Denmark Place fire [SEP] point in time
Denmark Place fire
The Denmark Place fire occurred on 16 August 1980 at 18 Denmark Place in Central London, United Kingdom. The fire, caused by arson, killed 37 people of eight different nationalities, most of whom were Spanish or Latin American, who were patrons of two unlicensed bars in the building. At the time, "The Sunday Times" suggested that it could be "the worst mass murder in British history".
Circumstances.
There were two unlicensed bars on the top two floors of 18 Denmark
Place, running adjacent to the street. The clubs were housed in buildings that had previously functioned as a hostel for musicians, which adjoined a music shop on the street, and the fire brigade had insisted that a fire escape be fitted. By the time the clubs were in operation, the shop had closed and the fire escape had fallen into disrepair. 18 Denmark Place was home to two such clubs; on the first floor was "Rodo's", a salsa club popular with South American immigrants and above that "