AMERICA.
GREAT i FIRE IN PHILADELPHIA ; . AND Lass OP LIFE. 1. M stmt, 'fifllowing : of. the or^hay.loft'ibflaEtablejV'whichiißld ba;^';SansoiT||etcee(9;
the doprs and windows facing on Sansbm-street. Before the flames could be gotllunder, 'they; communicated to the rear lof the theatre jitself, and : ini a few minutes the dressing-rooms, property-rooms, &c., ' situated' on the second floor of the rear or performance portion of the theatre, were in a light blaze. By this time, a period of only about 15 minutes from the beginning of the conflagration, it was evident that the .entire/edifice was doomed to destruction. . The'. flameß spread with fearful effect over the roof of the building, which extended the entire distance from Walnut street to Sansom-street, and when that portion of the theatre situated on Walnut-street was enveloped in the flames the scene wa3 indescribably grand. The entire neighbourhood, for squares around was illuminated, and rendered almost as light as. day, , and sparks and thick columns of smoke, and flame shot upward to the distance of three, hundred feet. In less : than half-an-hour after the discovery’of the fire the theatre was a total - wreck. At the time offthe breaking out of the fire the large ballet troupe, connected with the establishment were engaged in dancing the “Demon Dance,” from the Black Crook. There were 25 or 30 young girls on the stagehand for a time all knowledge that the rear portion of the theatre was on fire was kept from them, as well as from the audiencej although. the different attaches of the establishment were aware of the. real condition of things. -It is claimed, it was thought, that the fire would be .extinguished before any intimation of it would reach the, performers ou the stage, or the ,audience present, and a panic be prevented by adopting this course. While-the dancing was in progress, however, smoke was seen by some of the audience issuing on the stage from one of the wings. This smoke continued, and some of the audience began to retire. The movement soon became general, and a moderate rush soon commenced for. the doors. The ballet girls then j u rnped from tlie stage into the parquet and mixed with the retiring audience. Some of -them, ho wever, made futile attempts to reach the dressing-rooms to save ; their Wardrobes. By the time the fire had nearly reached the auditorium, the building was entirely cleared, but was soon entered again by a number of intrepid firemen with hose. They were speedily , foroji- to retire, however, owing to the rafnei spread of the flames. -Tlie most' lamentable story corn-, nected with the catastrophe remains to be told. Just befofh 11 o’clock about 50 feetof the front wall, feeing on Walnut-street,-felh crash, killing nine firemen and wounding fourteen others. The firemen, just preceding the falling of the wall, had been running in and: out of the main door of the theatre.v. Without a moment’s warning the crash came, aDd some thirty became enveloped in the mass of ruins.
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/HBWT18671014.2.6
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Hawke's Bay Weekly Times, Volume 1, Issue 42, 14 October 1867, Page 251
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498AMERICA. Hawke's Bay Weekly Times, Volume 1, Issue 42, 14 October 1867, Page 251
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