Major Incident Coverage—Happy Land Social Club Fire

As part of our ongoing celebration of Firehouse Magazine’s 40^th anniversary, we share with you examples of Firehouse’s commitment to major incident coverage through the years. This month in history: Happy Land Social Club Fire of March 1990

While the frequency of arson in New York City has been greatly reduced in comparison to the “War Years” of the 1970s, the tragic loss of 87 civilians in the Happy Land Social Club fire on March 25, 1990, viciously highlighted the deadly consequences of arson. This fire also represents the critical need for strong and aggressive code enforcement within every fire department. The Happy Land Social Club was ordered shut down for infractions nearly two years prior to this tragic event, but it continued to operate illegally.

The May 1990 issue of Firehouse covered the fire.