Chicago's Awful Theater Horror Part 32

Enough has been said to indicate that virtually the entire hemisphere of the West has been stirred to practical action by the terrible calamity which this book records. It is not within the range of human possibility that theaters can be made absolutely perfect, any more than other human inst.i.tutions, nor is it possible that the awful lesson furnished by the Iroquois theater disaster will have been forgotten before substantial improvements are made in the amus.e.m.e.nt houses of the world for the present and future protection of human life.

CHAPTER XVIII.

SUGGESTIONS FOR SAFE THEATERS.

Clarence J. Root, of Chicago, an a.s.sistant of Prof. c.o.x in the weather bureau, makes the following suggestions in connection with the safe-theater agitation:

"Location--All theaters to be in buildings by themselves, like the Illinois and Iroquois. No stores or offices to be located in them.

Buildings should be isolated, with wide private or public alleys or courts entirely around the rear and sides. A false wall could be built in front of the side courts where they project upon the street, thus helping the appearance of the block. These should, however, have wide arches through them.

"Construction--All buildings to be absolutely fireproof. The buildings should be built of steel, fireproof tiling, steel lathing, etc. Scenery of asbestos or aluminum would be practicable. Aluminum is light and easily handled. The seats to be upholstered in leather. The floor to be constructed of metal, cement, mosaic or composition, with thin rubber matting over them, such as is used on sleeping-car steps. Ornamental iron work can be used on boxes, front of balconies, etc. Stair railings of bra.s.s or fancy copper. The fire curtain to be of steel and asbestos both.

The heavy steel would prevent any bulging from a draft.

"Exits--No steps or stairs should be used in the aisles or exits or anywhere in the theater. Easy inclines, similar to the ones in the new Pittsburg theater, should be used in the aisles, the inside entrances and exits, and the outside exits, all to be covered with rubber to prevent slipping. Two or three very wide exits ought to be provided on each side of the theater, and in addition, one (say twice as wide as the aisle) at the rear end of each aisle, the hallway leading from these rear exits, if not opening outdoors, to be wide enough to accommodate the entire number of exits. These rules should apply in the balconies, also. The outside fire-escapes to be long, easy inclines, with high sides, to prevent people from jumping. Each exit to have its own independent incline, so that the crowd from the first balcony cannot block those from the upper gallery, as in the Iroquois fire. All doors to swing outward and not to be locked during the performance. They should be inspected before each play and should be so connected, electrically, that every door in the house could be thrown open instantly, merely by the touching of a b.u.t.ton, these b.u.t.tons to be located on the stage and other places convenient to the ushers and employees. Theaters should not be built 'L' shape. That was one fault of the Iroquois. The crowd naturally followed the aisles to the back of the house and then, instead of finding themselves at the outdoor exits, as in most playhouses, they had to go clear to one side of the theater.

This mixed them up with the crowds from the other aisles and concentrated too many people in one place.

"Summary--A theater as described above could not burn, but a sprinkler system would do no harm. Heating and power plant in another building would prevent danger of an explosion. The aisles should be very wide and no standing room or portable chairs allowed. It may seem unnecessary in a fireproof theater to have such elaborate exits, but panics will occur from other causes than fires. A plan of the house should be printed on the cover of the program; this should plainly show the exits. A description of the fireproof qualities of the theater should also be printed. This will secure the confidence of the audience, and perhaps avert a panic. In a house built and equipped, strictly in accordance with the above ideas, a fire would be impossible and a serious panic unlikely."

FRANCIS WILSON SAYS "NO STEPS."

Francis Wilson, the well known actor, in speaking of the fire, said:

"I suppose similar scenes always will follow a sudden rush in any building crowded with men and women, but I feel strongly that theater buildings could be improved so as to reduce the danger in a stampede to a minimum.

It is my opinion that there should not be a single step in a theater. The descents should be gentle inclines. That this is possible is shown by the construction of a new theater in Pittsburg, where even the gallery is reached by inclines.

"It is the thought of the many stairways that must be pa.s.sed quickly, and possibly in darkness, that drives the occupants of the galleries to panic at any alarm. If they were sure of a clear pathway straight to the street half their fear would be allayed. In doing away with steps in the auditoriums of theaters the builders should not forget the actors."

STAIRCASES WITH RAILINGS.

Suggestion by W. B. Chamberlain, of London:

"In nearly all fires in theaters loss of life seems to be at the head of stairs. This is natural, as persons who come first to the head of the stairs, hold back, being afraid to go down quickly lest they be pushed down by those behind them. People seem to think a broad staircase safer than a narrow one. I don't think this is the case, as in a narrow one you can put your hands on two sides, and go down with less fear of being thrown forward. All wide staircases should be provided with handrails, for if you have both hands on handrails you can run down quickly. If theaters were below ground you would in case of fire run up instead of down. They would be much safer for want of air to feed the flames."

PRECAUTIONS ENFORCED IN LONDON.

According to Sir Algernon West, of London, since 1858 not a single life has been lost in a properly licensed theater building in that city, except of a fireman, who perished in the performance of duty at the Alhambra in 1882. During the few days following the Iroquois disaster, theater managers and the public praised the wisdom of the rules of the county council, whereas some of the former had been wont to find them rather irksome. In addition to the main rules about lowering the asbestos curtain once during the performance, doors opening outward, stairways and pa.s.sages to be kept free, there are some other precautions which must be observed.

All doors used for the purpose of exit must, if fastened during the time the public are in the building, be secured during such time only by automatic bolts only of a pattern and position approved by the council.

