Actually........Fire Codes varied from place to place in those days and it has only been within the past 50 years or so that unified and uniform codes were established.The Iroquois Theater fire in Chicago prompted many changes, but all of them were not put on place everywhere. That fire generally gets credit for the outward opening doors and also for unlocked and easily used emergency exits. The main doors opened inward and the other doors had gates that were locked to keep out crashers. The gates could have been opened by those trying to escape but the handle setup was confusing.
The Coconut Grove had a different distinction. The main entrance where so many died was a revolving door which became jammed with people trying to escape and then others piled up at the jammed door. The laws were changed after this to mandate outward opening regular doors to the sides of any revolving door.
Or at least that's what I learned watching The History Channel (:<))
Spaw