The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-01-24

Boston. Mass. Jan. 8, 1904.-'To pro- tect theater from fire,'' says Professor Charles L. Norton, who is :n charge of the heat measurement laboratory of tSe Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where the study of extreme heat ifrst became an exact modern scIence; engi- Eetr-in-charge of the Insurance Ensi- necring Experiment Station which is maintained in this city for the study ot all problems of fire prevention. and. fin ally, consulting expert or these matters in New York and Rostor. 'is :. compara- lively simple matter. Although probably nothing can prevent an occasional fire from starting in a theatre. there is no excuse for such a happening as the Iro- quois disaster for there Is absolutely no difficulty in making modern theatre reasonably free from the danger of ig- milton and altogether safe from a spread of fire into the auditorium. Experience shows that this is the case, ss well as the comparatively low insurance rating of some of the best of modern play houses and the comparatively small amount of actual fire damage done to the z Unprotected and unfinished Iroquois. The real problem is not how to protect the audience from the carelessness of a ,cer- tain number of theatre proprietors and from the horror of theatre panic"
 One of the most practical measures, in Professor Norton's opinion, that can be taken toward the future avoidance of theatre pailics is wider public knowl- edge of the. meaning of fire protection nE applied to play houses. together with rigid enforcement of established pre- cantionary measures. and the elimination of so-called protective appliances-such as "fire-proof' solutions or an undue faith in asbestos curtains without the necessary addition of automatic sprink- 1ers--about whose efficiency even the most painstaking manager or building Inspector cannot be certain without fre- qiIent and expensive tests. One precau- ton alone, for example. we'll carried out, removes nine-tenths of the danger of fire spread and every theatre owner should see to it that in case of fire every nook and cranny of the stage and both sides of the curtain are immediately and constantly deluged with water The, use of a sprinkler system that can quickly and surely turn the entire stage into a deluge and the curtain into a waterfall
 adds so much to the safety of the audi ence that all other precautions against the spread of fire are insignificant in comparison. This statement Professor Norton emphasizes as neither specula- ton nor personal expert opinion, but a matter-of-fact summary of many years
 evidence. gathered in the suppression of actual fires, where automatic sprinklers had been installed in risks. more danger aus than any theatre. All the newer and better theatres have their stages well sprinkled and many have their curtains urenched by automatic sprinklers, but both these practices should be. made com pulsory in all play houses. =,
 The construction of the theatre bufld- ing itself wholly of incombustibie ma ferial gives, of course, an added safety
 second in importance, however, to 6 proper sprinkler system. An old wood and brick theatre we'll sprinkled is fal safer for its audience than a steel-con
 crete or brick and terra cotta structure without such system. although tht greatest security, as is the case with tho best of modern theatres. lies naturally ir Thoroughly iilcombustibIe1 '.fire-proof' construction plus an efficient sprinkfei system. These theatres are emphaticalI, safe. The ordinary asbestos fire curtain on the other hand. may serve for a tim
 70 conceal fire from an audience. but f
 or very questionable service. in prevent
 Ing 1t from spreading to the auditorium No asbestos curtain was ever made tha
 will hold together many seconds afte
 the flame blast behind it is sufficient t,