1 00:00:02,360 --> 00:00:06,280 Speaker 1: Happy Saturday. Today is the anniversary of the Iroquois Theater 2 00:00:06,400 --> 00:00:09,080 Speaker 1: fire in Chicago, which took place one hundred and twenty 3 00:00:09,160 --> 00:00:13,520 Speaker 1: years ago on December thirtieth, nineteen oh three. Fires tend 4 00:00:13,520 --> 00:00:16,000 Speaker 1: to be some of the most devastating disasters that we 5 00:00:16,079 --> 00:00:18,079 Speaker 1: talk about on the show, and this is one of 6 00:00:18,120 --> 00:00:21,159 Speaker 1: the most devastating fires. But it was also one of 7 00:00:21,200 --> 00:00:24,079 Speaker 1: the most requested episodes we had ever done at the 8 00:00:24,120 --> 00:00:27,960 Speaker 1: time we recorded it. This originally came out December eighth, 9 00:00:28,120 --> 00:00:34,360 Speaker 1: twenty fourteen. Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, 10 00:00:34,560 --> 00:00:43,840 Speaker 1: a production of iHeartRadio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 11 00:00:43,960 --> 00:00:47,640 Speaker 1: I'm Tracy B. Wilson and I'm Polly Pryme. Today we 12 00:00:47,680 --> 00:00:52,360 Speaker 1: have a listener request by everyone. It certainly seems that way, 13 00:00:52,920 --> 00:00:55,400 Speaker 1: it feels that way. It's something people have been asking 14 00:00:55,480 --> 00:00:58,000 Speaker 1: us to do an episode on since we joined the podcast. 15 00:00:58,200 --> 00:01:01,920 Speaker 1: And then next week I asked on our Facebook page 16 00:01:02,040 --> 00:01:05,039 Speaker 1: for events specifically that people would like to hear about 17 00:01:05,080 --> 00:01:08,400 Speaker 1: because our listener ideas list is about eighty percent people 18 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:14,160 Speaker 1: and Carmen, Carol and Aisha all asked to hear about this. 19 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:17,000 Speaker 1: I also want to give a special shout out to 20 00:01:17,040 --> 00:01:20,640 Speaker 1: Aisha and I hope I'm saying your name correctly. Ayisha 21 00:01:20,680 --> 00:01:23,800 Speaker 1: went through and answered so many people who asked about 22 00:01:23,800 --> 00:01:27,039 Speaker 1: episodes that we actually already have. After I had like 23 00:01:27,160 --> 00:01:30,480 Speaker 1: clocked out for the weekend, I came to work on 24 00:01:30,560 --> 00:01:33,200 Speaker 1: Monday morning, and when I started plowing through that thread again, 25 00:01:33,240 --> 00:01:35,320 Speaker 1: there were all these answers that it was great. And 26 00:01:35,520 --> 00:01:37,440 Speaker 1: I will thank her too because I was away on 27 00:01:37,520 --> 00:01:40,000 Speaker 1: vacation at the time, so she covered yes both us 28 00:01:40,280 --> 00:01:44,160 Speaker 1: very kindly. That was awesome. So if you go to 29 00:01:44,200 --> 00:01:48,440 Speaker 1: the movies today anywhere in the developed world, there's going 30 00:01:48,520 --> 00:01:51,560 Speaker 1: to be an announcement before the feature reminding you to 31 00:01:51,640 --> 00:01:55,440 Speaker 1: look for your nearest exit. If you like movies at all, 32 00:01:55,480 --> 00:01:57,680 Speaker 1: you've probably heard it so many times that you don't 33 00:01:57,720 --> 00:02:01,280 Speaker 1: really even think about it anymore. You probably also don't 34 00:02:01,320 --> 00:02:03,720 Speaker 1: need to be reminded that it might be behind you, 35 00:02:04,440 --> 00:02:07,840 Speaker 1: and you probably also just take for granted that if 36 00:02:07,840 --> 00:02:10,600 Speaker 1: there's an emergency, you can push on the door and 37 00:02:10,639 --> 00:02:14,680 Speaker 1: it will open. That's pretty