Someone had raised the curtain higher than its usual position in order to provide a better view of the stage for those on the balcony.
When a velvet curtain ignited at the stage, an asbestos backup curtain, standard equipment in all theaters of that time, failed to drop down and contain the fire. There were firemen on duty in the theater at the time of the fire but the only firefighting equipment they had was a quantity of powder to sprinkle on a fire. Neither of these procedures was in place on December 30. Sadly, at the Iroquois, there was indifference to two extremely important safety procedures: ways of getting people out of the building quickly and stationing firemen close to the stage with fire extinguishers and hoses ready for use. Several theaters had already implemented them. The new fire precautions had been well established and were well known. The United States had a long history of fires, and this was not the only twentieth century urban fire, but it was a particularly tragic event. Out of the 1,900 people in attendance, mostly women and children, six hundred lost their lives. The management was quite unprepared for the panic that ensued. Blue Beard, Jr.,” a fire suddenly broke out. On December 30, 1903, when the Iroquois Theater was packed for a holiday matinee of the popular musical ”Mr. The theater that was claimed to be fireproof went up in flames shortly after its first opening. Of the 1,900 people in attendance six hundred lost their lives.Ĭhicago’s deadliest fire of the twentieth century occurred shortly after the opening of the new, fireproof, Iroquois Theater.
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