The management must allow the public to leave by all exit doors. All gas burners within reach of the audience must be protected by gla.s.s or wire globes. All gas taps within reach of the public must be made secure.

An additional means of lighting for use in the event of the princ.i.p.al system being extinguished must be provided in the auditorium, corridors, pa.s.sages, exits and staircases. If oil or candle lamps are used for this purpose, they must be of a pattern approved by the council, and properly secured to a noninflammable base, out of reach of the public. Such lamps must be kept lighted during the whole time the public is in the premises.

No mineral oil must be used in them. All hangings, curtains and draperies must be rendered noninflammable. Scenery is painted on canvas that has been first prepared with a solution recommended by the county council, to make it noninflammable. The paints used by the scenic artists contain no oils.

WHAT THE CHICAGO CITY ENGINEER SAYS.

John Ericson, the city engineer of Chicago, has this to offer:

"A theater building should have an open s.p.a.ce on all sides with exits and entrances leading directly out, and not, as now is mostly the case, be wedged in tight between other large buildings, with a number of exits all leading to one or two not too wide hallways which again, together with the stairways from the balconies and galleries, merge into one entrance. These halls and stairways are only too easily blocked by the frantic people in case of a panic. The aisles in most of our theaters are also too narrow and should be made considerably wider.

"The excuse that s.p.a.ce is too valuable for such extravagance cannot hold.

If the return for the capital invested in such a case does not seem sufficiently large to the investor, then rather charge a little more for the entertainment or reduce the number of playhouses so as to insure full houses, but in the name of humanity construct those that are used in such a way that calamities such as have occurred will be an impossibility.

"I am also of the opinion that perforated water pipes over the stage, into which water can be turned at a moment's notice so as to drench the whole stage if necessary, would add greatly to the safety of life and property.

"An automatic sprinkler system would probably have been less effective in the case of the Iroquois fire, as great damage to life would have probably been done before such sprinklers would have been put into action."

OPINION OF A FIREPROOF EXPERT.

William Clendennin, editor of the _Fireproof Magazine_, condemned the Iroquois Theater building as long ago as last August. Here is his opinion, which he a.s.serts is based on a personal investigation:

"The Iroquois theater was a firetrap. The whole thing was a rush construction. It was beautiful but it was cheap. Everything but the structural members was of wood; the roller on the asbestos curtain, the pulleys, all of a cheap compromise.

"I made an investigation of the theater last August and condemned it on four different points. My condemnation was published in the August number of the _Fireproof_. The points are:

"1. The absence of an intake, or stage draft shaft.

"2. The exposed re-enforcement of the concrete arch.

"3. The presence of wood trim on everything.

"4. The inadequate provision of exits.

"A theater has two parts--the stage and the house or audience part. There should be a roll shutter between the two and the best sort of a curtain is a compromise. The poor stuff in the curtain at the Iroquois theater made it doubly a compromise; a great danger, a terrible trap.

"The stage may be compared to a closet. When you open a closet door the draft is outward, not inward. So when the fire started on the stage the draft pulled it toward the audience. It was a quick flame puff.

"The arch, or ceiling, was covered with a cheap concrete. The first puff of flame destroyed this. It crumbled away, exposing the twisted ma.s.s of steel re-enforcement and girders, and fell on the audience. This killed many. Looking from below, the bewildered, choking and maddened crowd thought it was the result of a panic above. They believed the galleries were falling and in the rush resulting many more were killed.

"The Iroquois theater was the most-talked-of construction in the country at the time of its building. It was believed to be the expression of the most modern ideas in regard to theater building; to be about as near fireproof as one could be. My investigation satisfied me that it was one of the worst firetraps in the city. There was so much wood and so much plush and inflammable tr.i.m.m.i.n.g about everything. The insufficient exits tell the rest of the story."

ILLUMINATED EXIT SIGNS.

On this point T. B. Badt, a consulting electrical engineer of Chicago, writes:

"It has been stated that in the Iroquois no exit signs were over the doors, and it has been suggested that this was one of the causes of loss of life. The question arises, what would signs have been good for if the theater was thrown in darkness? The signs would not have been seen any more than the doors underneath the draperies. In order to avoid such trouble I should propose the following:

"Have over each door a transparent sign made out of metal with gla.s.s crystal letters, and have same illuminated from the outside of the building wall by means of a lantern attached on the outside, and have this lantern supplied by a source of light independent of the theater lighting system, either electric or gas. The sign would be illuminated at all times during the performance; it would not be an objection during dark scenes, because there would be practically no light thrown through the gla.s.s letters to interfere with the darkness inside; at the same time the sign would stand there glaring the word 'exit,' no matter how dark the theater or how light the theater. The main point I am trying to raise is that any device which has to be operated in case of an emergency is liable to fail, but an illuminated sign that will be illuminated at all times will be there no matter what trouble may happen, because n.o.body can forget to light it during the excitement, as it is already lighted before the performance commences. This, in my opinion, is the keynote for all devices which are intended to prevent panics in theaters. An automatic device is dependent upon certain conditions, usually rise of temperature near the ceiling. A manually operated safety device depends upon the presence of mind and cool-headedness of a certain employee and in my opinion all these features should be eliminated. Everything should be ready for an emergency and not be dependent upon somebody or something to make it ready. All exit doors ought to be unlocked and swing open towards the outside, and this, in connection with the permanently illuminated sign above the door saying 'exit,' in my opinion, would prevent any of the calamities heretofore experienced in theater disasters."