Whiskey Au Go Go Fire - Building Fire

Building Fire

The building was firebombed, resulting in the deaths of 15 patrons and staff.

The fire began with the ignition of two 23-litre drums of diesel fuel in the building's foyer. The drums were thrown into the foyer, then ignited by a lit torch thrown through the open door. When ignited the burning diesel sent carbon monoxide up to the club's main room on the first floor. Large quantities of grease had been smeared over the stairs of the building's rear fire escape. The door of the fire escape had also been greased. The fifteen people killed had died of asphyxiation as they struggled to open the greased fire escape doors. Police believed that had they been able to open the doors they would have slipped and fallen down the steel stairs. A fire brigade officer reported hearing screams from behind the closed door as firemen tried to smash it down. Other reports indicated that fuel seeped from the two 23-litre drums into the carpet of the foyer, causing a fireball to engulf the stairway.

About 100 patrons, bar staff and entertainers had been in the club at the time of ignition. Many escaped by jumping from broken windows onto an awning and dropping 15 feet to the ground.

Of the six person band, two musicians were killed. Also killed was the female singer they accompanied. Jennifer Denise Davie, a drinks waitress employed in the bar, also died.