River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1911-08-31
EXPLOSION DEAD
SIXTY HURT FOLLOWING CRY OF
FIRE IN THEATRE IN
PENNSYLVANIA.
WOMEN AND CHILDREN SMOTHER
Discovered When Playhouse Is Emp
tied That Building Is Not AbIaze.
Flames Restricted to Oper-
ator's Booth.

Canonsburg, Pennsylvania NOV
in picture film, exploding in the Nor
gan opera house, caused a panic in the
audience and mad rush to the doors
and exits, and before the theater was
emptied Is lives had been sacrificed
and over go were injured. Immediate
Iy following the flash Of the film, some
one shouted fire" There was rush
for the exits, and in moment there
was a writing, screaming mass of
humanity, ten feet high, in the narrow
stairway leading to the entrance of
the theater.
Most of the dead were smothered.
In the fierce rush for the exit, people
were thrown from their feet and tram
pied upon. Others were thrown upon
them, and those at the bottom of the
human pile were suffocated. The vic
Tins mostly are women and children.
When two volunteer fire departments
reached the theater the sight stag
gered them. Those of the audience
who had escaped from the building,
and other spectators drawn to the
scene, were rushing about the front
of the building. No person, it seemed,
was making any effort to aid the strug-
Cling mass within the theater.
The firemen pushed into the build
ing and practically threw persons into
the street. AS they regained their feet,
they ran wildly about, shrieking in ter
ror. AS the firemen neared the bot
tom of the pile, they began to bring
out the unconscious forms Of the in
jured, and later came the dead.
The Morgan opera house is in the
center of the town and on the main
street. 1t is large structure and has
two galleries which, with the main
floor, afford seating capacity for 1000
persons. The house was crowded at
the time of the explosion, but hun
dreds were standing in the rear Of
the ground floor. The moving picture
cage was located on the second gal
lery floor and it was there that the
explosion occurred. 1t made a loud
noise and Immediately the cry of "fire"
went up from the audience.
The spectators on the main floor and
the first gallery heard the cry and all
it's.
Confusion at Main Entrance.
Other people, maddened with fear,
sought the fire escapes and reached
the street in safety. But those that
had made for the main entrance not
only found their own number filling
the entrance, but they were stopped
IN, 41oriy, Nv ~
people trying to force their way into
the theater at the same time. The
latter saw the crowd coming out and
were trying to get in for the second
performance, which was to begin in a
few moments.
The film booth was fire proof and the
fire went no further than its interior.
John Mccullough, operator of the
moving picture machine, had just
thrown the subject of the next series
of pictures on the screen, entitled "a
Little Girl Shall Lead Them" when
the film exploded and the asbestos
cabinet was filled with flames. For
several moments the audience, num-
bering upwards of 1900, was totally I'M
aware of the accident and the operator
heroically fought down the flames and
succeeded in extinguishing them.
Then, with his hands frightfully
burned and almost suffocated, he
opened the door of the little box and
staggered out. With the opening of
the door, a dense cloud of smoke
poured into the auditorium. The panic
followed.