By the early 1940s Cope 's interest had turned to the management of patients with burns , particularly the fluid resuscitation of these patients . In November 1942 the Cocoanut Grove fire occurred , with nearly 200 patients from the fire admitted to Massachusetts General . This event led to advances in burns care due to the research carried out in the months after the fire , led by Churchill and Cope with Benjamin Castleman , Tracy B. Mallory and Richard Schatzki . This work included the nature of pulmonary damage caused by smoke inhalation , and the " soft " technique of surface burn management , using boric petroleum-impregnated gauze dressings to allow healing instead of tanning with tannic acid . This work was published in 1943 . Work carried out by Cope and Francis Moore led to methods of estimating fluid replacement needs in burns patients . This research into burns management , which continued with the support of the United States Army and Navy , led to the establishment of the '' Shriner 's Burns Institute '' at Massachusetts General
Cocoanut Grove fire
Cocoanut Grove fire
Oliver Cope