FATAL FIRES IN THEATRES.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LVI, Issue 6499, 26 December 1881, Page 3

FATAL FIRES IN THEATRES.

(Frem tin Uellxn mw vtryiu.) The frightful Joti of life which hoe attended the destruction hj fire of the theatre in the Bing Strom, at Vienna, shown that no precaution* will prevent a tragedy of this kind when a panic take* pcs*es»ion of the min <a of an endangered crowd. In the oon•traction of the edifice which has just been burnt special paina appear to have been taken to provide for the easy and rapid egret* ol the audience in the event of such a casualty m that which has jn«t happened, and, from all we can learn, the budding could have been readily emptied in n few minute*. Nevertheless, it is deplorable io add that under the influence of panic an recite') crowd rushed wildly to the door* j the ga* woe suddenly extinguished, increasin' m o terror of the frensied fugitives j men. women and children were knocked down in the cm.fusion, blocking up the avenue* of excwpw, «.n.nre than 500 lives »«« «acrifis< d to this temporary epidemic ol fear. Coming so soon after the horning of the Italian Opera-house in Nice, on March 23 last, by which at least 100 person* lost their lives, the event has necessarily are&ted a most painful sensation, especially ** the firstnamed calamity was preceded by the destruction of the Brooklyn Theatre, on Dec. 2, 1876, upon which occasion 160 persons were burnt to death, and a great number seriously injured. In point of magnitude, however, the latest horror is unparalleled, in so far aa theatres are concerned, during the present century, but it was far exceeded by the awful carnage which accompanied the consumption by lire of the Church of the Jesuits, at Santiago, in Chili, on Dec. 8, 1863, when no less than 2000 corpses were removed from the ruins after the flame* had burnt themselves out

To perish by fire appear* to be the natural fate of all theatres, and throe have been swept away by this agency in Melbourne alone. Of the 520 playhouses, circuses and opera-houses which are recorded as having been burnt down, nearly 470 have been destroyed during the last 12-- years. Happily, on such occasions loss of liie i* not the rule, bat the exception. There hare been some calamities of this kind, however, in which the sacrifice of human beings has been something appalling, Such was tho burning of a theatre in Amsterdam in 1772, by which SCO persons perished ; at Saragossa, in Spain, in the same year, when 1000 men, women and children lost their lives; at the theatre in the Palais Koyal, in Paris, where nearly 600 persons were burned to death in 1781; and at the fall and conflagration of the Cafe d’lstria Theatre, in Italy, in 1794, when no less than 1000 men and women were crushed or charred to a cinder. During the present century the fetal fires in theatres, excluding those at Brooklyn, Hioe and Vienna, already alluced to, have been these:— On October 16,1807, a parti'- »a< by a false alarm of fire in the svtl, r> Wills Theatre, Islington, when 18 ;vr-<,r » wire trampled to death in the preeipi'at*»:Hmp«d« whlcn ensued.

Oa December 6,1811, a fire broke out in the theatre at Eichtnond, Virginia, during a performance at which 600 j>er»or» were present. There was a wild rush to the doors, with the usual result, and 67 persons, including the Governor of the State, and the manager's daughter, lost their lives. On June 14,1816. a fire occurred in the Theatre Boy si, Quebec, while the performance was takiag place, and 46 persons perished in the flames Oa Deo. 27,1858, a false alarm of fire was given at the Coburg Theatre in London, while the performance of the Christmas pantomime was in progress. Frantic efforts to escape were made by a crowded audience, and although the police and the fire brigade heroically exerted themselves to allay the Kie, 16 persons were killed and numbers iy injured. On Jan. 13, 1865, the Theatre Royal, Edinburgh, caught fire during the performance, and numerous lives were lost, but the precise number was never ascertained. On Feb. 5, 1876, while a ««/»*« entertainment was being given at Robinson*# Opera-house at Cincinnati, for a charitable Sse, in which 600 children took part as mers, somebody, through mischief or ignorance, raised an alarm of fire, on the exhibition of a red light, incidental to the entertainment. The Theatre was densely packed with women and children, who succumbed to the customary panic. The weak were knocked down and trampled on by the strong. Ten persons were killed outright, and hundreds of others were more or less injured. In the Chinese Theatre, San Francisco, a few weeks before the destruction of the Brooklyn Theatre, a piece of matting was accidentally set alight to. The cry of “ fire” was raised, a rush ensued, and sever. teen of the audience were crushed to death, and numbers of others seriously hurt. It ta creditable to the courage and seif possession of the Chinese actors to odd that they calmly proceeded with the performance until the fiames were extinguished. In Paris the Grand Opera-houre has been burnt down four times, and the Theatre Hicolet, afterwards the Gaiete. the Odeoo, the Gvmnase Hnfantin, and the Durant twice i and nineteen other theatres have shared the same fate. Warned by these calamities in France, the municipal authorities in the neighbouring kingdom of Belgium have instituted some very stringent regulations for the protection of the public, in conformity with the report of a Commission appointed by the Burgomaster and Eoheviua of Brussels, and including the Chief Commissioner of Police, the Captain of the Firemen, the Gas Engineer, the Manager of the Waterworks, and the head of the department of fine arts for the capital.

Among the more important of these regulation* are the following Ho new theatre or hall it allowed to be built unless completely isolated from other building*. Two staircase* and two issues in the outer wall mu*t be provided for each floor or tier. All staircase* must be of atone or iron. The scene docks, wardrobe*, and property room* mart he isolated from the stage by iron d>or»; no superfluous scenery is allowed to remain on the stage during performances involving the use of flre-arms, conflagrations. Ac. j and a special authority for such dongeicu* representations has to be procured from the councils. In addition to a fire engine, four hydrants with hose have to be provided. A fireman must be always present in the theatre, and three during a performance. At the close of each entertainment, the watchman, accompanied by a fireman, must inspect every part of the building, and enter his reptrt in a book. The bolts of the escape door« are to fall simultaneously, by means of electricity, the moment an alarm is given. A metal plate or glass bell must be placed over every gas-burner less than 6ft from the ceiling. No smoking is allowed either before or behind the curtain. The lighting of fires and gas, or other lights, must be effected only by employee* specially detailed for the purpose, and in no other manner but by spec ai lamps burning spirits of wine. These employe.-* must see that the lights arc properly regulated, and must give notice of any repairs that may be required to burner*, pips*, meter*, and appliance* for lighting and heating. The light* connected with the stage are declared to be under the supervision of the stage manager who is held responsible for their good condition, and the site of petroleum it strictly forbidden, la the event of a fire breaking out, all sweeps, masons, carpenters, and tyler# may be requisitioned by the burgomaster or police officer* to execute the work* ordered either by the police or the captain of firemen 5 and cab proprietor* are obliged, ** for a consideration, to supply horses Cor transport irg the lifesaving apparatus. The regulation w* hare underlined 1* one which Melbourne manager# might yoluotarily adopt, a* a measure of precaution, at Once t for it was the fall of a lamp of this kind which wa* the prime cause of the awful catastrophe at Tienna.