy Bangkok. 9 September 2015. 14 February 2017 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20180719104526/https://www.stickboybkk.com/news/owner-walks-free-despite-four-dying-in-disco-fire/ . 19 July 2018.
15. Web site: Four killed in disco fire at Phuket club. CNN. 17 August 2012. 14 February 2017.
16. Web site: Hanoi karaoke bar blaze kills at least 13. Vietnam Plus. 2 November 2016.
17. Web site: 16 killed in local karaoke bar fire in Myanmar. Daily Sabah. 3 April 2017.
18. News: Cameroon nightclub fire: More than a dozen dead in Yaounde blaze . 20 February 2024 . Al Jazeera . 23 January 2022.
19. Web site: At Least 19 Dead In Stabbing, Fire At Indonesian Night Club. Agence France-Presse. NDTV. 25 January 2022.
20. Web site: Nightclub fire that killed 13 'started by Russian soldier told to return to frontline'. The Telegraph. 5 November 2022. 8 November 2022.