I was there watching this unfold as a 9 year old kid. My family and I were at the bottom of the hill about where these reporters were but a bit further down the street where the driveway ended. I remember watching people (the lucky ones who got out) coming down the hill in shock. Some were staggering about and tripping over the fire hoses. My father decided to leave after about an hour so as not to get blocked in all night by the emergency vehicles which kept arriving. A little later, we actually heard the roof collapse while standing in our front yard about 1 mile away. I still have strong memories about that night. Today, I always check for the fire exits every time I'm in a large capacity venue - especially if the building looks over 50 yrs. old.
crekow Dang, that had to have been traumatic, I’m so sorry! Yeah, my mom drilled it into us kids growing up to count steps to the exit when we were in a hotel. I still do! Being a country bumpkin, I’ve only ever been in one huge maze-like building and it scared the crap out of me 😂. But thinking of those poor people in the club makes me sick... I think I feel worse for the survivors, though, who witnessed it all. Hope you are well, friend, and having a lovely day. Bless,
@@MayimHastings I visited my doctor for my yearly checkup yesterday, and because of the COVID precautions I was taken to a part of the building I had never been to a real maze of left and right turns. The nurse said, don't worry, I'll lead you back out. I said, I already know my way back out. I had watched a video of this disaster the day before and was paying attention. I did not like the fact that I was so deep in the builfing, though and had no idea where the nearest exit was.
Must have been a horrific sight to be watching. This inferno never should have happened and to think there was a fire there 7 years beforehand. That should have been a warning of future events. Those people shouldn't have died. Hope the sight and memories didn't scar you
The reporting here was truly exceptional. True professionalism in a chaotic environment. This should be mandatory viewing for all up-and-coming reporters.
At 18:17 a patron said "they brought one of the busboys up", that busboy was Walter Bailey. Bailey wanted to warn patrons about the fire but was told by management it wasn't necessary, when he saw the fire spreading he took it upon himself to go onstage, take a microphone from one of the comedians and calmly tell the patrons to make note of the exits and leave the building because there was a fire. Bailey was a competitive swimmer and knew he could hold his breath for a long time. After escorting one group of patrons outside he went back inside and guided more patrons through dense black smoke to safety.
@@theflyervault Yes, he's alive and well and living in Texas. Walter planned on pursuing a career in medicine but after seeing all of the suffering on the night of the fire, he decided he couldn't work in a hospital. He also developed a fear of the dark after being inside the pitch black smoke and not being able to see.
All of this footage, not just from 12, but from 9 and 5 as well, should be well preserved, digitized and archived publicly, to aid future generations in understanding and learning from this disaster (and frankly, so many others that have taken place over the years).
I had never heard about any of this, like ever. This is just, man. Anyone else here from Fascinating History? They should have a scared straight for fires in high school. You won't complain about lines because of max capacity after you've heard "bodies stacked like cord wood." Geeze.
Its because this wasnt an accident, the fucking fireman they interview is smiling and when the reporter asks the dumbest question i ever heard about “putting this fire out”. 5 year olds ask better questions
@Queen of King queenofking I remember that one too. It was horrible. I always looked for the back exit after that when out and about but knowing this like lines, fire codes, drills, all of it, so much more appreciation for and respect for every little thing. It was all written in blood. Following them isn't bs like a lot of other stuff, it's honoring the dead and keeping us safe. Worse bit? This was only the third worst fire in US history! I went all the way down the rabbit hole to the Coconut Grove and Rhythm club fires. A basement and a tin building both with one exit. And I had never heard of any of them! Teenagers don't know consequences, you need to show them.
This is an incredible documentation of one of the most tragic fires in national history. The amazing thing is that the coverage came about by just a stroke of luck. All three of the local stations doing news in 1977 were getting live microwave trucks all about the same time. WKRC had just gotten their truck earlier in the week of this fire. Their newsroom was quiet early in the evening, and they heard the first scanner traffic about a "kitchen fire at Beverly Hills." They decided it would be a good opportunity to send their new truck out and test it to see if they could get a signal back to the station. Obviously, they could -- although they had to use two-way photographer radios for the audio -- but they were the only local station to have live coverage. The other two stations had to use film, and by the time they headed to the scene, the traffic jams were enormous, and they had no visuals. The fact Channel 12 had the only live coverage from the scene (and the tremendous job done by Kyle Hill, Joanne Moore and Howard Ain with their reporting) shifted the balance in Cincinnati TV news after Channel 9 with Al Schottelkotte had dominated for decades.
I knew the engineer that made the shot work. He reportedly reflected the microwave signal back off of a truck trailer parked in a high location by sending his signal south to bounce back north to the station, genius.
This is a great piece not only of history but of broadcast journalism history. I hope the station has shared it with journalism schools to show early use of live trucks/live shots and of how breaking news was covered back then.
Had a friend who, along with 7 siblings (8 kids total) were orphaned because of this fire. An incredible couple adopted all of them so they could stay together.
I’m Gina. I worked in the Cabaret Room, the Showroom, in the summers. I was a teacher during the school year. I was supposed to start working that Memorial Day Weekend. But there was a lawn party we were invited to over in Cincinnati. The back yard butted right up to a drive-in (the Dent?) and King Kong was showing. The man who lived there came out and asked if any of us kids (I was in my 20’s) were from Kentucky. My boyfriend and I told him we were. He told us that it was on TV that there was a fire at Beverly Hills. I said I worked there, and it was probably just a grease
Grease fire in the kitchen. Those used to scare me, too, but these things were commonplace, I was told. We thought it was an exaggeration by the news. The man came back. They had suspended regular TV to report on this, he told us, and that several people were dead. And that I ought to come inside to see it. After a few seconds, I asked the man if I could use his phone. My parents were not aware that I wasn’t going to start back until Tuesday. He said, “You better call your parents, young lady.” My parents were watching the fire from the front porch on The Hill in South Newport, just the next hill over on the other side of the I-471 ramp. It was maybe a mile away. There were times I had to ride my bike to work at Beverly. My Mom had the phone on her lap, no doubt calling St Luke Hospital. She answered just as it started to ring. “Mom?” “Oh, thank God!”
My parents had gone out for dinner and dancing and my brother and I watched this unfold. They came home late evening and we rushed to them in tears as we thought they were in the fire. Remember this like it was yesterday.
All these years ago and still heart braking. I was 8 when this happened I remember Jones town also . After Station night club I since have been super tuned in on all exits are in any place I go . Very very sad .
Would love to hear about living through the Jonestown tragedy. I was 8, but I don’t remember anything about it. It wasn’t the best choice in my opinion...but my mum always sheltered us from anything disturbing like that.
my parents went there that night it was my aunts anniversary I believe it was like her 35th and she was a big John Davidson fan so my Aunt Pearl my Aunt Mary and my mom and my dad and of course their husbands went over to celebrate the anniversary and I remember my parents getting home at 2 in the morning and I started crying just because they were home safe and we were watching that live on channel 12 and where we lived in Cincinnati it was about a half-hour ride in here it was you know to 2:00 in the morning and they weren't home yet but we seen that big LTD wagon pull up the driveway and how it was this an awesome time sad time but awesome for my family. I was 11 years old
Thank God your family was ok. I remember hearing about this a couple years ago and it scared the daylights out of me. To know so many were there and had little ones at home - heartbreaking 💔
@@loopthetube Yes. My wife and I bought one from Sears in 1994 for our daughter; for emergencies only(!). The next year my wife got one. I don't know how I managed to go without one until May of 2000. Twenty years with a cellphone but I do remember the clear divide of before and after.
