SUGGESTIONS FOR SAFE THEATERS.
Clarence J. Root, of Chicago, an assistant of Prof. Cox 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
brass 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 button, these
buttons 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 passed 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 passages
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 glass 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 principal
system being extinguished must be provided in the auditorium, corridors,
passages, 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 space 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 space 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 asserts 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 mass 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 trimming 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 glass
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 glass
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 nobody 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."