Beverly rooming house fire

The Beverly rooming house fire took place at the Elliott Chambers, a low-rent rooming house in Beverly, Massachusetts, on July 4, 1984. Prosecutors alleged that the fire was set by a man whose ex-girlfriend dated someone who lived in the building, eventually convicting James Carver of second-degree murder and arson. It was the deadliest fire in the Massachusetts since the Cocoanut Grove fire in 1942, and the deadliest fire in Beverly's history. Carver maintains his innocence-in 2024 he was granted a retrial and was released from prison; his conviction was formally overturned in February 2025.