After the original MGM hotel in Las Vegas, I learned never have a room from abused6th floor, ladders can not reach you, and I learned in a hotel count all doors to your emergency doors, , a burning building has thick smoke, you are in the dark, if you have no idea how many doors are on the emergency escapes....my mother would have fire drills when we were kids,,,, teach your children to count the doors,
😲😲😲😲😲😲😲 Wow!!! So lucky!! How'd you feel about your decision when you heard about this fire?! Besides the obvious, of course. Probably similar to those who were supposed to be on one of the 9.11 planes but just barely missed their flights, or canceled their reservations last minute (wasn't Mark Wahlberg one of them?). I cannot IMAGINE being the guy that ran through the airport to catch his flight but got there too late and was refused boarding by the gate attendant, then found out later that his plane went into the WTC.
Disgusting that emergency services had to deal with looters looting the bodies awaiting being loaded onto the army trucks. When Howard Ain describes that scene, I actually gasped out loud. The reporters did a great job reporting this horrific scene.
look at the people standing behind the reporter at the start are you shocked they would loot dead bodies? lol nothings changed in 40 years they are still the major cause of crime and violence in this country but now all you hear is that their lives matter,
We saw the Glow across the river from Eastern Ave. It Looked like a sunset , I wasn't allowed to watch the news on it. I am just getting to see this for the first time. But when I saw the victims list I understood why. A few people didn't show up at church the nest week end and I ask where they where. I was told they moved. I was hurt they wouldn't say good bye to me. Now I know where they moved too. About 5 years ago I started slowly looking at the pictures and list and reports. They should not build anything on that land, but its not my call.
@Finna Sprang I was just actually rethinking how awesome it would be to build a bigger, better fireproof safe awesome new Beverly Hills with all the technology mastered from these tragic events showing how well humans overcome and evolve from tragedy. I still cry for the dead but I am so proud of the survivors.
@Finna Sprang I saw one of the workers went on to be a fire investigator, then another report where they pulled the evidence that proved the faulty wiring was a lie, as a teen, everyone said it was Mafia. People didn't know I was protected from the details. So they would say things about Newport I didn't understand. But then I saw they hired an investigator from UK. Then only a few years later in Cincinnati the who tragedy. Then around the same time riots were breaking out everywhere in Cincinnati. The horrifying truth was, everyone thought everyone was safe. Mom said look at that glow over there, is the Beverly Hills supper club burning after getting a call from family. They were not about to let me know I had sit and watched people die the next day.
When local news was professional. I grew up an hour north of Cincinnati, and remember this so well..my brother graduated from high school the next day.
Howard Ain (I think that's him at the end) in the studio with the anchor was remarkable. I didn't grow up in that area, so I don't remember or know him other than from this video. Quite impressive. Very articulate. Nothing excessive or over the top. Just direct, articulate reporting. Exceptional job under awful circumstances.
What happened to Joanne Moore? Did she continue as a television reporter? She didn't seem to get as much credit for excellent coverage as she should have; she was the one running up and down that hill all night.
Women working in or out of the studio as reporters were still kind of a new thing back then. Station managers made them work twice as hard for everything. I love when the two tall men are talking back and forth with her stuck right in the middle...the two guys are talking like she’s not even there. Lol.
John Davidson personally saved a number of people by helping them out of danger. He was quite a hero that evening; I understand he still doesn't like to talk about that experience.
He lost Doug Herro, a good friend of his, in the fire. He did exactly nothing to profit from his involvement in the fire... but did participate in fund raising concerts for the victims and their families. John Davidson was, and is, a class act all the way.
My grandma almost went that night. Her friend backed out. So thank God she did too. So horrible. It was KY/OH/IN's "Station" fire. So messed up 40 years or 41 this year.
Nick Clooney's sister was the famous singer Rosemary Clooney. She was a famous singer in Hollywood in the 1950's and 60's. in movies and TV. She sang with big bands and singers like Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby. Her nephew was George Clooney. She also was married to the late Oscar winning actor Jose Ferrer.
They really put something on the record for posterity. They did an amazing job making sense of this tragedy. This was a big, national story at the time.
The station had a live truck and could get a good picture/no sound or bad picture/sound and Howard Anin decided to go with good no picture/no sound. They were able to get the two way radios on the air which helped a great deaL. I have also read the live truck they had was a recent addition to the station so not expecting what they got they sent it to the scene for practice. Instead they got a MAJOR(to say the least) story
I remember this like it was yesterday I had just gotten home from my high school senior dinner dance which was at an equally overcrowded venue in Dayton Ohio. I'll never get over the scenes that I saw while I watched the reports all night long. It was awful I prayed for both they soles of the deceased and the survivors that night.
I guess I should not talk about this but regarding the point where the Army Trucks come up to pick up the bodies is heart wrenching, however, this was a mass casualty scene with many bodies that have expired being reported by media representatives who are not use to that sort of thing. Was like a warzone actually was the best way to describe it. I feel the pain/shock in their voice and disbelief but leaving them lay in the dark was not an option. Obtaining commercial vehicles would have involved too much so-called red tape and further delays at a cost arrangement. Not that cost was important it would have been the arrangement of such transportation and the shortage of time and daylight. The Army trucks were available with drivers and no red tape to go through to transport the deceased immediately to the morgue. So what may have seemed like an awkward process actually was handled in the best way possible with what was available to use. The looting discovered bothered me as it would anyone else. Another reason to evacuate the deceased as quickly as possible to a sheltered more secure location. RIP to all the victims. A real tragedy.
I was thinking the same thing. I know it seems a bit callous to haul the deceased off in ‘batches’...but the looting was a very bad look. Fast transportation was really the best way to put a stop to it.
Thank you for posting this incredible video from the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire in May 1977. This was a horrendous tragedy in the Greater Cincinnati area. This is a haunting reminder how life can be ended very suddenly from a disaster like this.
I remember this so vividly I live about 2 miles away I was on my porch and told my mom where are all these emergency vehicles going I was 10 years old but remember it like it was yesterday
My mom and dad had tickets to go there the week after this happened; my dad scored tickets when he fixed the amplifier for Natalie Cole’s bass player. It’s a shame this had to happen; too many mistakes caused so many deaths. No smoke alarms. No exits. Over fire code.
I was 7 when this happened. I don't remember this broadcast. Our next door neighbor's parents passed away in this tragedy. I can't even begin to describe the trauma.
Amazing coverage given the technical limitations of the era. This would have been impressive for a NETWORK, This a a LOCAL channel. Today we have the tech to report a damned abandoned dog house on fire in 4K, BUT we don't get NEWS anymore.
Peter Nadreau yes, I know that. But you would think that the owners, knowing the history of fire in buildings without sprinklers, would have installed them anyway. They were too cheap to pay for it though and are responsible for the horrifying deaths of 100 people
Peter Nadreau I think that by 2005, when the Station burned, they would have realized the importance of sprinklers- esp after all those club disasters which came before
Peter Nadreau well it was 2005 so it wasn’t that long ago. The owners could have afforded them, they were just cheap and trying to save a penny anywhere they could
Wow. That was some good reporting by Howard, Joanne, and Kyle. I don't know if they and/or the station got an award for this but I hope they did. I also hope they were not too traumatized by the events.
