writing question
Your report should answer the following questions:
WHAT BOOK did you read (give a full bibliographic citation, attach after report as an appendix)?
WHAT HAPPENED in this book? WHAT was built, WHERE, WHEN? Give a short summary of the structure(s)/city part/city and its intended functioning.
WHAT were the most important factors that led to the fire and loss of lives? Consider human and social aspects of the decisions made, existing laws/regulations/requirements in place at the time of the fire, business practices, ethics.
WHAT were the impacts of the fire? How did it impact the lives of people at the location where the fire happened? How did it impact the structure of the building, the city/State where it occurred?
HOW did the built environment influence survival in positive and negative ways? HOW innovative was the design of this particular structure(s), in terms of its methods and/or materials of construction, in terms of its environmental social impacts, and in terms of its use? Did it function in the way in which it was intended?
WHAT lessons did you learn from this book? How do they relate to existing buildings and building codes? How are these lessons used to design, build, and operate current buildings?
Did YOU like this book? Would you recommend it to others? Produce a review of it as an object of entertainment, perhaps using a review of a book in a magazine or newspaper as an exampleI expect that you will submit this information in a 5-7 page written report (not counting any front or back matter, see details below). You should use Times New Roman, 12-point font, space-and-a-half, 1-inch margins all around. Number your pages. Spelling, grammar, and presentation will be graded.
Requirements: fix it
CON E 101 ? Construction & Culture Instructor: Thais Alves Checklist for individual book report Please note that this is a checklist to help you finalize your report according to the guidelines provided in the prompt. Follow the instructions in the prompt and use this to avoid the most common mistakes that I observed in previous report submissions and by talking to some of you about your reports. FORMAT The document is written as a REPORT not as an essay. The document uses a consistent style for headings and references, e.g., APA Style Headings are used to indicate the sections answering questions 2 through 7 of the prompt. The report is written using 1.5 line spacing The margins of the report are 1 margins The font size is 12-point Times New Roman Front matter: There is a front page with the title of the report, name of the report author (your name), and course title Front matter: there is a table of contents AFTER the title page The report is between 5 full pages and 7 pages long, excluding the back and front matter. Paragraphs are used to organize your ideas in each section. A line or two is added in between sections, but there are no large blank spaces between sections. All references are indicated in appropriate format within the text (in line citations) where they are used + a list of references is included at the end of the report. Pick one format and be consistent throughout the report. Please note the difference between paraphrasing and quoting, these are VERY different, and you should know this by now, you are a college student. Look for resources from your previous writing courses. Use at least five credible references, in addition to the book you are writing your report about, to support your arguments and analysis. Back matter: all references used to produce the report are listed in appropriate referencing format. (Please note that this list includes references used within the text to support your report and the discussion.) The questions shown in the prompt are NOT included in the report. (Do NOT repeat the questions of the prompt, use headings that are descriptive of the contents of the section, e.g. Book Description, Impacts of the fire, Important factors?) The pages are numbered. CONTENT The answers present specific facts from the book you read and your own interpretation and analysis of the book content. (Answers that just repeat the book content, without your own interpretation, are considered not responsive.) The answers are NOT written as bullet points or single/isolated paragraphs that are not connected. (Answers that just list the contents of each book in paragraphs or bullet points will be considered not responsive to this assignment.) The report is free of plagiarism and references are used when appropriate. The document is free of spelling mistakes and written in appropriate language for a technical report.
Fire in the Grove: The Cocoanut Grove Tragedy and Its Aftermath Book Report
Students Name
Institution Affiliation
Course
Tutor
Due Date
Fire in the Grove: The Cocoanut Grove Tragedy and Its Aftermath Book Report
The Name of The Book
Fire in the Grove: The Cocoanut Grove Tragedy and Its Aftermath, John Esposito.
What happened in the book?
