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.

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 second-worst single-building fire in American history (second only to the Iroquois Theatre fire)
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
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 "Club Patrons Routed By Fire in Building". The New York Times. 15 February 1979. Retrieved 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 37 23 arson gasoline
Stardust fire Artane, Dublin Ireland 1981 48 214 electrical
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[3]
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)[4] decorations
Ozone Disco fire Quezon City Philippines 1996 162 95 unknown, possibly electrical acoustic foam 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 63 213 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[5][6]
LA2 fire London United Kingdom 1999 0 pyrotechnics Pryo from the band Toilet Böys set fire to netting suspended from the ceiling. [7]
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[8]
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
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[9]
911 nightclub fire Moscow Russia 2007 10 4 pyrotechnics[10]
Factory nightclub fire Quito Ecuador 2008 15 35 pyrotechnics[8]
Wuwang Club fire Shenzhen, Guangdong China 2008 43 88 pyrotechnics
Santika Club fire Watthana, Bangkok Thailand 2009 66 222 stage pyrotechnics tar paper, plastic waterproofing
Lame Horse fire Perm Russia 2009 156 ≤160 pyrotechnics decorations (willow twig) Worst fire in Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union
Sabor Latino fire Rome Italy 2010 4[11][12] electrical[13] 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,[14] a torch,[15] or LED torch that malfunctioned and produced sparks[16]
Tiger Disco fire Patong, Phuket Thailand 2012 4 11 electrical acoustic foam Officially attributed to a short circuit,[17] some reports stated that the fire started when lightning struck a nearby transformer.[18]
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.
Hanoi karaoke bar fire Cầu Giấy, Hanoi Vietnam 2016 13 welding[19]
Magway karaoke bar fire Magway Myanmar 2017 16 gas leak[20]
Yaoundé nightclub fire Yaoundé Cameroon 2022 16 8 fireworks Fireworks ignited the ceiling; eventually spread to gas bottles, causing explosions[21]
Sorong nightclub fire Sorong, West Papua Indonesia 2022 19 rioting[22] One victim died from stabbing during clashes.
Mountain B nightclub fire Sattahip, Chonburi Thailand 2022 26 22 soundproof foam
2022 Binh Duong karaoke bar fire Thuận An, Binh Duong Vietnam 2022 32 3 short circuit
Kostroma café fire Kostroma Russia 2022 13[23] 5 pyrotechnic flare Initial reports say that a pyrotechnic flare was released by a Russian soldier who had just returned from Ukraine.[24]
Fonda Milagros nightclub fire Murcia Spain 2023 13 unknown
  1. ^ Buildings: Report. January 1979. ISBN 9780877622284.
  2. ^ Limelight disco in Hallandale is destroyed by fire from Fort Lauderdale News. Published May 6, 1980.
  3. ^ "24 Reported Dead, 70 Injured In Fire in South Korean Disco". The New York Times. 18 April 1983. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  4. ^ "China holds 31 responsible for disco blaze". United Press International. 23 December 1994. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  5. ^ "54 Die in Fire at Youth Hangout in South Korea". The New York Times. 31 October 1999. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  6. ^ Shin, Bong-gun (31 October 1999). "Fire Kills 54, Injures 75 at Illegal Bar in S. Korea". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  7. ^ "Kerrang! review".
  8. ^ a b "Brazil, Mexico And Other Deadly Nightclub Fires In Latin America". The Huffington Post. 2013-01-28.
  9. ^ "Ballroom blaze that killed firefighter arson". Houston Chronicle. April 6, 2004.
  10. ^ "Пожар в "911": клуб сгорел из-за бутафорских огнетушителей?". РИА Новости (in Russian).
  11. ^ "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.
  12. ^ "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.
  13. ^ "Cuatro jóvenes de origen latinoamericano mueren en incendio en Roma". andina.pe (in Spanish). 14 March 2010. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  14. ^ "Nine die in pub fire in Taiwan". Sydney Morning Herald. 2011-03-06.
  15. ^ "Taiwan nightclub fire kills 9". UPI. 2011-03-06.
  16. ^ "9 die in night club fire in central Taiwan city of Taichung". The China Post. 2011-03-06.
  17. ^ "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.
  18. ^ "Four killed in disco fire at Phuket club". CNN. 17 August 2012. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
  19. ^ "Hanoi karaoke bar blaze kills at least 13". Vietnam Plus. 2 November 2016.
  20. ^ "16 killed in local karaoke bar fire in Myanmar". Daily Sabah. 3 April 2017.
  21. ^ "Cameroon nightclub fire: More than a dozen dead in Yaounde blaze". Al Jazeera. 23 January 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  22. ^ "At Least 19 Dead In Stabbing, Fire At Indonesian Night Club". Agence France-Presse. NDTV. 25 January 2022.
  23. ^ "Russian Nightclub Fire Kills 13; One Person Arrested". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 5 November 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  24. ^ "Nightclub fire that killed 13 'started by Russian soldier told to return to frontline'". The Telegraph. 5 November 2022. Retrieved 8 November 2022.