Greenwich To Mark Anniversary Of Deadly Gulliver's Fire

GREENWICH, CT — The town of Greenwich village of Port Chester, N.Y., will mark the 51st anniversary of the deadly fire at the Gulliver's nightclub with a memorial ceremony on Sunday, June 1, at the Thomas Lyon House, 760 West Putnam Ave.

In the early morning hours of June 30, 1974, on the border of Greenwich and Port Chester, a fire broke out at the crowded nightclub as the rock group, Creation, was performing.

Two Greenwich police officers who were investigating a burglary in the area saw smoke and called for help, according to the Connecticut History website.

Three-hundred firefighters from New York and Connecticut, including many from central Greenwich, Sound Beach, Cos Cob and Byram, responded to the scene, but the building was quickly engulfed in flames and smoke.

"The fire at Gulliver’s was the deadliest dance club fire in the United States in more than a generation. Killing 24 people, mostly from smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning, it called attention to the dangers of herding young people into windowless underground rooms without smoke alarms, sprinklers, fire-resistant walls, or limits on occupancy," the CT History website noted.

Peter Leonard, a 22-year-old Greenwich resident, was arrested and accused of setting a fire to the bowling alley adjacent to Gulliver's to conceal his burglary of cigarette machines.

Leonard's convictions were overturned, and he pleaded guilty to manslaughter in 1986. He was released on time served, which was about 12 years, the New York Times reported in a piece on the 25th anniversary of the blaze.

Greenwich First Selectman Fred Camillo said in his weekly newsletter on Friday that he's continuing to push for the new bridge connecting Greenwich and Port Chester and dedicated to the victims of the fire.

"This is a priority for me and I will keep pushing for the bridge to be named as a [memorial] to the victims," Camillo said, noting the town will continue to work with Port Chester and the Army Corps. of Engineers.

Read more on the fire here.