On November 28, 1942, 492 people perished in the deadliest nightclub fire in U.S. history. However, something good did come out of it. It was the event that would change the world forever as it spurred the formation of the National Fire Protection Association and the codes they have written, making America’s buildings some of the safest in the world.

There are only a handful of the fire’s survivors that are alive today and almost all of them have been haunted by the event. Cleo Webster seldom talked about the fire living in a home with eighteen fireplaces but she never used any of them. She always sat at the end of an aisle and would point out the exits to her daughters whenever she went into a room with a lot of people. Ms. Webster just passed away at age 98.

Joyce Mekelburg was with her fiance who did not survive the fire. She never talked about it and her daughter only found out that she was in the fire when she saw her name in the book, Fire in Boston’s Cocoanut Grove.

Keep an eye out for the full-length documentary Six Locked Doors a full-length documentary on the fire with recent interviews with some of the survivors. The film will is scheduled to come out in 2018. Check out the film’s website.