Though out the years new areas were added on without any regard to fire safety. The rural fire district had little rule over this monster that was built. It was like a maze inside. Read the NFPA account the National Fire Protection Assoc.
It was a mob hit... Perhaps the body count was more than they, the perpetrators, were bargaining for because of the hazards, but it was still a mob hit, and justice has not been done. How interesting that the video I linked naming the perps has since been deleted.
Oh here it is, audio only... s68.podbean.com/pb/63972505faa76d7a79d6537011446b92/596ae518/data2/fs101/824160/uploads/The_Real_Deal_195_Beverly_Hills_Supper_Club_Fire.mp3
I used to teach night electric classes at HBA in NKY for local electricians to get licensed. I always tried to do at least one night of class re Beverly Hills and how it pertains to building trades (especially electric) even to this day. Although the real cause is undoubtedly questionable, electric work and materials got a black eye as a result of this tragedy. Stressing the importance of emergency lighting and marking of exits, making sure our work is tight and to code, inspected by authority having jurisdiction with permits etc. The National Electric Code is actually NFPA 70. National Fire Protection Association Art 70.......and it is revised every 3 years. This is to keep up with new products and practices in and among the trades, new appliances etc. Electricians you hire have to do a lot of "keeping up" on code changes and licensing so treat them right. Also when in places of assembly, always check for ALTERNATE EXITS as it is human nature to go OUT the way they come IN. Most fire deaths occur within 15' of an exit.
How technology has changed. This was a reported mob hit cause the owners would not sell. This is amazing reporting. Live as we watch the building disintegrate. This is excellent reporting. I hope the team got an award.
yes i saw someone once being interviewed who said that a staff member was delayed in setting up the Zebra room because maintenance men where in there working on the air condition system in the ceiling. Seemingly sometime after the event it was noted that not only had maintenance repairs not been arranged by the management, there wasn't even any air conditioning system in that room ...
@@booth2710 That is correct. Those men set the stage for the fire by putting a chemical in the furnace filter washer and rewiring the unit to cause electrical fires throughout the building. Photos showing this were suppressed until the authors of a book about the fire sued the state of KY for the release of those photos. It's clear today what really happened. The men who were in the room are both dead now. The staff member who saw the men was Dave Brock. He co-authored the book and has researched the fire thoroughly.
A guy i know was locked up at the jail in Newport. The lowlifes that were caught looting from the bodies were brought in. The cops beat the piss out of them.
Steve Maher You have to ask, “Who does this?” What possible excuse could they give? They deserved a beat down. When the cops got done with them, I hope the other inmates taught them a lesson, as well. They should have made them go to the temporary morgue, lay them out, then watch as the relatives came to identify and claim their loved ones.
@@teenieneenie630 why the hell should race matter in that situation. Looters are looters regardless of race. This was a horrible tragedy and you want to bring race into it. I personally have heard enough on this race b.s.
Forty-four years ago this coming Friday. Saturday, May 28, 1977-Friday, May 28, 2021. To put the date in a little bit of context, Star Wars (1977) had been released just three days earlier.
There’s a popular theory that the fire was intentionally started by the local mafia because the owners refused to give them control of the club. Apparently they used timers to set the fire off, but they messed up, and they were actually supposed to go off the next morning when the building was empty.
To the people who say this theory is not plausible because the mafia did not operate this way, didn't target civilians yada yada yada. The mafia operated exactly this way, particularly in the 1970's, which is why the mafia is no longer around in any sense other than a thing of the past, occupied by increasingly petty criminals and arguably more federal informants than actual members. Kind of funny how that happens when the politicians stop protecting the crime rackets because they are afraid of the bodies piling up.
@@TNAROHfanTheir still around just not front and center anymore in the backgrounds. And they still own many places just like years ago they never went away.
My daughter cut her toe that night , It was a small cut but I thought it might need a stitch We were at a relatives house and didn't know anything about the fire.when we went to St Luke Hospital there were cars and emergency vehicles everywhere. We couldn't even get to the emergency room entrance.We had to turn around and leave . We found out about the fire when we got home. It was such a tragedy
The same week as the Station fire, there was a fire at The Fine Line nightclub in Minneapolis (also caused by unauthorized pyrotechnics). Never heard of it? The reason is that Minneapolis requires venues that hold 200+ people to have fire sprinklers. The sprinklers activated and everyone got out unharmed. The club is still there today.
As hideous an event as this was, especially with the rapid progression of the flames, it's astounding that only 165 of some 3,000 people inside lost their lives. It was, in large part, due to the quick action of the young busboy, who took to the stage and calmly informed the people in the main room that there was a fire and they should leave the building. He was a true hero who probably saved hundreds of other lives. Minutes and seconds made a huge difference in getting the first thousand people safely outside this growing inferno.
Pretty much over. Note they mention bodies were stacked like cardwood early in the broadcast. They were referring to the crush at the entrance of the building/Cabernet Room. By that point fire crews had determined that there was no chance of getting anymore survivors out.
In my hospital, this would have been a code green - external disaster. I was so lucky, as was my community, I only heard it once - tornado hit a rural community near us. Dozens injured and a few deaths, OR was hopping, but we initially feared it was much, much worse. If we had a similar disaster in my county, if we’d taken hundreds of casualties like the hospitals that night....oh my god. The stuff of nightmares.
The Horror Thoses Poor Victim's Went Though I Was 9 Year's Old When This Nightmare Happened I Do Remember Seeing This On Tv When It Happened My Mom And Dad Were Shocked They Couldn't Believe It Just Like Everybody Else Who Were In Shock May God Have Mercy On All The Victims And There Family's
What a tragedy, 1st time I had heard of this was after watching a separate video on the Fascinating Horror CZcams channel. I was only 2 years old in 1977 and being in the UK had never heard of it before. Did they ever arrest anyone? Thankfully fire safety standards have improved massively at least here in the UK after the Bradford City Football Stadium fire disaster in May 1985. R.I.P. to the poor souls who lost their lives.
i was visiting fort thomas on a class trip from north ont canada about three weeks after fire everone was still talking about it the reporters here are first class
Couple of questions... 1. Was this one long broadcast, like a special report, or was it a regular newscast where they would cut back to, say, the weather, come back to this story, then cut to other news stories? 2. There seems to be a lot of noise in the studio early on. Is that a police scanner that they have on on the background.
Their microwave truck was brand new at the time. They could either get a good audio feed or a good video feed, but not both at the same time, so they used the HTs as backup audio.
I was on vacation at my grandmothers when this happened. I recall her neighbor had not been home for a few days,we later found out she was killed in the fire.
This was a *huge* story; I was living in Vancouver, BC, at the time and it absolutely dominated the 11 o'clock news. As the old saying goes in journalism, "If it bleeds, it leads." Also, were those reporters smokers? Lots of tobacco fiends back in ‘77 and that would explain why they were all so winded.
They were up there for hours breathing in the smoke from that burning building. Bound to make anyone short of breath. This is several hours of coverage edited down to less than an hour.
I went to a venue in 1973 that had only one exit out of the basement bowling alley. It made me so uneasy that I didn't stay down there. A year later, the whole facility burned to the ground and killed two people. Always trust your instincts.
