Fires in Public Places

Paper Summary:

This paper looks at the incidences of fires that have occurred in public places and reviews the social, economic and political impact each has had on our society. In particular, the paper surveys those fires that have caused significant loss of life, namely the Cocoanut Grove Lounge fire in Boston, Massachusetts, the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire in Southgate, Kentucky, and the Happy Land Fire in Bronx, New York. It examines their impact on social and governmental action details and the advancement of our knowledge of fire prevention and safety which often comes at the cost of great loss of life through these fire tragedies.

From the Paper:

"The Supper Club fire also has a significant impact on the way personal injury claims are litigated for injuries to large numbers of people while in a place of assembly. While attorney Stan Chesley's approach to the case has been criticized for years, there is little doubt that it changed the way major lawsuits are litigated in America (Fisher, 1997a). Chesley became involved after a man who was injured in the blaze came to him for help. However, instead of lining up behind the hundreds of other personal injury lawyers hoping for a small piece of a settlement, Chesley filed the first lawsuit in the case and promptly tried to consolidate the case with the other plaintiffs. Chesley's theory was to share the costs and the risks with the other plaintiffs in the hope that together they could win a much bigger settlement (Horn, 1999)."

More papers on Fires in Public Places:

• Argumentative Essay # 138378 : "Smoking in Public Places"
• Argumentative Essay # 6985 : "Smoking in Public Places"
• Research Paper # 56860 : "Hazardous Materials"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: