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Thread: Iroquois Theater Fire

  1. #1
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    Iroquois Theater Fire

    Can't believe there isn't a thread on this already. Here ya go!

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iroquois_Theater_Fire
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

    "I will be buried in a spring loaded casket filled with confetti, and a future archaeologist will have one awesome day at work."

  2. #2
    Seagorath Guest
    Wow, that's a lot of fatalities...

  3. #3
    Armcast Guest
    That's a good reason why I'm never comfortable in crowded places...I'm always looking for the exit sign and always sit near the door.

  4. #4
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    That's friggin incredible. Never even heard of this before. Thanks, Miho!

  5. #5
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    Just shows you how far we have come in fire safety and rules.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

    "I will be buried in a spring loaded casket filled with confetti, and a future archaeologist will have one awesome day at work."

  6. #6
    Jazbabee Guest
    Wow, up until now, I wrongly thought that the Chicago fire, Coconut Grove and Triangle Shirtwaist were the worst.....hadn't heard of this one before.

  7. #7
    ChiFan27 Guest
    I worked a block away from the site. The Ford Theater sits on the site of the old theater. When I took my son downtown we would always walk down the alley behind the theater because it was supposively haunted. It used to be very creepy with the old cobblestone in place. They have completely redone the entire alley and added lights so its not as fun.



    NOTE: After this fire they made a law that doors in public buildings always swing out. The doors in this theater swung inward and with the people pushing to get out basically sealed the doors shut.

  8. #8
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    Oh yes, I have a book called "Man Made Disasters" that has this tragedy in it. This was considered one of the worst fires in a public place. For some reason, it's the disasters like this, that just chill me to the bone. To think, you're in a theater, having a good time one minute and then fighting for your life the next. It's just horrible to think what fear and panic can do to some people, and how they can react in a situation like this.
    "So many faces in and out of my life. Some will last, some will just be now and then. Life is a series of Hellos and Goodbyes, I'm afraid it's time for Goodbye again. "

  9. #9
    Lisamarie Guest
    Oh I remeber this thanks for posting and reminding me!!! Wow what a story!! I cannot imgaine the horror!! Those poor people!!!

  10. #10
    Sam Guest
    Thank You!
    What an INCREDIBLE story!
    I remember as a child, probably in the 4th grade when we were told about this fire that changed the laws and made all the doors in the theaters open "OUT" because of the deaths from a theater fire, although I couldn't have told you where it happened.
    It had an incredible impression on me.
    I remember ALWAYS looking for the "EXIT" signs as a child whenever I was in a movie after that!
    Now I know why!

  11. #11
    SEL2323 Guest

    Iroquois Theatre Fire 1903

    Not Sure where this should go - move if needed.

