[1] The dance hall, a converted blacksmith shop once used as a church, was in a one-story steel-clad wood-frame building at 1 St. Catherine Street, 18 blocks from the city's business district.

The building was owned by the Byrnes family and was leased by a social group called the Money Wasters.

[7] Walter Barnes and His Royal Creolians was performing when the fire started near the main entrance door around 11:00 pm[8] and, fed by Spanish moss that had been draped over interior's rafters as a decoration, quickly engulfed the structure.

One of the men lived and worked from the Phoenix Fire Station, about four blocks from the Rhythm Night Club.

The first fire engine arrived within minutes, and the first hose was targeted at the front entrance and upper ceiling of the lobby and the second was sent into a small open window at the rear of the club.

[13] 21 of the 24 existing windows had been boarded[5] up to prevent outsiders from viewing or listening to the music, and as a result the crowd was trapped.

[10] Upon realizing their limited options to escape the fire, many victims attempted to break through the corrugated steel walls of the building, but were unsuccessful.

[14] When water from the fire hoses hit the metal siding, it created steam that scalded many victims.

[18] Doctors later found that most of the dead had been suffocated by smoke inhalation or crushed as the crowd was pushed to the rear of the building.

Throughout the night of the disaster, firemen, medical professionals, and civilian volunteers worked to remove bodies and search for signs of life in the club.

The band was credited with attempting to calm the crowd and Barnes was praised as a hero for leading the song "Marie" by Irving Berlin as the fire raged.

[21] The bandmates who died were John Reed, Jr., James Coles, Clarence Porter, Henry Walker, Paul Scott, Calvin Roberts, Jesse Washington, and his vocalist Juanita Avery.

[citation needed] People believed the fire to be accidental, started by a carelessly discarded match or cigarette that then ignited the decorative Spanish moss.

[23] Other sources claim a fire from a hamburger stand located near the exit spread to the Spanish moss and grew rapidly.

[24] The day after the blaze, five men were arrested following reports they had drunkenly threatened in an argument to burn the building down.

[25] More than 15,000 mourners attended the funeral of Walter Barnes, and the Natchez Social and Civic Club of Chicago raised money for the victims' families and for the memorial.