The author of the book explains the real incident that took place in Cocoanut Grove, which was a nightclub. The nightclub was located in Boston, Massachusetts. The author describes it as one of the most popular nightclubs that attracted many visitors and celebrities. The fire occurred on the 28th Saturday in 1924 (Esposito, 2005). This was the first thanksgiving weekend, and Cocoanut Grove was filled more than expected as people celebrated it. The event was celebrated after the accomplishment of world war 11. Cocoanut Grove was intended to entertain visitors, and most of the individuals liked the place. Barnet Welansky owned the club. Initially, the building was a garage and a warehouse built of concrete buildings and bricks. Then afterward, the building was manipulated to be a complex bar, lounge and dining room called Cocoanut Grove. The club served as a restaurant, dancing center, and piano-playing center.
The most important factors led to the fire and the loss of lives.
According to the documentation given by the author concerning this story, different aspects contributed to the cause of the fire. The fire started at around 10.15 pm at the Melody Lounge. At this time, a young pianist was performing on the stage. It is good to note that artificial palm trees surrounded the club’s stage. The lounge contained low-powered bulbs, and a soldier who needed his date privacy unscrewed the light bulb. Thus, Tomaszewski, a busboy, was instructed to fix the light. He could not see the bulb; therefore, he lit a match to provide light in the area after the busboy fixed the bulb and extinguished his match stick. After some time, the flames were seen in the ceiling frond placed below the ceiling.
In this incident, the waiters tried to extinguish the fire using water. This made the fire spread along the fronds of the palm tree decoration. The fire then spread directly to the false ceiled, which burned rapidly at this time. The shreds of the fabrics quickly burned, and within five minutes, the fire spread to the whole area. In this instance, also there was a fireball burst, and this caused the fire to race even faster. The restaurant also had sprinkler systems and highly combustible decorations. Another reason that facilitated the widespread fire spread was the incorporation of flammable decorations. They were all over the club. Barney Welansky, the club owner, allowed the club to operate while violating the laws. For example, the club used various things that were combustible. They only considered the aspect of social attraction rather than the safety of the people. There were no legislative laws relating to fire that were followed in Boston at that time.
The impacts of the fire
The impact of fire tolled down the lives of the individuals and the club’s scenery. Although the rescue body came to perform its operations, 490 individuals died, and 166 were seriously injured. The injured individuals were treated at the nearby hospital and released after they got well. Many individuals tried to escape when the fire occurred, but the crowd stampeded in the flour in a panic as the building only contained one single revolving door. Many of the individuals died at this place as everyone was running to fight for their survival. Other avenues that could have been used to escape were closed to prevent individuals from walking out of the club without paying (Esposito, 2005). . This fire incident was considered the deadliest disaster in the country’s history. The instances led to changes in the building codes of the area. The new building standards and the medical treatments for burns were incorporated. Thus, any building was supposed to have conventional alternative doors for passage. The restaurants and clubs operating from the area were supposed to have an automatic fire sprinkler system that could help extinguish fire instances when it takes place. The law insinuated that the revolving doors should have outward swinging hinged doors that allowed exit in case of fire.
The lives and some of the activities changed after the incident. Massachusetts enacted laws that helped ban flammable decorations, and the inward swinging doors were banned. After the fire incident, Cocoanut Grove was tolled down, and no renovations were allowed. The Boston licensing board ruled that no other Cocoanut Grove would be allowed in the country. Federal fire laws were established in many places in Boston. The restrictions were placed on nightclubs, banks, public buildings, nightclubs, and restaurants. The people of the country adapted to the changes that took place in the area. The medical treatment and how the doctors approached burns also changed. The fire led to new ways of treatment, like the use of fluid therapy, burn care, and the use of antibiotics.
How did the built environment influence survival in negative and positive ways?
