The Paducah sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1898-1906, 1903-12-31
ater in this city. He was overwhelm-
ed BY the news of the disaster.

ater in this city. He was overwhelm-
ed by the news of the disaster.
"I'll never allow another theater to
be built with . stick of wood in it,"
he declared, reading the bulletins
which were handed him. 1.-THE Iro-
quois was built along the very latest
lines and was provided with 81 double
fire exits, but wood was used ard
900 t,.sys were employed. A fireproof
'uc ~. q will not be erected as long as
wosH is used. In theater there are
so m my articles of inflammable mate
rial that When blaze once gets head
way il spreads in the most alarming
manner.
WORST THEATER FIRE KNOWN.
The disaster was vastly more de-
structive to human life than any other
play house fire in the history of the
world. The fire next to it in point of
lives lost occurred December 8, 1876,
in Conway's Brooklyn theater, Brook.
lynn. Y, where 295 of the audience
persisted in the flames. The day after
Cbristma in 1911, while the play
1.-THE Bleeding Nun" WAS being per-
formed in q theater at Riohmcld,
Va, fire started that turned 10 per-
sons to death, among them being the
governor, of the state, George W.
Smith. The old world supplies no in
stances of fires in thea res that may
be classed with the three mentioned.
The FIRE broke out in the second act
of the play, "Bluebeard," in the flies
Of the stage, presumably from defe ct
in the electrical display. In an in
slant The draperies ana timsy stage
settings had burst into flames. The
actors and actresses ran wildly about
the stage as the audience fought and
CANNED its way to the front doors.
in "A short time the interior OF the the
alter was apparently a mass of flames,
and smoke was issuing in clouds from
the front of the house.
Though the fire broke out in the
stage, there was apparently little pre-
lection for the audience Women and
children were piling out of the doors,
but the flames appeared to gain rapid.
ly and it was considerable time be-
/ fore a large number of the people
could leave the building Meanwhile
special calls and a general alarm had
summoned an extraordinary number
of fire engines.
At the same tune persons were be-
ing carried from both the front and
rear OF the theAter. The fire was ap
parently gaining uron he firemen,
who were having the greatest difficult
ty in gaining entrance because of the
crowds.
One noticeable thing was hat at
one point near the entrance there was
. mass of dead consisting solely of
women aud children. The mothers
had olung to their little ones in their
efforts to leave the burning building
and save themselves.
Every patrol wagon, ambulance and
all other vehicles of this kind owned
in the city were Immediately pressed
into service of carving away the man
gled ann crushed forms. but even this
proved entirely inadequate in taking
the bodies away quiok enough, ~ ina
short time the resousrs had every ye-
hiole filed snd started Tor tho Uudli
taking establishmeuis and morgues--a
line of corpses 40 teei long-ths driv-
ers could nor work fast enough. rs in
"a short time bodies woro STAG ed two
and t5ree feet high aior The sidewalk /
in front of the ,hoatar building.
Finally the WORK Of rescue broug
forth SO many bodies from the h0rri-
BILE death place, thu rascuers { und il
necessary 70 press into service ordina-
~ haulng trucks iu order to get the 4
remains to the undertaking establish
ments and moreues From nearby dry
goods stores the proprietors readily
came forward with hue b'anketl and
other fakrics with which tee bodies