standard in most Yeah, it's 38 00:02:14,760 --> 00:02:19,600 Speaker 1: pretty movie theater standard business. Now. Not so in nineteen 39 00:02:19,639 --> 00:02:23,160 Speaker 1: oh three, when Chicago's Iroquois Theater, which had only been 40 00:02:23,200 --> 00:02:26,840 Speaker 1: opened for five weeks, caught fire and killed more than 41 00:02:26,880 --> 00:02:31,280 Speaker 1: six hundred people, So he alert, this is not a 42 00:02:31,280 --> 00:02:35,640 Speaker 1: peppy episode. No, And if you already feel depressed, so 43 00:02:35,800 --> 00:02:38,560 Speaker 1: many people have asked us to talk about this, so so, 44 00:02:38,560 --> 00:02:42,520 Speaker 1: so many. So, uh, if you're angry at another Dead 45 00:02:42,520 --> 00:02:48,440 Speaker 1: women and Children's story, blame them. I don't know. You 46 00:02:48,480 --> 00:02:50,399 Speaker 1: can maybe come back to this one later when you're 47 00:02:50,400 --> 00:02:53,320 Speaker 1: in a lighter mood, and it will be quite so 48 00:02:53,720 --> 00:02:56,560 Speaker 1: impactful on your your well being. Yeah, and I personally 49 00:02:56,600 --> 00:02:58,880 Speaker 1: have been trying to stick with more hopeful story since 50 00:02:58,880 --> 00:03:01,639 Speaker 1: we're heading into the holiday season, and this is oddly 51 00:03:01,760 --> 00:03:08,200 Speaker 1: even more appropriate because it happened during the holiday season. Yeah. 52 00:03:08,240 --> 00:03:11,200 Speaker 1: So yeah, we'll make great efforts to do peppier ones 53 00:03:11,200 --> 00:03:15,360 Speaker 1: in the next the next several episodes at least. So. 54 00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:18,880 Speaker 1: The Iroquois Theater on Randolph Street in Chicago was, as 55 00:03:18,919 --> 00:03:22,000 Speaker 1: Tracy said, just a moment ago nearly knew when it burned. 56 00:03:22,480 --> 00:03:24,880 Speaker 1: It opened on November twenty third of nineteen oh three, 57 00:03:25,360 --> 00:03:28,200 Speaker 1: and it was six stories tall and described by Eddie Foy, 58 00:03:28,280 --> 00:03:31,040 Speaker 1: who was on stage for its last performance, as quote 59 00:03:31,440 --> 00:03:33,520 Speaker 1: one of the finest that had yet been built in 60 00:03:33,560 --> 00:03:37,520 Speaker 1: this country. A palace of marble and plate glass, plush, 61 00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:42,400 Speaker 1: and mahogany and gilding. Its foyer was immense. It had 62 00:03:42,440 --> 00:03:46,760 Speaker 1: these sixty foot ceilings and a grand staircase on either side, 63 00:03:47,120 --> 00:03:50,160 Speaker 1: and then the backstage accommodations for the performers and the 64 00:03:50,280 --> 00:03:55,080 Speaker 1: orchestra were similarly very well appointed. It was also supposed 65 00:03:55,080 --> 00:03:58,880 Speaker 1: to be entirely fireproof, and as we've talked about in 66 00:03:58,960 --> 00:04:01,520 Speaker 1: past episodes, including the Woman on the Grove, park In, 67 00:04:02,080 --> 00:04:04,920 Speaker 1: fire was a really huge threat to hotels and other 68 00:04:04,960 --> 00:04:09,760 Speaker 1: public buildings. Various architects, planners, and builders tried their hand 69 00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:12,360 Speaker 1: at coming up with a way to build a fireproof building. 