The architecture of the building caused many deaths that happened after the fire disaster. The features also placed at the building caused the fire spread in the area. First, the building contained wall coverings and approved decorative materials and showed resistance. When the fire occurred, the decorating proved that they were combustible; they helped the fire spread fast in the area. The air conditioning in the building was replaced with a flammable gas, methyl chloride. This also facilitated the spread of fire, causing many individuals to die more than expected. The building had various avenues of escape, but most were locked. Only one exit door was opened to prevent the individuals from leaving the club without paying. The innovations on the buildings include having an air conditioner with a combustible gas. The revolving door was not designed to collapse in case of an emergency. They had other exit doors, but they were useless as people in the club couldn’t find the space to rush toward the exit. The decorative clothes were treated using ammonium sulfate, which they believed was fire retardant, but there was no documentation that the treatment was maintained at the club. The decorative aspect provided good scenery to the tourists and the visitors coming to the place, but in case of fire, they served no purpose. It means that the innovation done in the buildings was only pleasing to the eye, had it never helped when the fire disaster occurred. All the innovations installed in the building had no purpose as they all proved to cause the fire to increase other than preventing it.
The lessons learned from the book
The author documents the story in an exciting way that helps the reader to learn various perspectives. The first lesson learned is that it is suitable for every country to have fire safety laws. If this had been incorporated in Boston, the deadly instance could not occur. The fire disaster that took place at Cocoanut Grove killed many people. It is suitable for any building that involves the entrance of many people in its illuminated and many exit doors. If Cocoanut Grove had various exit doors, many people could save their lives. It is seen that most of them died at the exit door when the stampede took place. The restaurants and nightclubs should have a fire sprinkler system, which could help secure the individuals’ safety in case an instance of fire occurs. One can learn the type of doors to incorporate which are safe for the exit. For example, the instance helps one to understand that having doors with individual leaves that can collapse and fold outward to allow passage is the best to use. Also, having convectional and revolving doors is essential in any building. Most building architects incorporate the devised building codes. They include revolving doors flanked on both sides. Also, when building, inflammable materials should be used. Also, they incorporate the use of good illumination.
Recommendations of the book.
After reading the book, I realized that it is a well-researched book. I have ever watched this tragedy on television, and I can attest that the book captures every aspect of the true story. It starts with an exciting story of how Cocoanut Grove came into existence. The author also mentions the people who have ever owned the space. The author explains the numerous safety violations ignored by the inspectors. For example, inspectors knew the type of decorations and air conditioners incorporated in the space were combustible. This reflects how essential things get ignored in daily life situations.
The readers can understand the safety rules that one can use. It gives a systematic account of how the incident took place, how it spread, and the final results. It explains how various individuals died in the tragedy and how the firefighters tried to save the life of the individuals in this incident. Unfortunately, some of the firefighters and celebrities died in this incident. The book offers new building codes and new medical treatments for burns. The book also provides safety tips on what individuals should do to protect themselves when such an incident occurs. After this incident, the story helps us understand some building methods architectures can incorporate. Thus, I like this book, as it is interesting in documenting every point of the true story; I can recommend it to others to read it. Overall I rate this book 5/5.
References
Esposito, J. C. (2005).?Fire in the Grove: the Cocoanut Grove Tragedy and its aftermath. Da Capo Press.
We are a professional custom writing website. If you have searched a question and bumped into our website just know you are in the right place to get help in your coursework.
Yes. We have posted over our previous orders to display our experience. Since we have done this question before, we can also do it for you. To make sure we do it perfectly, please fill our Order Form. Filling the order form correctly will assist our team in referencing, specifications and future communication.
1. Click on the “Place order tab at the top menu or “Order Now” icon at the bottom and a new page will appear with an order form to be filled.
2. Fill in your paper’s requirements in the "PAPER INFORMATION" section and click “PRICE CALCULATION” at the bottom to calculate your order price.
3. Fill in your paper’s academic level, deadline and the required number of pages from the drop-down menus.
4. Click “FINAL STEP” to enter your registration details and get an account with us for record keeping and then, click on “PROCEED TO CHECKOUT” at the bottom of the page.
5. From there, the payment sections will show, follow the guided payment process and your order will be available for our writing team to work on it.
Need this assignment or any other paper?
Click here and claim 25% off
Discount code SAVE25