Just curious - the kid that hangs out in the bottom right corner of the screen at about the 9:15 a 9:35 mark. How old could he be? Did passersby just stop and watch?
Yes, many locals got to the bottom of that hill and watched even before most of the fire trucks got there. I was one of them and I was only 9 at the time. If that cameraman had walked to his left about 20-25 yards, he would have been filming most of my family looking up at the fire. We did not realize how bad the tragedy was because we were watching a steady stream of people coming down the driveway. We assumed that most folks were getting out OK, and the firemen had everything under control. We only learned otherwise when we got home and turned on the news. As we were getting out of our car and walking into the house, we heard the sound of the main roof caving in from about 1/2 mile away. I will never forget that night.
crekow - Since I'm not from the area, I'm just curious: how far away from the facility are these folks? Is this at the end of the driveway that you see in all of the old pictures?
Referring to the scene in this video from 9:15-9:35: It's a little hard to say exactly where they are standing because the background is so dark. Based on what parts of the supper club building I can see here, I would say they are standing on the road (Alexandria Pike) about 20-30 yrs (maybe less) Northwest from the bottom of the serpentine driveway. By this time, the driveway itself was quite crowded with emergency vehicles and people - some coming down from the club, and some just watching. Our car was parked in a small parking lot adjacent to the road about the same distance southeast of the driveway. The distance from the building itself would have been about 100-120 yrs or so. It may look closer because it was very large building. Keep in mind also that many aerial pictures of the site do not capture how steep that hill actually is.
Reporting over a walkie talkie where nowadays it would be a satellite truck. *And whats with a funeral director being there* ? Talk about the bodies not being cold. Each victim would go to the Medical Examiner Office for cause of death first!
I was 5 right before I started kindergarten, my neighbor the same age as me his mother was working there that night she was OK but it affected her spirit 😔
That young boy should have received a medal for his bravery & TRYING to help people....How sad, so excited for a show & never to become....The one TV2 lady taking witnesses theory of a cigarette butt lol.....I grew up with TV stations & technology, or lack of in the 70's lol ramming that big walkie-talkie in their faces lol.....I know this isn't a laughing matter, TRAGIC is an understatement...but watching those boys in tank tops behind the news made me laugh....sure do miss the good ol' days!!!
Sickening how anyone could loot the dead bodies. I had a man that I worked with who had been in the Navy during the 1960's that told me that they caught sailors looting bodies of the dead on the USS Forrestal. Sick people!
My uncle was a bartender there that night, he was helping to pull people out his best friend went in to try to save somebody and he never came out. He was messed up from that night on I don't remember ever seeing him again after that. He just couldn't handle what he saw and left the state
So many individuals standing behind and about the reporters as they narrate this disaster. You would see a prepared background with one narrator and the "officials" standing behind him today.
The egregious combover was so hot in the late 70’s. My father had a full head of hair, and even he parted and styled his hair into a combover. Real long and blunt on the sides and back, and the top parted very deep and swept over the top of his head. Lol! 🤷🏻♂️
My dad did too, lol. He looked like a balding man his entire adult life. I couldn't even tell when he actually started losing his hair and stopped being just a victim of the 70's.
I was there watching this unfold as a 9 year old kid. My family and I were at the bottom of the hill about where these reporters were but a bit further down the street where the driveway ended. I remember watching people (the lucky ones who got out) coming down the hill in shock. Some were staggering about and tripping over the fire hoses. My father decided to leave after about an hour so as not to get blocked in all night by the emergency vehicles which kept arriving. A little later, we actually heard the roof collapse while standing in our front yard about 1 mile away. I still have strong memories about that night. Today, I always check for the fire exits every time I'm in a large capacity venue - especially if the building looks over 50 yrs. old.
crekow Dang, that had to have been traumatic, I’m so sorry! Yeah, my mom drilled it into us kids growing up to count steps to the exit when we were in a hotel. I still do! Being a country bumpkin, I’ve only ever been in one huge maze-like building and it scared the crap out of me 😂. But thinking of those poor people in the club makes me sick... I think I feel worse for the survivors, though, who witnessed it all. Hope you are well, friend, and having a lovely day. Bless,
@@MayimHastings I visited my doctor for my yearly checkup yesterday, and because of the COVID precautions I was taken to a part of the building I had never been to a real maze of left and right turns. The nurse said, don't worry, I'll lead you back out. I said, I already know my way back out. I had watched a video of this disaster the day before and was paying attention. I did not like the fact that I was so deep in the builfing, though and had no idea where the nearest exit was.
omg thanks for sharing, god bless you and all that were lost that tragic day
Must have been a horrific sight to be watching. This inferno never should have happened and to think there was a fire there 7 years beforehand. That should have been a warning of future events. Those people shouldn't have died. Hope the sight and memories didn't scar you
What a terrible, haunting experience for you and your family - especially you, just a 9-year-old kid!! My heart goes out to you.
The reporting here was truly exceptional. True professionalism in a chaotic environment. This should be mandatory viewing for all up-and-coming reporters.
You are damn right
Old style reporting when reporters did not blog style report.
Yes. It's very sober and matter of fact.
True reporting for sure, unlike the garbage that is called reporting today.
At 18:17 a patron said "they brought one of the busboys up", that busboy was Walter Bailey. Bailey wanted to warn patrons about the fire but was told by management it wasn't necessary, when he saw the fire spreading he took it upon himself to go onstage, take a microphone from one of the comedians and calmly tell the patrons to make note of the exits and leave the building because there was a fire.
Bailey was a competitive swimmer and knew he could hold his breath for a long time. After escorting one group of patrons outside he went back inside and guided more patrons through dense black smoke to safety.
Did he survive?
@@theflyervault Yes, he's alive and well and living in Texas. Walter planned on pursuing a career in medicine but after seeing all of the suffering on the night of the fire, he decided he couldn't work in a hospital. He also developed a fear of the dark after being inside the pitch black smoke and not being able to see.
@@dannycarrington1601 wow god bless him
Carter invited him to the White House and gave him a commendation?
This is even more remarkable when one realizes that Walter Bailey suffered from stage fright...
All of this footage, not just from 12, but from 9 and 5 as well, should be well preserved, digitized and archived publicly, to aid future generations in understanding and learning from this disaster (and frankly, so many others that have taken place over the years).
I had never heard about any of this, like ever. This is just, man. Anyone else here from Fascinating History? They should have a scared straight for fires in high school. You won't complain about lines because of max capacity after you've heard "bodies stacked like cord wood." Geeze.
Its because this wasnt an accident, the fucking fireman they interview is smiling and when the reporter asks the dumbest question i ever heard about “putting this fire out”. 5 year olds ask better questions
@@chadabear5667 Do some believe it was arson or an insurance thing or something? I never heard anything about it at all before 2 days ago.
Same. :(
@@chadabear5667 Right!?
@Queen of King queenofking I remember that one too. It was horrible. I always looked for the back exit after that when out and about but knowing this like lines, fire codes, drills, all of it, so much more appreciation for and respect for every little thing. It was all written in blood. Following them isn't bs like a lot of other stuff, it's honoring the dead and keeping us safe. Worse bit? This was only the third worst fire in US history! I went all the way down the rabbit hole to the Coconut Grove and Rhythm club fires. A basement and a tin building both with one exit. And I had never heard of any of them! Teenagers don't know consequences, you need to show them.