70 00:04:13,200 --> 00:04:16,880 Speaker 1: Theater fires in particular, had a huge potential for catastrophe, 71 00:04:17,240 --> 00:04:21,000 Speaker 1: so being fireproof was a really big deal. And in 72 00:04:21,040 --> 00:04:24,400 Speaker 1: addition to its construction, there was an asbestos curtain that 73 00:04:24,480 --> 00:04:27,320 Speaker 1: was supposed to protect the audience from any kind of 74 00:04:27,320 --> 00:04:32,720 Speaker 1: fire that started on the stage. Chicago's building commissioner, George 75 00:04:32,720 --> 00:04:37,279 Speaker 1: Williams and its fire inspector Ed Laughlin called it quote 76 00:04:37,480 --> 00:04:42,960 Speaker 1: fireproof beyond all doubt, but not everyone was so convinced 77 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:47,200 Speaker 1: as that. William Clendon, in the editor of Fireproof Magazine, 78 00:04:47,560 --> 00:04:50,640 Speaker 1: had inspected the Iroquois Theater that summer before it opened 79 00:04:50,880 --> 00:04:55,080 Speaker 1: and actually found it woefully lacking. Among his points, there 80 00:04:55,160 --> 00:04:57,640 Speaker 1: was no draft to draw fire up into the loft 81 00:04:57,760 --> 00:05:00,000 Speaker 1: instead of allowing it to spread out into the audio. 82 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:05,159 Speaker 1: There were exposed reinforcements around the prosenium arch, there was 83 00:05:05,200 --> 00:05:09,120 Speaker 1: too much wood trim everywhere. There was also no fire alarm, 84 00:05:09,360 --> 00:05:14,039 Speaker 1: no standpipe, and no sprinkler over the stage. So while 85 00:05:14,040 --> 00:05:19,280 Speaker 1: the building itself was widely touted as being fireproof, if 86 00:05:19,320 --> 00:05:22,479 Speaker 1: a fire did start, there was all kinds of completely 87 00:05:22,520 --> 00:05:25,599 Speaker 1: flammable stuff inside of it, and a fire was very 88 00:05:25,760 --> 00:05:29,680 Speaker 1: likely to spread unchecked without a way to either summon 89 00:05:29,720 --> 00:05:33,440 Speaker 1: the fire department from on the property or control the 90 00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:38,080 Speaker 1: fire until help arrived. At full capacity, the theater was 91 00:05:38,120 --> 00:05:41,320 Speaker 1: supposed to seat one thousand, seven hundred and twenty four people, 92 00:05:42,080 --> 00:05:45,039 Speaker 1: but December thirtieth of nineteen oh three was a particularly 93 00:05:45,080 --> 00:05:48,200 Speaker 1: busy day. School was still out for Christmas break and 94 00:05:48,240 --> 00:05:51,320 Speaker 1: the theater had been packed with nineteen hundred people in 95 00:05:51,400 --> 00:05:55,000 Speaker 1: a standing room only show, although some reports put the 96 00:05:55,080 --> 00:05:58,440 Speaker 1: number even higher than that, and unfortunately nearly all of 97 00:05:58,480 --> 00:06:02,880 Speaker 1: them were children and their mother. The show that day 98 00:06:02,960 --> 00:06:05,960 Speaker 1: was a musical, and it was called Mister Bluebeard. It 99 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:09,839 Speaker 1: starred vaudeville comedian Eddie Foy in drag as the role 100 00:06:09,880 --> 00:06:12,320 Speaker 1: of Sister Anne, and he was backed up with a 101 00:06:12,360 --> 00:06:16,479 Speaker 1: troop of five hundred along with a full orchestra. This 102 00:06:16,680 --> 00:06:19,680 Speaker 1: play was an adaptation of Grim's Fairy Tales that had 103 00:06:19,720 --> 00:06:22,200 Speaker 1: originally opened on Drury Lane in London, and it was 104 00:06:22,279 --> 00:06:25,400 Speaker 1: touring with all the original props and scenery and a 105 00:06:25,440 --> 00:06:28,600 Speaker 1: lot of the original cast. And you may wonder how 106 00:06:28,640 --> 00:06:31,040 Speaker 1: a play about blue Beard would be okay for children, 107 00:06:32,040 --> 00:06:34,920 Speaker 1: And in this version all of Bluebeard's murdered wives are 108 00:06:34,960 --> 00:06:38,040 Speaker 1: restored to life, and like many musicals at the time, 109 