From 1905 until Al Ringling’s passing in in 1916, Thomas G. Moses completed several designs for the Ringling Bros. grand circus spectacles. In 1912, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Went to Sterling to catch Ringling to collect $1,200.00. As I went to the tent to find Al Ringling, I discovered everyone watching a fire – a stable at least four blocks away. A spark was blown towards the tent, the top of which is prepared with paraffin to make it waterproof. It soon ignited from the sparks and in less than thirty minutes the big tent was destroyed. The rest of the tents were saved. It was mighty fortunate there were no people in the tent. Some of the animals in another tent started some noise when the smelled the smoke, but they were soon quieted. I sneaked away without making myself known. There was no money for me, that I guessed.” This would not be the first or last fire for the Ringling Bros. On July 6, 1944, a huge fire engulfed the Ringling Bros. Circus tent in Hartford, Connecticut. The tragedy killed 167 people and injured hundreds more.
Fire was a constant threat for not only circuses but also theaters. Theatre practitioners still site the horror of Chicago’s Iroquois Theatre tragedy as an impetus for many of today’s fire codes. It is not that we were unaware of how to prevent theatre fires. As an industry, there were fire curtains and other preventative measures in place at many nineteenth and twentieth century theaters. The architectural firm of McElfatrick & Sons placed most of their theaters on the ground floor and increased fire exits. By 1876, Dion Boucicault was testing various methods to fireproof scenery.
The problem was a lack of regulation and safety enforcement. I always think back to the Triangle Shirt Factory and all of the women leaping to their deaths to escape the flames; profits remained a priority over people for many companies, even after court-appointed safety measures were demanded of business owners. This is when the reinforcement of state and government regulations to ensure public safety is a necessity, as some companies refuse to spend money on safety. For the theatre industry, it took the seeing piles of dead women and children on the streets of Chicago after fire broke out during a matinee performance.
I have several books about the Iroquois Theatre Fire, one being “The Great Chicago Theatre Disaster” by Marshall Everette published in 1904. The publication included “the complete story told by the survivors” and was “profusely illustrated with views of the scene of death before, during and after the fire.” The Publisher’s Preface noted, “While the embers are still all but glowing of one of the most heartrending fires of modern times, its history has been caught from the lips of the survivors and embalmed in book form. The deep and far-reaching effects of the Iroquois casualty will not be eradicated, if much softened, for another generation. That this is true must be realized, when it is remembered how large a majority of the victims were in the early dawn or flush of life, and their friends and closer kindred can the less readily be reconciled to the sad reality than the loss had fallen among the mature, whose end, in order of nature, would not be far away.” Everett added, “While this book is intended to be a fitting memorial in commemoration of that tragic and historic event, I am in firm in the conviction that its wide circulation will be instrumental in accomplishing much good. It calls special attention to the defective and dangerous construction of theaters, public halls, opera houses and other public buildings all over the land; bold evasions and reckless disregard of life-saving ordinances by managers and owners whereby thousands of precious lives are constantly in imperiled. It will thus arouse public sentiment and emphasize the supreme importance of safeguarding people who congregate in such buildings and prevent the possible loss of thousands of lives in the future. What has happened in Chicago is liable to occur in other cities and towns unless precautionary measures are adopted.”
Mrs. Emma Schweitzler described the first appearance of the fire, stating, “As soon as the drop curtain came down it caught fire. A hole appeared at the left-hand side. Then the blaze spread rapidly, and instantly a great blast of hot air came from the stage through the hole of the curtain and into the audience. Big pieces of the curtain were loosened by the terrific rush of air and were blown into people’s faces. Scores of women and children must have been burned to death by these fragments of burning grease and paint. I was in the theater until the curtain entirely burned. It went up in the flames as if it had been paper and did more damage than good.”
When Moses visited Ringling in 1912, he had already witnessed his share of burned stages. Sosman & Landis frequently provided replacement scenery for venues that replaced previously burned theaters. It was not until I began researching the life and times of Moses that I began to understand how frequently fires cured in the United States. We all know of their existence, yet many of us cannot comprehend the frequency of the events. And yet, people kept walking through the doors of early twentieth century theaters, hoping that all precautions to prevent fire had been implemented for their safety.
By 1908, the “Manual of Inspections, A Reference Book for the Use of Fire Underwriters” by William Dennis Matthews included a section on theaters:
“THEATERS. Heating? Footlights, border-lights and overhead stage lights – open? How guarded? Scenery – painted with watercolors or oils? Arrangement of switchboard, dimmers, etc.? Spot Lights? Sciopticons? Stereopticons? Smoking on stage? Dressing rooms – candles? Swinging gas jets? Heaters? (Fires are caused frequently by electrical apparatus carried by traveling companies, which is generally poorly constructed and installed). Carpenter and paint shops – care of oils, paints, refuse, etc.? Space under auditorium used as a catch-all of old papers, etc.? Posters- where stored (subject to spontaneous combustion when stored in piles, owing to the oxidation of printer’s ink)? General care and cleanliness?
Note: The spread of fires in theatres is usually very rapid, owing to the height of ceilings and the arrangement and nature of scenery and flies in stage end. Fires occurring during performances nearly always cause panics in which more or less people are injured or killed. It should, therefore, be plain to all concerned that devices which might cause fires should be eliminated as far as possible and that those which are necessary should be safeguarded in every practical way. The question of protection is a most important one – some cities require the stage end to be of fireproof construction, all scenery to be fire-proofed, the opening in proscenium wall to have a fireproof curtain, and the dressing rooms, property rooms and paint and carpenter shops equipped with automatic sprinklers. There should be a good supply of chemical extinguishers on the stage and working galleries, in dressing rooms, paint and carpenter shops and property rooms, and throughout the basement; large stationary chemicals with piping to these various rooms and hose attached would, of course, be preferable.”
To be continued…
