An official report revealed that the Cocoanut Grove had been inspected by a captain in the Boston Fire Department just ten days before the fire and declared safe. Further, it was found that the Grove had not obtained any licenses for operation for several years; there were no food handlers' permits and no liquor licenses. Stanley Tomaszewski, the busboy who had been accused of starting the fire, was underage and should not have been working there. Moreover, the recent remodeling of the Broadway Lounge had been done without building permits, using unlicensed contractors.