Editing Cocoanut Grove fire (section)

==Investigations==
An official report revealed that the Cocoanut Grove had been inspected by a captain in the [[Boston Fire Department]] (BFD) just ten days before the fire and declared safe.<ref name = "official"/><ref name = "Grove">{{cite news|title=Grove Seated over 1000; One of the Largest Nightclubs|work=Boston Sunday Globe|date=November 29, 1942|page=29}}</ref> Furthermore, it was found that the Grove had not obtained any licenses for operation for several years; there were no food handlers' permits and no [[liquor license]]s. Stanley Tomaszewski, the busboy who had allegedly started the fire, was underage and should not have been working there. Moreover, the recent remodeling of the Broadway Lounge had been done without [[building permit]]s, using unlicensed contractors.<ref name = "Saffle"/>

Tomaszewski testified at the [[inquiry]] and was exonerated, as he was not responsible for the flammable decorations or the [[Life Safety Code|life safety code]] violations. He was nevertheless ostracized for much of his life because of the fire.<ref name="houstchron">{{cite news | title=Main suspect in '42 nightclub fire recalls Boston tragedy, 491 deaths | work=Houston Chronicle | date=November 29, 1987 | agency=Associated Press}}</ref> Tomaszewski died in 1994.<ref name="bglobegloria">{{cite news |author=Lawrence, J.M. |date=November 3, 2008 |title=Gloria Doherty, 86, survivor of 1942 Cocoanut Grove fire |work=Boston Globe |url=http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/obituaries/articles/2008/11/03/gloria_doherty_86_survivor_of_1942_cocoanut_grove_fire/ |url-status=dead |url-access=subscription |access-date=December 16, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307061826/http://archive.boston.com/bostonglobe/obituaries/articles/2008/11/03/gloria_doherty_86_survivor_of_1942_cocoanut_grove_fire/ |archive-date=March 7, 2021}}</ref>

The BFD investigated possible causes of ignition, the rapid spread of the fire and the catastrophic loss of life. Its report reached no conclusion as to the initial cause of ignition but attributed the rapid, gaseous spread of the fire to a buildup of [[carbon monoxide]] gas from oxygen-deprived combustion in the enclosed space above the false ceiling of the Melody Lounge. The gas exuded from enclosed spaces as its temperature rose and ignited rapidly as it mixed with oxygen above the entryway, up the stairway to the main floor and along ceilings. The fire accelerated as the stairway created a thermal draft, and the high-temperature gas fire ignited [[Nitrocellulose|pyroxylin]] (leatherette) wall and ceiling covering in the foyer, which in turn exuded flammable gas. The report also documented the fire safety code violations, flammable materials and door designs that contributed to the large loss of life.<ref name="official"/>

During the 1990s, former Boston firefighter and researcher Charles Kenney discovered that a highly flammable gas refrigerant, methyl chloride, had been used as a substitute for freon, which was in short wartime supply.<ref name=":0">Kenney, Charles, "Did A "Mystery Gas" Fuel The Cocoanut Grove Fire?" ''Firehouse'', May, 1999</ref> Kenney reported that floor plans, but not the fire investigation report, showed air-conditioning condenser units near street level on the other side of a non-structural wall from the Melody Lounge, and that these units had been serviced since the start of the war. Kenney also reported that photographic evidence indicates an origin for the fire in the wall behind the palm tree and suggested ignition of methyl chloride accelerant by an electrical failure caused by substandard wiring.<ref name="schorow">Schorow, Stephanie (2005) The Cocoanut Grove Fire, Commonwealth, 96 p.</ref> Methyl chloride combustion is consistent with some aspects of the fire (reported flame colors, smell and inhalation symptoms) but requires additional explanation for ceiling-level fire as the gas is 1.7 times as dense as air.<ref>Beller, D., and Sapochetti, J. (2000) ''Searching for answers to the Cocoanut Grove fire of 1942'' NFPA Journal, May/June 2000</ref>

In 2012, the BFD released the transcripts of witness interviews following the fire.<ref name= "BPD">{{cite web|author= Boston Police Department|title= STATEMENTS, in Re: COCOANUT GROVE FIRE (3 volumes)|url=https://archive.org/search.php?query=cocoanut%20grove%20fire%20AND%20collection%3Aamericana}}</ref> Witnesses Tomaszewski, Morris Levy, Joyce Spector, David Frechtling and Jeanette Lanzoni (Volume 1) provided accounts of the ignition of the palm decoration and ceiling in the Melody Lounge. Frechtling and Lanzoni described the start of the fire as a "flash." Tomaszewski described the spread of the fire across the ceiling as like a gasoline fire. The flame front across the ceiling was faint blue, followed by brighter flames. Witness Roland Sousa (Volume 2) stated that he was initially unconcerned about the fire because, as a regular customer of the Melody Lounge, he had seen the palm tree decorations ignite before and they were always quickly put out.