CAMPBELL COUNTY, Ky (LEX 18) This Memorial Day weekend marked 41 years since one of the deadliest disasters in Kentucky history. One hundred sixty-nine people were killed in a fire at the Beverly Hills Supper Club in Campbell County.
David Brock was working as a busboy that night, on May 28, 1977.
"You never forget what you saw and what you witnessed and we continue to fight every year we come up to Beverly Hills," said Brock.
Brock said that as the decades passed, a clear cause of the deadly fire has never been determined.
"What the pictures show is the fire started in the basement. It was an electrical fire and it was intentionally set," said researcher Tom McConaughy.
David Brock said that it took over 30 years to find the photos.
"Had to sue the state police of Kentucky to get them, now we can prove that it was an arson fire," said Brock.
Some said it was the bad wiring that caused the venue known for its lavish dinners and shows to go up in flames. Researcher Tom McConaughy and David Brock believe it was something more sinister. The two have been working together, searching for the truth.
"A furnace filter washer unit, where they took a 220 motor and ran it through two 110 outlets, bare wires, and this particular unit was on a timer so that when that surge hit it electrically, we’ve got a picture of it in the book, it’s got a hole in it this big, right there," said McConaughy.
"People lost their loved ones and the people that were here that perished that night to be able to put it to rest," said Brock.