This is an incredible documentation of one of the most tragic fires in national history. The amazing thing is that the coverage came about by just a stroke of luck. All three of the local stations doing news in 1977 were getting live microwave trucks all about the same time. WKRC had just gotten their truck earlier in the week of this fire. Their newsroom was quiet early in the evening, and they heard the first scanner traffic about a "kitchen fire at Beverly Hills." They decided it would be a good opportunity to send their new truck out and test it to see if they could get a signal back to the station. Obviously, they could -- although they had to use two-way photographer radios for the audio -- but they were the only local station to have live coverage. The other two stations had to use film, and by the time they headed to the scene, the traffic jams were enormous, and they had no visuals. The fact Channel 12 had the only live coverage from the scene (and the tremendous job done by Kyle Hill, Joanne Moore and Howard Ain with their reporting) shifted the balance in Cincinnati TV news after Channel 9 with Al Schottelkotte had dominated for decades.
TY for sharing that additional info. I am a lifelong Cincinnati resident.
Wow, thanks so much for this extra info! Although this event is tragic that's a really interesting bit of history.
Well said, thank you for your time in sharing.
The building was built I believe in 1937. Fire codes were very slim in those days and often ignored. Exit doors were often too far away.
I knew the engineer that made the shot work. He reportedly reflected the microwave signal back off of a truck trailer parked in a high location by sending his signal south to bounce back north to the station, genius.
This is a great piece not only of history but of broadcast journalism history. I hope the station has shared it with journalism schools to show early use of live trucks/live shots and of how breaking news was covered back then.
They brought us the news back then. Total pros!!
Yes. Indeed.
This is when you had real journalism not the junk you have today
The woman reporter Joanne Moore was very brave to keep going up and down that Hill to report
Had a friend who, along with 7 siblings (8 kids total) were orphaned because of this fire. An incredible couple adopted all of them so they could stay together.
Textbook example of how to calmly and effectively inform news of a tragic situation. This journalism work is gold medal.
I’m Gina. I worked in the Cabaret Room, the Showroom, in the summers. I was a teacher during the school year. I was supposed to start working that Memorial Day Weekend. But there was a lawn party we were invited to over in Cincinnati. The back yard butted right up to a drive-in (the Dent?) and King Kong was showing. The man who lived there came out and asked if any of us kids (I was in my 20’s) were from Kentucky. My boyfriend and I told him we were. He told us that it was on TV that there was a fire at Beverly Hills. I said I worked there, and it was probably just a grease
Grease fire in the kitchen. Those used to scare me, too, but these things were commonplace, I was told. We thought it was an exaggeration by the news.
The man came back. They had suspended regular TV to report on this, he told us, and that several people were dead. And that I ought to come inside to see it. After a few seconds, I asked the man if I could use his phone. My parents were not aware that I wasn’t going to start back until Tuesday. He said, “You better call your parents, young lady.” My parents were watching the fire from the front porch on The Hill in South Newport, just the next hill over on the other side of the I-471 ramp. It was maybe a mile away. There were times I had to ride my bike to work at Beverly. My Mom had the phone on her lap, no doubt calling St Luke Hospital. She answered just as it started to ring. “Mom?” “Oh, thank God!”
@@ginaparry3451 glad you were ok Gina. I can't imagine how your parents must have felt before you called.
My parents had gone out for dinner and dancing and my brother and I watched this unfold. They came home late evening and we rushed to them in tears as we thought they were in the fire. Remember this like it was yesterday.
All these years ago and still heart braking. I was 8 when this happened I remember Jones town also . After Station night club I since have been super tuned in on all exits are in any place I go . Very very sad .
Would love to hear about living through the Jonestown tragedy. I was 8, but I don’t remember anything about it. It wasn’t the best choice in my opinion...but my mum always sheltered us from anything disturbing like that.
@@mk202 Are you Canadian?
my parents went there that night it was my aunts anniversary I believe it was like her 35th and she was a big John Davidson fan so my Aunt Pearl my Aunt Mary and my mom and my dad and of course their husbands went over to celebrate the anniversary and I remember my parents getting home at 2 in the morning and I started crying just because they were home safe and we were watching that live on channel 12 and where we lived in Cincinnati it was about a half-hour ride in here it was you know to 2:00 in the morning and they weren't home yet but we seen that big LTD wagon pull up the driveway and how it was this an awesome time sad time but awesome for my family. I was 11 years old
Hard now to remember a time there wasnt a cell phone to call home and check in.
Good God what that would do to the 11 y/o psyche! I’m so sorry you went through that, but so glad everyone was ok. ❤️
Thank God your family was ok.
I remember hearing about this a couple years ago and it scared the daylights out of me. To know so many were there and had little ones at home - heartbreaking 💔
@@loopthetube Yes. My wife and I bought one from Sears in 1994 for our daughter; for emergencies only(!). The next year my wife got one. I don't know how I managed to go without one until May of 2000. Twenty years with a cellphone but I do remember the clear divide of before and after.
I can't imagine the overwhelming relief you must have felt!!!
I was 16 when this happened. It was horrible to see on TV. My condolences to those who lost people they loved.
My husband and I are survivors of that fire. We escaped from the Cabaret room. Watching this footage is chilling.
Glad you survived this...our neighbors unfortunately didn’t
That must have been horrific for you I hope you don't still suffer from the trauma and fear from that night
My aunt and uncle were survivors too. My uncle helped get people out.
I was a 3 year old lad then , found out about this fire later. Jesus was looking out for you, child of God.
After the original MGM hotel in Las Vegas, I learned never have a room from abused6th floor, ladders can not reach you, and I learned in a hotel count all doors to your emergency doors, , a burning building has thick smoke, you are in the dark, if you have no idea how many doors are on the emergency escapes....my mother would have fire drills when we were kids,,,, teach your children to count the doors,
This coverage of this tragedy unfolding almost 45 years ago is fantastic! I forgot what real reporting looked like!
My mom wanted my family to go to BH S C that night to celebrate me graduateing HS, but I refused, Im glad we didnt go.
Why didn't you want to go?
I wish you would have went.
@@floydfletcher4313 Go to bed, troll.
😲😲😲😲😲😲😲
Wow!!! So lucky!! How'd you feel about your decision when you heard about this fire?! Besides the obvious, of course. Probably similar to those who were supposed to be on one of the 9.11 planes but just barely missed their flights, or canceled their reservations last minute (wasn't Mark Wahlberg one of them?). I cannot IMAGINE being the guy that ran through the airport to catch his flight but got there too late and was refused boarding by the gate attendant, then found out later that his plane went into the WTC.
floyd fletcher would have gone not went.
Disgusting that emergency services had to deal with looters looting the bodies awaiting being loaded onto the army trucks. When Howard Ain describes that scene, I actually gasped out loud. The reporters did a great job reporting this horrific scene.
look at the people standing behind the reporter at the start are you shocked they would loot dead bodies? lol nothings changed in 40 years they are still the major cause of crime and violence in this country but now all you hear is that their lives matter,
Remember that the next time someone refers to the 1970s as the good old days and how much better everyone and everything was then.
@@bb-gc2tx Yep that is correct lol
@@inkyguy All in the Family "Those were the Days" theme
That was people identifying bodies but people love to sensationalise.
