The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-02-08
SMALL THEATRE
Scene OF FIRE
Moving Picture Machines and
Some of Films Are De-
Stroyed at Electric.
PEOPLE GET OUT SAFELY
LITTLE CONFUSION AND NO ONE
INJURED.

The Electric theatre at 264 South
street. between Second and Third
South, was damaged by a fire which
destroyed the moving picture machine
and some OF the Aims. The fire occurred
while the motion picture show was in
progress. There were 200 people in
the theatre at the time, ali of whom
got safely out of the doors as soon as
II was announced that the place was
on fire.
The machine was being operated by
Byron Park. He succeeded in cover
ing up the rest of the films so that
they were saved. He escaped injury.
The operator is a brother of Lester
Park, who was seriously burned last
summer i'm a fire in an electric theatre
on Main street while operating NOV
ing picture machine there.
All of the wires leading into the the
atre were cut by the fire department
electricians as soon as the firemen
reached the place in order that there
might be no danger to the firemen
while they were extinguishing the
flames near the machine.
Manager c. A. Nichols and Elec-
trician George f. Russell Joined in a
statement last evening concerning the
IRE dl the EitClflt lHtdLAt-
The fire occurred at 7:40 o'clock ."
said Mr.. Russell. while the racing
scene, "A Hundred to One Shot was
on The film caught from a spark
from the carbon. Films are highly
combustible, and it is no uncommon
thing for them 10 take fire. AS soon
as the fire broke out 1 told the ope-
rator and his assistant to come down
out of the operating room. 1 then
urged the people to be calm and to
make their way TO the exit without
undue haste. There We're POP people
i'm the house, which viii seat 23S. There
are two exits, one in the front and one
in the rear. Both of these were thrown
open.
Meanwhile an alarm of fire had
been turned in, but it was ten min
utes before the department arrived
upon the scene.
'The seats i'm our house are arranged
in movable sets of fours. BY turning
these to one side, we soon had a wide
aisle the length of the house. The floor
is level and there are no stairs. Some
of the women in the audience became
excited naturally, but the men were
cool and guided them to the exits with
a remarkable lack of confusion. 1t IS
a conservative estimate. ! think. to say
that the house was emptied in two
minutes.
THE walls of our operating room, as
well as the ceiling, are of asbestos.
The room, in dimensions, is about six
by eight feet. The front OF this is
masked with paper, and il was not uu-
til the asbestos became Overheatad
that this paper caught fire, about fif-
teen minutes after the fire first broke
out in the operating room. The janitOr
of the Brooks Arcade, the building in
which the theatre is, came with a hand
chemical and had the fire practically
subdued when the firemen took charge.
The electric lights continued to burn
throughout the progress of emptying
the house, and afterward.
THE damage, aside from the ma
chimes and films. consists of breakage
here and there and accumulations of
water and chemicals incident TO a fire
probably $500.
Il believe that the theatre should
have been provided with emergency
fire prOtectiOn-I believe all theatres
of the kind should be. Hand chemicals
in sufficient number should be placed
at convenient points throughout the
buildings"
The damage to the machines and
reels of films is estimated at about
500.
Manager Nichols says the house will
be reODenpd Sunday