The Bellefontaine Republican. [volume] (Bellefontaine, Logan County, Ohio) 1855-1905, 1904-01-01
FRICHTfUL DISASTER
S3S Lives Lost in the Chi
CagO Fire.
Which Breaks Out During a
Matinee in an lrOguOiS
Theatre.


Iroquois Thester, the newest, the
largest, and as far as human power
could make it, the safest theatre in
Chicago.
| A few of these people were burned
to death by fire, many were sufIocat-
ed by gas, and scores were trampled
to death in the panic that followed
the mad plunge of the frightened
| audience for the exits.
the accounts of the origin of the
fire are conflicting and none of them
certain, but the best reason given Is
that an electric wire near the lower
part of piece of drop scenery sud
denly broke and was grounded.
The fire spread rapidly toward the
front of stage, causing the members
of the chorus, who we're then engaged
in the performance, to flee to the
wings with screams of terror.
The fire up to this time was not
serious, and probably could have
been checked had not the asbestos
curtain failed to work.
With 4 roar and bound the flames
shot through the opening over the
he ads of the people on the first floor
and reaching clear up to those in the
balcony, caught them and burned
them to death where they sat.
Immediately following This rush of
flames there came an explosion which
lifted the entire roof of the theater
from its walls, SCATTERING the great
skvlight into fragments.
AS soon as the flames first appeared
beyond the curtain, Il man in the
rear of the hall shouted Fire. Fire.
and the entire audience rose as one
person and made for the doors. 1t is
believed that the explosion was
caused by the flames coming in con
tact with the gas reservoirs of the
theater, causing them to burst.
Will ]. Davis, manager of the thea
ter. said after the catastrophe that
If the people had remained in their
seats and had not been excited by
the cry of fire. not a single life would
have been lost.
This is however contradicted by
the statements of the Gremen, who
found numbers of people sitting in
their seats, their faces directed to-
wards the stage, as II the perform
ance was still going or.
1t was the opinion OF the fireman
that these people had been suffocated
at once by the fow of gas which came
from behind the abestos curtain.
AS near as can. -.be.estim ated at pres
enttime, about 800 people we're in
the theater. Three hundred of these
were left on the first floor, the bal
ance b ing in the two upper balconies
and in the Railways back of them.
When the iiremen entered the
building, the dead were found stretch
ed in a pile, reaching from the head
of the stairway at least eight feet
| from the door back to point about
five feet in the rear of the door.
| This mass of dead bodies in the CEN
ter of the doorway reached to within
in two feet of the top of the passage
way. All of the corpses at this point
were women and children.
The fight for life which must have
taken place at these two points is so
mething that is simply beyond human
power to ads quately describe. Only
faint idea of its horror could be de-
rived from the aspect of the bodies as
they lay.
Women on top of these masses OF
dead had been overtaken by death as
they were crawling on their hands
and knees over bodies OF those who
had died before. Others lay with
arm stretched out IN the direction
toward which lay life and safety
holding in their hands fragments OF
garments not their own. They were
evidently torn from the clothing OF
others whom they had endeavored tc
pull down and trample under foot as
they fought for their own lives.
The theater had been constructed
but a short time, and all its equip
ment was not yet in place. This was
unfortunately the case with fire
, escape in the rear of the building
The small iron balconies to which the
iron ladder was to be attached were
up, but the ladder had not yet beer
constructed.
When the panic was at its hight a
great number of women ran for these
fire escapes, only TO find as they
emerged from the doorway up on th'
little iron platform, that they were
thirty to fifty feet from the ground
a fire behind, and no method of es
cape in front.
Those who reached the plarforn
! first endeavored TO hold their foot
ing ard to keep back the crowd tha
pressed upon them from the reaI
The Effort was utterly useless, and i
few moments the iron ledges wer'
jammed with crowds of women VIII
screamed, fought, and tore at eac
5 other like maniacs.
This lasted hut a brief interva
Il and the rush from the interior of tn
building became so violent tha
v many of them were crowded oil an
: fell to the granite paved alley be
low. Others leaped from the plat
| for,, frarturiuU leqs and arms an