00:06:38,160 --> 00:06:40,800 Speaker 1: it was mostly a framing device for a bunch of songs, 110 00:06:40,839 --> 00:06:43,760 Speaker 1: so it focused less on the actual story of blue 111 00:06:43,760 --> 00:06:47,200 Speaker 1: Beard and his murderous spreeze. As you know if you've 112 00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:50,920 Speaker 1: ever been in a play, stage lights are really really hot. 113 00:06:51,160 --> 00:06:54,279 Speaker 1: And in the second act, eight couples took the stage 114 00:06:54,360 --> 00:06:57,119 Speaker 1: for a number called in the Pale Moonlight, and about 115 00:06:57,160 --> 00:07:01,240 Speaker 1: three fifteen in the afternoon, one of the painted canvas 116 00:07:01,279 --> 00:07:05,320 Speaker 1: backdrops caught fire. It was in the vicinity of a spotlight. 117 00:07:05,880 --> 00:07:10,640 Speaker 1: There are various explanations for exactly what happened. One is 118 00:07:10,680 --> 00:07:14,480 Speaker 1: that the backdrop brushed against a reflector of the spotlight, 119 00:07:14,520 --> 00:07:17,960 Speaker 1: which was extremely hot. Another is that it actually blew 120 00:07:18,240 --> 00:07:21,280 Speaker 1: blue a fuse. Another is that just something went wrong 121 00:07:21,320 --> 00:07:25,920 Speaker 1: and a spark shot out. Regardless, this oil paint covered 122 00:07:26,120 --> 00:07:31,040 Speaker 1: canvas backdrop started to smolder, and a stage hand named 123 00:07:31,040 --> 00:07:34,720 Speaker 1: William mcmollin saw it happen and actually tried to put 124 00:07:34,720 --> 00:07:38,200 Speaker 1: it out with his hands like you would hit out 125 00:07:38,240 --> 00:07:41,480 Speaker 1: something small that was smoldering, but he couldn't reach it 126 00:07:41,560 --> 00:07:45,400 Speaker 1: from the catwalk where he was standing. Also on hand 127 00:07:45,480 --> 00:07:48,120 Speaker 1: was an on site firefighter who tried to put the 128 00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:51,440 Speaker 1: fire out with two tubes of a product called kill Fires. 129 00:07:52,080 --> 00:07:54,880 Speaker 1: This was according to an advertisement in the Los Angeles 130 00:07:54,960 --> 00:07:58,400 Speaker 1: Herald the following year. Quote a dry compound in a 131 00:07:58,440 --> 00:08:01,840 Speaker 1: tin tube and weighs less than three pounds, so its 132 00:08:01,880 --> 00:08:05,760 Speaker 1: primary component was bicarbonate of soda baking soda. And it 133 00:08:05,800 --> 00:08:08,000 Speaker 1: probably would have done fine for the task of putting 134 00:08:08,040 --> 00:08:10,400 Speaker 1: out a grease fire in a kitchen, but on the 135 00:08:10,480 --> 00:08:13,600 Speaker 1: vertical surface of a burning oil paint covered canvas, it 136 00:08:13,760 --> 00:08:15,800 Speaker 1: was not sufficient to do the job at all, and 137 00:08:15,840 --> 00:08:20,600 Speaker 1: the fire started to spread. Yeah, it was basically meant 138 00:08:20,600 --> 00:08:26,400 Speaker 1: to smother a fire out and no falling off of it. Yeah, 139 00:08:26,440 --> 00:08:28,520 Speaker 1: there was literally no way to do that on a 140 00:08:28,760 --> 00:08:32,880 Speaker 1: vertical hanging surface. So at first the audience didn't know 141 00:08:32,920 --> 00:08:36,240 Speaker 1: anything was wrong because the fire, as fire generally does, 142 00:08:36,280 --> 00:08:39,920 Speaker 1: climbed upwards, and the first things that really caught were 143 00:08:40,080 --> 00:08:43,400 Speaker 1: everything in the fly space above the stage. This was 144 00:08:43,440 --> 00:08:48,240 Speaker 1: full of curtains and painted canvas backdrops and other scenery 145 00:08:48,280 --> 00:08:53,800 Speaker 1: that was