We saw the Glow across the river from Eastern Ave. It Looked like a sunset , I wasn't allowed to watch the news on it. I am just getting to see this for the first time. But when I saw the victims list I understood why. A few people didn't show up at church the nest week end and I ask where they where. I was told they moved. I was hurt they wouldn't say good bye to me. Now I know where they moved too. About 5 years ago I started slowly looking at the pictures and list and reports. They should not build anything on that land, but its not my call.
@Finna Sprang I was just actually rethinking how awesome it would be to build a bigger, better fireproof safe awesome new Beverly Hills with all the technology mastered from these tragic events showing how well humans overcome and evolve from tragedy. I still cry for the dead but I am so proud of the survivors.
@Finna Sprang I saw one of the workers went on to be a fire investigator, then another report where they pulled the evidence that proved the faulty wiring was a lie, as a teen, everyone said it was Mafia. People didn't know I was protected from the details. So they would say things about Newport I didn't understand. But then I saw they hired an investigator from UK. Then only a few years later in Cincinnati the who tragedy. Then around the same time riots were breaking out everywhere in Cincinnati. The horrifying truth was, everyone thought everyone was safe. Mom said look at that glow over there, is the Beverly Hills supper club burning after getting a call from family. They were not about to let me know I had sit and watched people die the next day.
When local news was professional. I grew up an hour north of Cincinnati, and remember this so well..my brother graduated from high school the next day.
Howard Ain (I think that's him at the end) in the studio with the anchor was remarkable. I didn't grow up in that area, so I don't remember or know him other than from this video. Quite impressive. Very articulate. Nothing excessive or over the top. Just direct, articulate reporting. Exceptional job under awful circumstances.
Yes. Nowadays both msm and local outlets “emote” the news rather than report it, or they simply provide narration in lieu of it
42 years today..remember this so well..so tragic.
Thanks to CZcams more people than ever now know of this horrible tragedy. ✌️ Always remembered, Never forgotten.
What happened to Joanne Moore? Did she continue as a television reporter? She didn't seem to get as much credit for excellent coverage as she should have; she was the one running up and down that hill all night.
Women working in or out of the studio as reporters were still kind of a new thing back then. Station managers made them work twice as hard for everything. I love when the two tall men are talking back and forth with her stuck right in the middle...the two guys are talking like she’s not even there. Lol.
John Davidson personally saved a number of people by helping them out of danger. He was quite a hero that evening; I understand he still doesn't like to talk about that experience.
About all he has said is that it changed his outlook on life forever.
gonstotwriter he was in town last week and he talked to this channels news it was only the 2nd time he discussed it since 77 from what he said.
He lost Doug Herro, a good friend of his, in the fire.
He did exactly nothing to profit from his involvement in the fire... but did participate in fund raising concerts for the victims and their families.
John Davidson was, and is, a class act all the way.
@@muffs55mercury61 It did the same thing to the news reporters who had to drive out there and cover it.
thats incredible lol
My grandma almost went that night. Her friend backed out. So thank God she did too.
So horrible. It was KY/OH/IN's "Station" fire. So messed up 40 years or 41 this year.
"Station fire"? Is that a reference to the other night club that burned in 2003?
Only thing missing was the pyrotechnics.
@@s.c.7362 yes
Yes, it was the Station nightclub fire of its era.
48:23 Nick Clooney, George's old man. He was a local celeb, he hosted "Thriller In The Night" scary Sat. night movies.
Wow, history in the making. Wonder if George ever talked about this tragedy his ol man was involved in?
Nick Clooney's sister was the famous singer Rosemary Clooney. She was a famous singer in Hollywood in the 1950's and 60's. in movies and TV. She sang with big bands and singers like Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby. Her nephew was George Clooney. She also was married to the late Oscar winning actor Jose Ferrer.
This news channel does an excellent job especially considering all the technical difficulties they were experiencing.
I know, right? Remote audio didn't work, so they use walkie-talkies. Pretty ingenious.
They really put something on the record for posterity. They did an amazing job making sense of this tragedy. This was a big, national story at the time.
The station had a live truck and could get a good picture/no sound or bad picture/sound and Howard Anin decided to go with good no picture/no sound. They were able to get the two way radios on the air which helped a great deaL. I have also read the live truck they had was a recent addition to the station so not expecting what they got they sent it to the scene for practice. Instead they got a MAJOR(to say the least) story
I remember this like it was yesterday I had just gotten home from my high school senior dinner dance which was at an equally overcrowded venue in Dayton Ohio. I'll never get over the scenes that I saw while I watched the reports all night long. It was awful I prayed for both they soles of the deceased and the survivors that night.
It seems as though every TV news program back then used "Move Closer to Your World" as its theme song!
I guess I should not talk about this but regarding the point where the Army Trucks come up to pick up the bodies is heart wrenching, however, this was a mass casualty scene with many bodies that have expired being reported by media representatives who are not use to that sort of thing. Was like a warzone actually was the best way to describe it. I feel the pain/shock in their voice and disbelief but leaving them lay in the dark was not an option. Obtaining commercial vehicles would have involved too much so-called red tape and further delays at a cost arrangement. Not that cost was important it would have been the arrangement of such transportation and the shortage of time and daylight. The Army trucks were available with drivers and no red tape to go through to transport the deceased immediately to the morgue. So what may have seemed like an awkward process actually was handled in the best way possible with what was available to use. The looting discovered bothered me as it would anyone else. Another reason to evacuate the deceased as quickly as possible to a sheltered more secure location. RIP to all the victims. A real tragedy.
I was thinking the same thing. I know it seems a bit callous to haul the deceased off in ‘batches’...but the looting was a very bad look. Fast transportation was really the best way to put a stop to it.
It occurred on the night of May 28, 1977
Thank you for posting this incredible video from the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire in May 1977. This was a horrendous tragedy in the Greater Cincinnati area. This is a haunting reminder how life can be ended very suddenly from a disaster like this.
I remember this so vividly I live about 2 miles away I was on my porch and told my mom where are all these emergency vehicles going I was 10 years old but remember it like it was yesterday
Me and my 4 family members were supposed to go for my brothers birthdaythat night and he got sick so we didn't go Thank goodness!!
So grateful this footage exists
00:43 smiles waves hands - 'hi mom over 160 people are burning alive behind me! - weeeeee!'.
I noticed that too
I agree. Total dumbass.
So scary ....
All power lost and can’t see the exits and fire all around you WOOOOW
How on earth can you have a place like this with no sprinklers
Southgate was incredibly corrupt back then, the owners were involved with organized crime. They just had to give the fire inspectors a bribe.
Greed and corruption strikes again...and again, ad nauseam.
My mom and dad had tickets to go there the week after this happened; my dad scored tickets when he fixed the amplifier for Natalie Cole’s bass player. It’s a shame this had to happen; too many mistakes caused so many deaths. No smoke alarms. No exits. Over fire code.
I was 7 when this happened. I don't remember this broadcast. Our next door neighbor's parents passed away in this tragedy. I can't even begin to describe the trauma.
I was 25, but our neighbors died in this nightmare..
Amazing coverage given the technical limitations of the era. This would have been impressive for a NETWORK, This a a LOCAL channel. Today we have the tech to report a damned abandoned dog house on fire in 4K, BUT we don't get NEWS anymore.
I was nine yrs old. I remember this being all over the news . I remember Jonestown to . So sad.
Kudos to you guys.simply awesome team.
Yet in 2003 The Station Nightclub fire killed 100. No sprinklers. Why didn’t they learn from tragedies like this?
