The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1908-12-31
Fire Breaks Out in New Geaa6
Theatrs During First PET
formance Saturday Night
BRASSvILLE HOUSE SC0RCHFa
Flames Break Out in the Basement g
Elizabeth Street Hotel Late
Sunday Afternoon and
Cause Damage of $500

The new Grand Theatre in one Of tbs
rooms in the Meyers block on MssFkeS
Square which opened for business ou
Thursday evening, had a baptizz IS
fire on Saturday evening when Games
broke out In the little compartnleEf IS
the front of the theatre used for Esua-
ing the picture machine and hafara
they had been extinguished by the de-
: partment damage to the amount af
nearly a thousand dollars resal5eg.
Fortunately there was no pants eoz-
nected with the fire The first shaw
of the evening was just we'll under wzr
F., when the flames broke out and zAaEa
were about 200 people in the fh6szgsz
Some man saw a small line of snaEe
coming out of the moving picture ssH-
i partment and gave the alarm Of 6Fg
and the people began to stampede
toward the doors, but the mex s.
charge of the theatre showed grea@
presence of mind and quickly o9sEsz
the exits at the rear of the buI}dEm@
and the audience managed to get szaS
of the building without any one bgzng
injured. In the meantime the Games
were burning furiously in the Ef87a
compartment where the moving p5ezHEs
machine was in operation. John Ne
Cornell, Jr., one of the managers O. 6aa
theatre was in charge of the opezstzoE
of the machine He was throwing az
advertising picture on the screen ana
a the same time was re-winding 0Ra
of the long films which had been sAs@E
earlier in the evening. A pOrfaeE a4
the film dropped down and stru6E q
hot wire connected with the msehTa@
and it burned like timber Ihs IA
chine was supposed to be a fire pE8aE
machine, but it was burned up In tbs
flames which followed the burnSmE -
the film. Mcconnell proved himssf 3
hero on the occasion as he hur1sedIg
shouted to the ushers to get the crowd
out of the building and then attempfa2
to smother the fire with his bare hands
In his efforts he was terribly burus&
on the right hand The flesh on SIS
hand was burned to the bone and f.
. will be weeks before he is able ts us@
the hand again. The flames Ii AzaG
little compartment were so hoE 9aaE
The big plate glass windows IL Gse
front of the building were cracked zn6
considerable damage was done to sha
decorations Of the little theatre T&s
picture machine is considered sssuE~
plete loss as are the two large fins
The loss on the machine and films Is
placed at $500 and there was no i-zz1x-
ance to cover this loss The dazasa
to the building will probably be fqsa9
hundred dollars more but this iGzs -
covered by insurance.
AS q result of the fire Chief ESeH
mann sent out men to look oVeE ShG
other theatres having moving FzsEBzs
machines in operation. The Colu2aSs5s-
Theatre did not open on Sunday zz&
the machine at the Bijou was operates
with member Of the fire department
with a. chemical on guard. Today all
of the theatres are lining the recess
in which the moving picture mae0zao
are operated with tin and asbestos ans
there will be no great danger from thIs
sort Of fires in the future.
The managers of the Grand TheaEne
are planning to reopen the house Tag&
as soon as the damage done by Ere
fire can be repaired and new macazHe
secured.
Brassvil1e House scorched
/ The Brassville Hotel, managed Big
Dan McLennan and located at the esE
+ ner of Elizabeth and Bond streets, Was
badly scorched by a fire which brsE@
out just before four O'Clock Sunday az
ternoon The fire started in the baza-
ment Of the hotel and is supposed e
! nave been caused by a defective zze
The flames spread rapidly to the walls
on the east side of the building and
the fremen were forced to work faE
more than an hour before the famss
were extinguished At the time the
fire broke out there were a number e
the boarders sleeping in their roerzs
but they were all awakened and ges
out of the building without being IN
! iured The loss on the building via
be in the neighborhood Of $3.50 and
there will also be loss of several
hundred dollars on account of damaes
to the furniture by smoke and wafer-
All Of the losses are covered by instr
ance.