suspended above the stage area. But the audience's 146 00:08:54,080 --> 00:08:57,679 Speaker 1: lack of awareness about the situation changed rather quickly as 147 00:08:57,720 --> 00:09:01,000 Speaker 1: the various flies and curtains caught fire and started to fall, 148 00:09:01,080 --> 00:09:05,679 Speaker 1: still burning, onto the stage. So things are going to 149 00:09:05,720 --> 00:09:08,160 Speaker 1: become pretty horrifying in a minute. And before they do, 150 00:09:08,640 --> 00:09:12,040 Speaker 1: let's take a brief word from a sponsor that sounds grand. 151 00:09:12,080 --> 00:09:24,840 Speaker 1: What kind of brace ra impact. As soon as burning scenery 152 00:09:24,920 --> 00:09:29,240 Speaker 1: started to fall onto the stage, the actors, i mean 153 00:09:29,280 --> 00:09:31,960 Speaker 1: some of them, continued on in their roles and some 154 00:09:32,040 --> 00:09:35,320 Speaker 1: of them really started to panic. People in the audience 155 00:09:35,559 --> 00:09:38,640 Speaker 1: also started to panic, and Eddie Foy, who'd been in 156 00:09:38,679 --> 00:09:41,439 Speaker 1: his dressing room when the fire started, ran out to 157 00:09:41,480 --> 00:09:44,600 Speaker 1: find out what the commotion was. He had actually brought 158 00:09:44,600 --> 00:09:47,280 Speaker 1: one of his children, a little boy named Brian, to 159 00:09:47,400 --> 00:09:50,520 Speaker 1: the show, and since there weren't any of seats available, 160 00:09:50,559 --> 00:09:53,480 Speaker 1: he'd let Brian sit in one of the wings. When 161 00:09:53,559 --> 00:09:56,559 Speaker 1: Foy saw what was happening, the first thing that he 162 00:09:56,600 --> 00:09:58,720 Speaker 1: did was find his son and give him to a 163 00:09:58,760 --> 00:10:00,920 Speaker 1: stage hand to try to keep it safe, and then 164 00:10:01,000 --> 00:10:04,200 Speaker 1: he ran downstage to try to calm the audience. He 165 00:10:04,280 --> 00:10:06,880 Speaker 1: told them not to get too excited, that everything was 166 00:10:06,960 --> 00:10:11,080 Speaker 1: under control. It became pretty clear quickly that it wasn't 167 00:10:11,080 --> 00:10:14,880 Speaker 1: actually under control, because burning curtains started falling onto the 168 00:10:14,880 --> 00:10:18,160 Speaker 1: stage at his feet. At this point, he yelled at 169 00:10:18,200 --> 00:10:21,800 Speaker 1: the stage manager to drop the asbestos curtain, but that 170 00:10:21,880 --> 00:10:24,760 Speaker 1: curtain got snagged on a light fixture and it jammed 171 00:10:24,800 --> 00:10:29,559 Speaker 1: part way down its track. Boy stayed on the stage. 172 00:10:29,720 --> 00:10:32,959 Speaker 1: He really did his best to calm the audience, and 173 00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:35,600 Speaker 1: while the people in front who could see and hear him, 174 00:10:35,840 --> 00:10:38,599 Speaker 1: did try, or did at least seemed to try to 175 00:10:38,640 --> 00:10:42,760 Speaker 1: take a more orderly, calm approach for the exits. At 176 00:10:42,760 --> 00:10:46,120 Speaker 1: this point, the people in the balconies were already completely 177 00:10:46,160 --> 00:10:51,400 Speaker 1: in a panic. The actors and dancers, completely terrified, fled 178 00:10:51,400 --> 00:10:54,360 Speaker 1: the theater through the stage door. When they did, a 179 00:10:54,480 --> 00:10:56,800 Speaker 1: huge blast of air came in through that door and 180 00:10:56,880 --> 00:11:00,880 Speaker 1: forced the flames under the asbestos curtain come down part way, 181 00:11:00,880 --> 00:11:02,880 Speaker 1: and now it was just sort of being drafted out 182 00:11:02,920 --> 00:11:05,640 Speaker 1: underneath it into the audience. The events that should have 183 00:11:05,679 --> 00:11:08,280 Speaker 1: allowed the inrushing air to escape through the roof were 184 00:11:08,360 --> 00:11:11,959 Speaker 1: nailed shut. These were also supposed to contain fans to 185 00:11:12,040 --> 00:11:14,520 Speaker 1: draw the air out, but those had never been finished. 