    On December 30, 1903, the Iroquois presented a matinee performance of the popular Drury Lane musical Mr. Bluebeard, which had been playing at the Iroquois since opening night. The play, a burlesque of the traditional Bluebeard folk tale, featured Dan McAvoy as Bluebeard and Eddie Foy[10] as Sister Anne, a role that allowed him to showcase his physical comedy skills. Attendance since opening night had been disappointing; poor weather, labor unrest, and other factors had kept playgoers away. The December 30 performance drew a much larger audience, with every seat being filled and hundreds of patrons in the "standing room" areas at the back of the theatre. Most of the estimated 2,000 patrons attending the matinee were women or children. The standing room areas were so crowded that some patrons instead sat in the aisles, blocking the exits.
    At about 3:15 P.M., the beginning of the second act, a dance number was in progress when an arc light shorted and ignited a muslin curtain. A stagehand attempted to douse the fire with the Kilfyre canisters provided but it quickly spread to the fly gallery high above the stage where thousands of square feet of highly flammable painted canvas scenery flats were hung. The stage manager attempted to lower the asbestos curtain, but it snagged. Although early reports state that it was stopped by the trolley-wire that carried one of the acrobats over the stage,[10][11] later investigation showed that the curtain had been blocked by a light reflector which stuck out under the proscenium arch.[12] A chemist who later tested part of the curtain stated that it was mainly wood pulp mixed with asbestos, and would have been "of no value in a fire."[13]
    Foy, who was preparing to go on stage at the time, ran out and attempted to calm the crowd, first making sure his young son was in the care of a stagehand. He later wrote, "It struck me as I looked out over the crowd during the first act that I had never before seen so many women and children in the audience. Even the gallery was full of mothers and children."[10] Foy's role in this disaster was recreated by Bob Hope in the film The Seven Little Foys. Foy was widely seen as a hero after the fire for his courage in remaining on stage and pleading with patrons not to panic even as large chunks of burning scenery landed around him.[14]
    By this time, many of the patrons on all levels were quickly attempting to exit the theatre. Some had located the fire exits hidden behind draperies on the north side of the building, but found that they could not open the unfamiliar bascule lock. One door was opened by a man who had a bascule lock in his home and two were opened either by brute force or by a blast of air, but most of the other doors could not be opened. Some patrons panicked, crushing or trampling others in a desperate attempt to escape the fire.[15] Some perished while trapped in dead ends or while attempting to open "doors" that were in reality windows designed to look like doors.
    The dancers on stage were also eventually forced to flee, along with the performers backstage and in the numerous dressing rooms.[16] Many escaped the theatre through the coal hatch and through windows in the dressing rooms, while others attempted to escape via the west stage door, which opened inwards and became jammed as actors pressed toward the door frantically trying to get out. By chance a passing railroad agent saw the crowd pressing against the door and undid the hinges from the outside using tools he normally carried with him, allowing the actors and stagehands to escape.[17] Someone opened the huge double freight doors in the north wall, normally used for scenery, allowing "a cyclonic blast" of cold air to rush into the building and create an enormous fireball.[18] As the vents above the stage were nailed or wired shut, the fireball instead traveled outwards, ducking under the stuck asbestos curtain and streaking toward the vents behind the dress circle and gallery 50 feet (15 m) away. The hot gases and flames passed over the heads of those in the orchestra seats and incinerated everything flammable in the gallery and dress circle levels, including patrons still in those areas.
    Those in the orchestra section were able to exit into the foyer and out the front door, but those in the dress circle and gallery who escaped the fireball were unable to reach the foyer because the iron grates that barred the stairways were still in place. The largest death toll was at the base of these stairways, where hundreds of people were trampled, crushed, or asphyxiated.
    Patrons who were able to escape via the emergency exits on the north side found themselves on the unfinished fire escapes. Many jumped or fell from the icy, narrow fire escapes; the bodies of the first jumpers broke the falls of those who followed them.
    Students from the Northwestern University building located north of the theatre tried bridging the gap with a ladder and then with some boards between the rooftops, saving those few able to manage the makeshift cross over.

  12. #12
    SEL2323 Guest
    Corpses were piled ten bodies high around the doors and windows. Many patrons had clambered over piles of bodies only to succumb themselves to the flames, smoke, and gases. It is estimated that 575 people died on the day of the fire; well over 30 more died of injuries suffered over the following weeks. Many of the Chicago victims were buried in Montrose, Forest Home, and Graceland cemeteries.[19]
    Of the 300 or so actors, dancers, and stagehands, only the aerialist (Nellie Reed), an actor in a bit part, an usher, and two female attendants died. The aerialist's role was to fly out as a fairy over the audience on a trolley wire, showering them with pink carnations. She was trapped above the stage while waiting for her entrance; during the fire she fell, was gravely injured, and died of burns and internal injuries three days later.[20]
    In New York City on New Year's Eve some theaters eliminated standing room. Building and fire codes were subsequently reformed; theaters were closed for retrofitting all around the country and in some cities in Europe. All theater exits had to be clearly marked and the doors rigged so that, even if they could not be pulled open from the outside, they could be pushed open from the inside.[citation needed]
    After the fire, it was alleged that fire inspectors had been bribed with free tickets to overlook code violations.[21] The mayor ordered all theaters in Chicago closed for six weeks after the fire.[22]
    As a result of public outrage many were charged with crimes, including Mayor Carter Harrison, Jr.. Most charges were dismissed three years later, however, because of the delaying tactics of the owners' lawyers and their use of loopholes and inadequacies in the city's building and safety ordinances. The only person convicted was a tavern keeper charged with robbing the dead. By 1907, thirty families of the victims had been financially compensated for their loss, receiving a settlement of $750 each (~$17,117 in 2008 dollars [23]).
    The exterior of the Iroquois was largely intact. The building later reopened as the Colonial Theater, which was torn down in 1926 to make way for the Oriental Theater.

