The New York herald., 1876-12-11
Playing with Fire.

The condition of all the theatres in New
York was clearly shown by the investigation
instituted by the HERALD and the iniorma-
ton furnished SO readily by the managers.
1t is certainly an unsafe condition; but we
are disposed to believe that individual man
ayers are not to blame for it so much as the
bad system which the carelessness of the
community has permitted. The law has not
dealt wisely with the manner OF building
theatres. We print elsewhere in to-day's
HERALD a number of valuable suggestions
from Mr.. Shaw, Chief of the London Fire
Brigade, regarding the general structure Of
tircproof theatres. Some Of these can be
adopted at once by managers, and ut a COM
psratiyely small cost. Others are applicable
only to new buildings, such as we hope will
soon replace the present dangerously infam-
mable structures There should be no hcsi-
tation on the part of the proprietors and man
ayers Of theatres III building a freproof
brick wall across the house, separating the
stage from the auditorium, and fitting it
with a frcproof drop shutter. Such q
work would not in any way necessitate a
change in the present exterior decorations
of the stage, and would certainly de-
crease the danger of general confagra-
tion Churches are generally isolated,
and have windows on every side, but a
theatre is almost always placed in cluster
OF other buildings over which the manager
has no control. Fire may originate with
out as well as within, and thus the risk is
double; for no matter what may be the pre-
cautions of the manager they may be made
useless by recklessness in the immediate
neighborhood. 1t is plain that the whole
system Of building theatres must be re-
formed before absolute safety can be OBJ
tained.
The existence of the danger, which it is
impossible to remove at once, makes extraor-
dinary precautions necessary until the Leg
islature can act One of the best of all re-
forms would be the employment of regular
firemen at the theatres. All of the managers
have informed us that they have watch
men or firemen employed every night, in
numbers ranging from four or five to fifty.
We have no doubt of the truth of these state
mentc but these men have other duties to
perform besides those of watching for fires.
They are stage carpenters, gas men, scene
shifters &C., and cannot always be de-
pended upon. What is imperatively de-
manded is that at each theatre there shall
be stationed every night sufficient force
of trained, experienced fremen, Sc
lected from the city Fire Department,
uniformed and completely equipped, whose
sole duty should be to guard the audience
from such n fearful calamity as that of
Brooklyn. They should be paid by the
theatres. This is practical guarantee of
safety which can be had instantly, and
we trust to see the managers adopt it at
once. 1t would do a great deal to restore
con ntidcnce; but the experience Of Tuesday
shows that little reliance can be placed on
irregular tiremen who are engaged in all
the complicated labors of the stage Let
this and other precautions be adopted ut
once, and when the Legislature meets let it
examine tho whole subject Of public build
ings in cities, frame comprehensive laws and
provide severe penalties for their violation
SO long as the present system continues we
are literally playing with fire. and know not
when it will become our master.