Peter Nadreau yes, I know that. But you would think that the owners, knowing the history of fire in buildings without sprinklers, would have installed them anyway. They were too cheap to pay for it though and are responsible for the horrifying deaths of 100 people
Peter Nadreau I think that by 2005, when the Station burned, they would have realized the importance of sprinklers- esp after all those club disasters which came before
Peter Nadreau yes, the Deridarians- I think that’s the brother’s last name - were too cheap to even buy fire proof sound muffling materials
Peter Nadreau well it was 2005 so it wasn’t that long ago. The owners could have afforded them, they were just cheap and trying to save a penny anywhere they could
Peter Nadreau yes. Check out the owners of The Station
Wow. That was some good reporting by Howard, Joanne, and Kyle. I don't know if they and/or the station got an award for this but I hope they did. I also hope they were not too traumatized by the events.
Station
The look on the firefighter’s face at 41:30 says it all.
I was 10 when this happened I remember the stories of death and survival in the days ahead. 165 people lost there lives so sad
Though out the years new areas were added on without any regard to fire safety. The rural fire district had little rule over this monster that was built. It was like a maze inside. Read the NFPA account the National Fire Protection Assoc.
It was a mob hit... Perhaps the body count was more than they, the perpetrators, were bargaining for because of the hazards, but it was still a mob hit, and justice has not been done. How interesting that the video I linked naming the perps has since been deleted.
Oh here it is, audio only... s68.podbean.com/pb/63972505faa76d7a79d6537011446b92/596ae518/data2/fs101/824160/uploads/The_Real_Deal_195_Beverly_Hills_Supper_Club_Fire.mp3
Such a sad memory
I used to teach night electric classes at HBA in NKY for local electricians to get licensed. I always tried to do at least one night of class re Beverly Hills and how it pertains to building trades (especially electric) even to this day. Although the real cause is undoubtedly questionable, electric work and materials got a black eye as a result of this tragedy. Stressing the importance of emergency lighting and marking of exits, making sure our work is tight and to code, inspected by authority having jurisdiction with permits etc. The National Electric Code is actually NFPA 70. National Fire Protection Association Art 70.......and it is revised every 3 years. This is to keep up with new products and practices in and among the trades, new appliances etc. Electricians you hire have to do a lot of "keeping up" on code changes and licensing so treat them right. Also when in places of assembly, always check for ALTERNATE EXITS as it is human nature to go OUT the way they come IN. Most fire deaths occur within 15' of an exit.
How technology has changed. This was a reported mob hit cause the owners would not sell. This is amazing reporting. Live as we watch the building disintegrate. This is excellent reporting. I hope the team got an award.
yes i saw someone once being interviewed who said that a staff member was delayed in setting up the Zebra room because maintenance men where in there working on the air condition system in the ceiling. Seemingly sometime after the event it was noted that not only had maintenance repairs not been arranged by the management, there wasn't even any air conditioning system in that room ...
@@booth2710 That is correct. Those men set the stage for the fire by putting a chemical in the furnace filter washer and rewiring the unit to cause electrical fires throughout the building. Photos showing this were suppressed until the authors of a book about the fire sued the state of KY for the release of those photos. It's clear today what really happened. The men who were in the room are both dead now. The staff member who saw the men was Dave Brock. He co-authored the book and has researched the fire thoroughly.
A guy i know was locked up at the jail in Newport. The lowlifes that were caught looting from the bodies were brought in. The cops beat the piss out of them.
Steve Maher You have to ask, “Who does this?” What possible excuse could they give? They deserved a beat down. When the cops got done with them, I hope the other inmates taught them a lesson, as well. They should have made them go to the temporary morgue, lay them out, then watch as the relatives came to identify and claim their loved ones.
For the sake of statistical and racial info just who was doing the looting?
Should have shot those sick bastards looting dead bodies like that. Damn vultures
@@teenieneenie630 why the hell should race matter in that situation. Looters are looters regardless of race. This was a horrible tragedy and you want to bring race into it. I personally have heard enough on this race b.s.
They were Cuban.
Love old news footage. Horrible situation very sad
My right ear heard the story fine. No idea what happened in the left ear.
I clicked on another video just to make sure my left headphone didn’t go out!
WKRC Cincinnati did a well job with trying to document that tragic event. I wouldn't even consider it trying- I would consider it fine documentation!
There's an interview with Howard Ain from just a few years ago on CZcams about this, it's really interesting.
My brother in law Russell Gray died in this fire.
Sorry to hear that....:(
1970s were really something else. So fresh
Forty-four years ago this coming Friday. Saturday, May 28, 1977-Friday, May 28, 2021. To put the date in a little bit of context, Star Wars (1977) had been released just three days earlier.
You can tell that this story took an emotional toll on the reporters. Joanne looks like she’s about to cry
Joanne, Kyle and Howard said the stench (from burned bodies) was intolerable. All three certainly had PTSD issues for years afterwards.
Matt Shroyer ...to see such a horrible tragedy your mind cant process what their eyes are seeing....
The look in that firefighters eyes is just like the look of a soldier in a war zone. Saw alot of traumatic scenes. Been there myself before
There’s a popular theory that the fire was intentionally started by the local mafia because the owners refused to give them control of the club. Apparently they used timers to set the fire off, but they messed up, and they were actually supposed to go off the next morning when the building was empty.
To the people who say this theory is not plausible because the mafia did not operate this way, didn't target civilians yada yada yada. The mafia operated exactly this way, particularly in the 1970's, which is why the mafia is no longer around in any sense other than a thing of the past, occupied by increasingly petty criminals and arguably more federal informants than actual members. Kind of funny how that happens when the politicians stop protecting the crime rackets because they are afraid of the bodies piling up.
@@TNAROHfanTheir still around just not front and center anymore in the backgrounds. And they still own many places just like years ago they never went away.
My daughter cut her toe that night , It was a small cut but I thought it might need a stitch We were at a relatives house and didn't know anything about the fire.when we went to St Luke Hospital there were cars and emergency vehicles everywhere. We couldn't even get to the emergency room entrance.We had to turn around and leave . We found out about the fire when we got home. It was such a tragedy
Reminds me of the station fire
The same week as the Station fire, there was a fire at The Fine Line nightclub in Minneapolis (also caused by unauthorized pyrotechnics). Never heard of it? The reason is that Minneapolis requires venues that hold 200+ people to have fire sprinklers. The sprinklers activated and everyone got out unharmed. The club is still there today.
As hideous an event as this was, especially with the rapid progression of the flames, it's astounding that only 165 of some 3,000 people inside lost their lives. It was, in large part, due to the quick action of the young busboy, who took to the stage and calmly informed the people in the main room that there was a fire and they should leave the building. He was a true hero who probably saved hundreds of other lives. Minutes and seconds made a huge difference in getting the first thousand people safely outside this growing inferno.
Fires double in size every minute. A fire may look inconsequential at first, but you need to get out THEN before they get larger.
When this began..the time the news started..we're people still being saved or was the "rescue" portion of this over?
Pretty much over. Note they mention bodies were stacked like cardwood early in the broadcast. They were referring to the crush at the entrance of the building/Cabernet Room. By that point fire crews had determined that there was no chance of getting anymore survivors out.
@@Lycan_Jedi So terribly sad :(
“The club was not equipped with a sprinkler system”
Wtf?!
