Lakeville Fire Department memorializes those who lost their lives on the 79th anniversary of Boston’s Cocoanut Grove fire

“Boston’s Cocoanut Grove Fire – 79 years ago:

The current fire code has been written from the analysis of events like the Cocoanut Grove fire. This nightclub fire claimed 492 lives in a matter of a few minutes and injured hundreds more.

Lakeville, MA Fire Department photo.

The only way to provide any meaning to the loss of so many lives or extract some value from so much suffering is to identify the conditions and behaviors that led up to the disaster.

Once the lessons are learned, those lessons must be applied to prevent any similar future events. This is what fire code enforcement is…

Those in the fire service tasked with fire prevention are among the most unsung heroes anywhere. We will never get to know the fire they prevented or the identifies of the people they have saved.

Lakeville, MA Fire Department photo.

Code enforcement is best performed by individuals with the intellect to navigate the code and a perspective created by bearing witness to so many tragedies.

Fire code enforcement is the check against greed, ignorance, arrogance, and complacency. Inspectors are constantly engaged in a struggle against resistance and defiance.

As the Lakeville Fire Department makes its way through the community performing routine fire inspections, we would like to thank those individuals and businesses that have become our partners in safety.

May we never forget the sacrifices of others that have allowed us to live a safer life.” -Lakeville, MA Fire Department.

Lakeville, MA Fire Department photo.