The Iroquois Theatre Fire, Part 1: The Theatre
In 1903, the Iroquois Theatre in Chicago, Illinois was set to host a matinée performance of the musical “Mister Blue Beard”. The children’s play, staring Dan Macavoy and Eddie Foy, featured physical comedy, actors dressed as animals, and ballerinas.
Close to two-thousand people packed the seats, aisles, and every other space in which they could sit or stand, in order to view the spectacle. Since the play was directed towards a younger audience, most of the people in attendance were women and children. This sell out event was well past the designed number of around sixteen-hundred attendees.
At 3:15pm, Wednesday, December 30th, just over five weeks after the buildings opening, tragedy would strike during the second act when a curtain on the stage ignited and burst into flames. Nearly six-hundred lives would be lost in the deadliest single-building fire in the history of the United States.
In this series of episodes, we will discuss what contributed to the massive loss of life, what lessons were learned, and how door hardware changed in an effort to prevent a repeat of this tragedy.
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Close to two-thousand people packed the seats, aisles, and every other space in which they could sit or stand, in order to view the spectacle. Since the play was directed towards a younger audience, most of the people in attendance were women and children. This sell out event was well past the designed number of around sixteen-hundred attendees.
At 3:15pm, Wednesday, December 30th, just over five weeks after the buildings opening, tragedy would strike during the second act when a curtain on the stage ignited and burst into flames. Nearly six-hundred lives would be lost in the deadliest single-building fire in the history of the United States.
In this series of episodes, we will discuss what contributed to the massive loss of life, what lessons were learned, and how door hardware changed in an effort to prevent a repeat of this tragedy.
-----
Listen to The Three Tumblers anywhere you get your podcasts and, please, follow and give us a review!
The Three Tumblers Podcast: https://podbay.fm/p/the-three-tumblers
Follow Us On Twitter: https://twitter.com/3tumblerspod
Follow Us On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thethreetumblerspod/