Upstairs Lounge Fire, New Orleans, LA (1973)

Upstairs Lounge Fire, New Orleans, LA (1973)

On Sunday, June 24, 1973, a group of members of the Metropolitan Community Church, a pro-LGBT Protestant denomination, had held services inside the club, after which the club had hosted free beer for 125 patrons. At the time of the evening fire, some 60 people were listening to pianist George "Bud" Matyi's music and discussing an upcoming MCC fundraiser for the local Crippled Children’s Hospital. At 7:56pm, Bartender Buddy Rasmussen asked Luther Boggs to answer the door, anticipating a taxi cab driver. Boggs opened the door to find the only staircase for regular entrance engulfed in flames initiated by the lighter fluid[1] (and not a Molotov cocktail, as commonly believed). Rasmussen immediately led some thirty patrons out of the back exit to the roof until the group could climb down from another building's roof to the ground floor. Some thirty others were left inside the second-floor club, and some attempted to squeeze through barred windows in order to escape. One man managed to squeeze through the 14-inch gap, only to fall to his death while burning. Reverend Bill Larson of the MCC clung to the bars of one window until he died, his charred remains being visible to onlookers for hours afterwards. MCC assistant pastor George “Mitch” Mitchell managed to escape, but then returned to the fire in order to attempt a rescue of his boyfriend Louis Broussard; both died in the fire, their remains having shown them clinging to each other.[2] Matyi also escaped, but also returned to bring out more patrons from the fire; his charred remains were embracing those of two other victims under the piano.[3] At least 29 people died in the 16-minute fire, with three others (including Boggs) dying afterwards from their wounds. 15 were injured. Aftermath The official investigation failed to turn up a conviction for the crime. The likely suspect who was arrested in relation to the attack was Rogder Dale Nunez.[1] When questioned, Nunez went into convulsions and was taken to Charity Hospital, where he eventually slipped out from doctor's watch and was never picked up again by police, despite frequently appearing in the French Quarter afterwards. A friend later told investigators that Nunez confessed to the deed while drunk on at least four occasions. He had told a friend, Miss Fury, that he squirted the bottom steps with Ronsonol bought at a local Walgreens and tossed in a match. He didn't realized the whole place would go up in flames.[1] Nunez killed himself a year later. In 1970 he was diagnosed with "Conversion Hysteria," and four months before the fire he had visited a psychiatric clinic. His autopsy revealed a brain tumor. http://www.alynepustanio.com/UPSTAIRSLOUNGE.php