At the 60th anniversary service of the Rhythm Night Club fire, speakers urged the community to make sure such a tragedy never happens again.

The annual service is designed to pay respect to those who perished in the fire and to remind people of the importance of safety procedures.

&uot;If we do that then these service will not have been in vain,&uot; said Dr. Lamar Braxton of Natchez.

More than 200 people died in the fire on&160;April 23, 1940, during an annual barn dance. The fire lasted about 10 minutes.

Many at the service felt a connection to the tragedy because of its impact on their lives or how it could have impacted them.

&uot;If I had been old enough I probably would have been there,&uot; Braxton said.

Braxton also asked the crowd of about 40 a rhetorical question.

&uot;What have we done to insure that this never happens again?&uot; he said.

Local attorney George F. West gave the key address at the service.

West said his own mother could have died in the fire if she had not been pregnant at the time. &uot;Mother was expecting me and because of that she did not go to the dance,&uot; West said.

He also asked the crowd to think about what they had learned from the fire and to remember to help each other.

&uot;If you don’t have love for one another, it doesn’t count,&uot; West said.

The service usually takes place on the bluff next to a monument in memory of the fire. The service had to be moved to the parking lot of Zion Chapel A.M.E. Church this year, because the community is in the midst of a bluff stabilization project.

Natchez Mayor Larry L. &uot;Butch&uot; Brown said the service should be back to its appropriate spot next year but said, &uot;I think the place is not as important as what we are talking about today.&uot;

What he said is important are the people who have a connection to the fire – especially those who lost family and friends.

&uot;The fire didn’t last very long but the lasting results of that fire are embedded in all of our hearts,&uot; Brown said.