No alarms, no sprinklers, ad-hoc construction lacking sufficient exits. It is ridiculous.
Building codes were horrible then. They didn’t even meet minimal safety requirements.. so sad
I don't think given the age of the building it was legally required to have sprinklers installed
Not required in those days
In my hospital, this would have been a code green - external disaster. I was so lucky, as was my community, I only heard it once - tornado hit a rural community near us. Dozens injured and a few deaths, OR was hopping, but we initially feared it was much, much worse. If we had a similar disaster in my county, if we’d taken hundreds of casualties like the hospitals that night....oh my god. The stuff of nightmares.
The Horror Thoses Poor Victim's Went Though I Was 9 Year's Old When This Nightmare Happened I Do Remember Seeing This On Tv When It Happened My Mom And Dad Were Shocked They Couldn't Believe It Just Like Everybody Else Who Were In Shock May God Have Mercy On All The Victims And There Family's
What a tragedy, 1st time I had heard of this was after watching a separate video on the Fascinating Horror CZcams channel. I was only 2 years old in 1977 and being in the UK had never heard of it before. Did they ever arrest anyone? Thankfully fire safety standards have improved massively at least here in the UK after the Bradford City Football Stadium fire disaster in May 1985. R.I.P. to the poor souls who lost their lives.
i was visiting fort thomas on a class trip from north ont canada about three weeks after fire everone was still talking about it the reporters here are first class
The anchor with Howard Ain is Nick Clooney. Very much respected.
My family knew his t.v. personality well. He hosted the Sat night scary movie on channel 18 in Lex.
George Clooney’s Dad right?
Temple, yes he is.
The anchor here is named Bill Crafton; Nick Clooney appears nowhere in this upload.
Snooze King Hmmm...there’s a guy who looks like Nick Clooney and who they call Nick Clooney at 48:21.
Couple of questions...
1. Was this one long broadcast, like a special report, or was it a regular newscast where they would cut back to, say, the weather, come back to this story, then cut to other news stories?
2. There seems to be a lot of noise in the studio early on. Is that a police scanner that they have on on the background.
SageOftheSubway It definitely sounds like a police scanner
You sound like a reporter or journalism professor.
They are using handheld shortwave radio to communicate back and forth between station and reporters.
Their microwave truck was brand new at the time. They could either get a good audio feed or a good video feed, but not both at the same time, so they used the HTs as backup audio.
I was on vacation at my grandmothers when this happened. I recall her neighbor had not been home for a few days,we later found out she was killed in the fire.
This was a *huge* story; I was living in Vancouver, BC, at the time and it absolutely dominated the 11 o'clock news. As the old saying goes in journalism, "If it bleeds, it leads." Also, were those reporters smokers? Lots of tobacco fiends back in ‘77 and that would explain why they were all so winded.
They were up there for hours breathing in the smoke from that burning building. Bound to make anyone short of breath. This is several hours of coverage edited down to less than an hour.
I remember this
Nick Clooney's resemblance to George is remarkable.
I was only 15 months old when this fire occurred. RIP to the 165 people who lost their lives that night!
I think the reporters did an excellent job,howard,kyle,joanne.especially with all the technical difficulties
Had no idea about this fire. I've always been one to look for exits and never sit with my back to a door. Poor souls.
I went to a venue in 1973 that had only one exit out of the basement bowling alley. It made me so uneasy that I didn't stay down there. A year later, the whole facility burned to the ground and killed two people. Always trust your instincts.
A year before this occurred, I saw John Davidson, at a venue in New Jersey.
I watched a documentary on this, I can’t believe they got the full news coverage from 77 on CZcams.
Looting the bodies??? Omg! Unbelievable! :-( ...vultures everywhere!
Will try to share ag
Wow
Just curious - the kid that hangs out in the bottom right corner of the screen at about the 9:15 a 9:35 mark. How old could he be? Did passersby just stop and watch?
Yes, many locals got to the bottom of that hill and watched even before most of the fire trucks got there. I was one of them and I was only 9 at the time. If that cameraman had walked to his left about 20-25 yards, he would have been filming most of my family looking up at the fire. We did not realize how bad the tragedy was because we were watching a steady stream of people coming down the driveway. We assumed that most folks were getting out OK, and the firemen had everything under control. We only learned otherwise when we got home and turned on the news. As we were getting out of our car and walking into the house, we heard the sound of the main roof caving in from about 1/2 mile away. I will never forget that night.
crekow - Since I'm not from the area, I'm just curious: how far away from the facility are these folks? Is this at the end of the driveway that you see in all of the old pictures?
Referring to the scene in this video from 9:15-9:35: It's a little hard to say exactly where they are standing because the background is so dark. Based on what parts of the supper club building I can see here, I would say they are standing on the road (Alexandria Pike) about 20-30 yrs (maybe less) Northwest from the bottom of the serpentine driveway. By this time, the driveway itself was quite crowded with emergency vehicles and people - some coming down from the club, and some just watching. Our car was parked in a small parking lot adjacent to the road about the same distance southeast of the driveway. The distance from the building itself would have been about 100-120 yrs or so. It may look closer because it was very large building. Keep in mind also that many aerial pictures of the site do not capture how steep that hill actually is.
Reporting over a walkie talkie where nowadays it would be a satellite truck.
*And whats with a funeral director being there* ? Talk about the bodies not being cold. Each victim would go to the Medical Examiner Office for cause of death first!
It was the 70s.
Hell’s trying to connect to the broadcast
I was 5 right before I started kindergarten, my neighbor the same age as me his mother was working there that night she was OK but it affected her spirit 😔
That young boy should have received a medal for his bravery & TRYING to help people....How sad, so excited for a show & never to become....The one TV2 lady taking witnesses theory of a cigarette butt lol.....I grew up with TV stations & technology, or lack of in the 70's lol ramming that big walkie-talkie in their faces lol.....I know this isn't a laughing matter, TRAGIC is an understatement...but watching those boys in tank tops behind the news made me laugh....sure do miss the good ol' days!!!
Sickening how anyone could loot the dead bodies. I had a man that I worked with who had been in the Navy during the 1960's that told me that they caught sailors looting bodies of the dead on the USS Forrestal. Sick people!
How many people died in this tragic fire, R.I.P.
165 dead 200+ hurt
lemmy kilmister wow
My uncle was a bartender there that night, he was helping to pull people out his best friend went in to try to save somebody and he never came out. He was messed up from that night on I don't remember ever seeing him again after that. He just couldn't handle what he saw and left the state
1970s America:
Fire and death behind you... camera in front of you:
Smile and wave because you are excited to be on TV.
"Holocaust"? What is that anchor on?
Look up the definition of the word
Joanne Moore in the Eyewitness 12 "News Granada"lol
Sports later but first Death and Holocene 😮😮
Is this owned by ABC?
So many individuals standing behind and about the reporters as they narrate this disaster. You would see a prepared background with one narrator and the "officials" standing behind him today.
The egregious combover was so hot in the late 70’s. My father had a full head of hair, and even he parted and styled his hair into a combover. Real long and blunt on the sides and back, and the top parted very deep and swept over the top of his head. Lol! 🤷🏻♂️
My dad did too, lol. He looked like a balding man his entire adult life. I couldn't even tell when he actually started losing his hair and stopped being just a victim of the 70's.
CZcams: Stop your Asinine commercial interruption of difficult memories like these - WAKE UP!