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    SEL2323 Guest

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    Click image for larger version. 

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ID:	47477The aftermath of the fire was significant with the official death toll at 602 making it one of the worst theater disasters in history...and it only took 15 minutes.


    Terrifying. Just look at how burned out that place is and how fast it happened.
    This is where Theater owners were negligent and our fire safety at theaters is due in part to this tragedy. It made all the fire exists being clear and fire alarms ect mandatory.
    and this quote was interesting...Titanic was after this fire btw:
    ~~The Iroquois opened with "Mr. Bluebeard" just a month previous and was hailed as a "fireproof structure".~~ from this website- http://www.examiner.com/article/a-fo...r-fire-of-1903

  15. #15
    fotowun Guest
    I just knocked out a post about the fire on my blog if anyone wants to take a look...

    https://disasteroushistory.blogspot....fireproof.html

  16. 11-13-2018, 09:02 PM

  17. #16
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    Actually it wasn't due to the doors swinging inward, that is false, it was due to them locking a few of the doors so people wouldn't sneak in without paying, now we have the law that doors must remain open and unlocked, the doors swinging inwards came from a rumor that started when the Collinwood school caught on fire, people claimed the doors swung inward thus trapping most of the children that died, due to this rumor is why we have doors that open outwards. Fotowun, I hope you remembered to credit the book about this fire which was written in 1903 a lot of the information that you wrote and got and pictures came from that book, I have an original copy of it as well as the pictures. Reading this I could have sworn I was looking at my own blog about this, as the pictures are in order of what is exactly like on my blog as well as some of the information. LOL and I started mine and wrote mine years ago.

  18. #17
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    I've always liked how Iroquois sounds, when you say it out loud.
    Stay in Drugs. Eat your School. Don't do Vegetables.

  19. #18
    fotowun Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by pkstracy View Post
    Actually it wasn't due to the doors swinging inward, that is false, it was due to them locking a few of the doors so people wouldn't sneak in without paying, now we have the law that doors must remain open and unlocked, the doors swinging inwards came from a rumor that started when the Collinwood school caught on fire, people claimed the doors swung inward thus trapping most of the children that died, due to this rumor is why we have doors that open outwards. Fotowun, I hope you remembered to credit the book about this fire which was written in 1903 a lot of the information that you wrote and got and pictures came from that book, I have an original copy of it as well as the pictures. Reading this I could have sworn I was looking at my own blog about this, as the pictures are in order of what is exactly like on my blog as well as some of the information. LOL and I started mine and wrote mine years ago.

    Actually, between a third and half of the doors were either locked or otherwise unusable. Most of my info came from either Judy Cooke's awesome site, iroquoistheater.com, and 'Tinderbox', by Anthony Hatch ...Judy's site being the most accurate of the two by far. ANd yep, I credited both, as well as providing links to them. Is there a link to your blog...I'd love to take a look at it.

  20. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by cleanskull View Post
    I've always liked how Iroquois sounds, when you say it out loud.
    I had the honor of meeting an Iroquois gentleman from New York. He had a Bronx accent. Lol. A Cherokee friend brought him to my apartment. I was kind of amazed to him two Indian tribes sitting at my kitchen table.
    GOD IS NOT DEAD





  21. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by fotowun View Post
    Actually, between a third and half of the doors were either locked or otherwise unusable. Most of my info came from either Judy Cooke's awesome site, iroquoistheater.com, and 'Tinderbox', by Anthony Hatch ...Judy's site being the most accurate of the two by far. ANd yep, I credited both, as well as providing links to them. Is there a link to your blog...I'd love to take a look at it.
    I saddly had to take my blog down as people were stealing stuff on it and claiming it as their own, even personal pictures that I had gotten from family members and such and was given permission to use on my blog. Tinderbox is such a great book and Judy's site is wonderful as well, I believe I have an extra copy of the 1903 book about the fire, if you want it, Free of course just send me a pm and let me know and if I can find it I'll send it to whatever address you want.

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