Lexington gazette. [volume] (Lexington, Va.) 1871-1962, 1904-01-06
THE CHICAGO DISASTER
Horrible Loss of Life by Fire in
Theater

Theater
The most horrible and destruc-
tive fire which has occurred In
Chicago in the last decade was
that which destroyed the new
Ir0quis Theater last Wednesday
afternoon. As result, over six
hundred men, women and children
were killed, and many more in
jured ;some burned beyond recogni-
ton, and n any more crushed to
death in the awful stampede which
followed, while others were suf-
located by the binding volumes Of
smoke which envsloped the large
building as if by magic. The au-
dience was holiday audience Of
women and children and became
in this way veritable slaughter
of the innOcents.
The fire had its inception from
defective wiring in the magnificent
electric light effects being used in
the presentation of "Bluebeard,
Junior" The piece was specta-
cular one, and the house was
crowded to it's utmost capacity.
The scenery was soon a mass OF
flames in the wings, and some one
shouted that the building was on
fire. Immediately ensued the wild.
est scene imaginable. The entire
audience made frantic rush for
the fire escapes and exits, and
yrappled and fought with each
other in their terrified efforts to
escape, while children were trodden
under foot without thought or
feeling in the awful panic.
At the main entrance, the awful
ness of the crush surpassed descrip-
ton. In an instant after the
alarm had been given, the lobby
and stair cases were masses of
struggling, writhing humanity,
each tumbling and pitching for
ward in a wild downward trend to-
ward the street.
The mortality was chiefly among
the gallery and balcony audiences
which, finding their way cut off
by the influx from the lower floor,
piled upon each other in head
long flight down the stairs, while
some of the terrified beings even
dashed wildly over the ratings, to
find death against the hard floor
below.
Outside, the pandemonium was
almost equally as grea; as in the
doomed building. People ran
hither and thither calling franti-
cally the names of friends or rela
tives who were known to have at
tended the play, while the clang
of the fire engines only added to
the confusion.
Accounts differ widely as to the
cause of the fire. The theatrical
people are practically a unit in
declaring that the fire started from
an explosion, and in this they
were fatty contradicted by scores
of people in the audience, who de-
clare that they saw the fire creep
ing along the edge of the curtain
for several minutes before the
explosion took place. These state
ments are substantiated by the
stories of number of people who
left their seats after seeing the
blaze, and were well on their way
to the street when overtaken by
tie frightened rush Of those they
had left behind them. The best
evidence obtainable is 10 the effect
that the fire was caused by the
sparks from an arc light striking
the edge of the drop curtain.
OTHER THEATER FIRES.
The first great fire in the United
States was the burning of the
Richmond Theater, on ShOckOe
Hill, Richmond, on Thursday
night, December %, 1911. "Agnes
and Raymond was the title OF the
play presented on that occasion as
a benefit to Mr.. Placide. famous
early American actor, and the
father of children who afterward
made name for themselves in the
histrionic profession.
When the curtain went down
for the last act, the scene shutters
began the work of changing
the scenery from ballroom to
that Of a street scene, and, in doing
SO, one of them drew up chan
delier, on which he had forgotten
to extinguish the lights. The
latter came in contact with the
flies and scenery, and in an in
credibly short time the entire stage
was ablaze. The number Of killed
was seventy, among them Gov.
George W. Smith. The site of the
old Richmond Theater is now
marked by the Monumental church.
The tragedy in Chicago recalls
other great theater fires of the last
score of years. A flash of flame,
. nuf of smoke and then-panic
that crushed hundreds, ere the
smoke, even, had a chance to
reach them. 1t was so in the fire
tina. burned the Brooklyn Theater,
in 1879, when 293 persons perish.
ed; that which devastated the
Richmond Theater in 1911; in the
fire that destroyed the Opera Com
ioue in Paris in 1887, when 200
were burned; in the burning of
Wanna