186 00:11:15,600 --> 00:11:19,320 Speaker 1: The result of this combination of fire and airflow was 187 00:11:19,360 --> 00:11:23,280 Speaker 1: an enormous fireball, and it spread out over the heads 188 00:11:23,280 --> 00:11:25,360 Speaker 1: of the people who were on the first floor of 189 00:11:25,400 --> 00:11:29,640 Speaker 1: the theater, and according to reports, it actually brushed the balconies. 190 00:11:30,440 --> 00:11:33,480 Speaker 1: Everything in the house that was flammable caught fire, and 191 00:11:33,679 --> 00:11:36,960 Speaker 1: the audience started to flee for the doors. As the 192 00:11:37,080 --> 00:11:42,080 Speaker 1: stage literally started to collapse, Foy looked up and saw 193 00:11:42,080 --> 00:11:45,280 Speaker 1: that the asbestos curtain itself was now burning. It was 194 00:11:45,320 --> 00:11:48,640 Speaker 1: basically too thin and it wasn't rein forced, so once 195 00:11:48,679 --> 00:11:51,920 Speaker 1: the fire got to it, it literally fell apart. Boy's 196 00:11:51,920 --> 00:11:54,480 Speaker 1: actions were really pretty heroic during all of this. He 197 00:11:54,559 --> 00:11:57,520 Speaker 1: stayed on stage as long as he could, trying to 198 00:11:57,679 --> 00:12:02,199 Speaker 1: encourage people to calmly seek safety, until finally the blinding 199 00:12:02,240 --> 00:12:05,120 Speaker 1: smoke and terror for the safety of his own son 200 00:12:05,280 --> 00:12:07,560 Speaker 1: sent him out the stage door as well, and he 201 00:12:07,720 --> 00:12:11,680 Speaker 1: was reunited with his little boy outside. As he left, 202 00:12:11,760 --> 00:12:14,200 Speaker 1: the cables holding the last of the flies and curtains 203 00:12:14,200 --> 00:12:18,080 Speaker 1: in the loft gave way, and the whole burning mass 204 00:12:18,080 --> 00:12:21,719 Speaker 1: of scenery fell to the stage, causing a second fireball 205 00:12:21,840 --> 00:12:25,880 Speaker 1: to erpt through the house of the theater. The Iroquois 206 00:12:25,880 --> 00:12:29,040 Speaker 1: Theater did indeed have a lot of exits, twenty seven 207 00:12:29,080 --> 00:12:31,280 Speaker 1: of them in total, although there was one report that 208 00:12:31,360 --> 00:12:34,720 Speaker 1: said there were thirty, with twenty seven of them locked, 209 00:12:35,120 --> 00:12:40,240 Speaker 1: but some of them were actually obscured by drapes. Others 210 00:12:40,320 --> 00:12:42,240 Speaker 1: have been blocked in an effort to keep people from 211 00:12:42,280 --> 00:12:45,160 Speaker 1: getting into the show without buying a ticket, and those 212 00:12:45,160 --> 00:12:48,040 Speaker 1: that could be opened by the audience used an unfamiliar 213 00:12:48,080 --> 00:12:50,480 Speaker 1: design and people did not know how to get them open. 214 00:12:51,480 --> 00:12:54,720 Speaker 1: They had kind of a weird, fiddly lever thing that 215 00:12:54,800 --> 00:12:58,040 Speaker 1: would have been tricky and even under good circumstances, but 216 00:12:58,880 --> 00:13:02,360 Speaker 1: by terrified people in a building filling with smoke, they 217 00:13:02,440 --> 00:13:06,360 Speaker 1: were next to impossible. Also, just before we came in 218 00:13:06,360 --> 00:13:10,760 Speaker 1: here I found a report that the actual doors leading 219 00:13:10,800 --> 00:13:14,480 Speaker 1: from the balcony to those grand staircases had also been 220 00:13:14,559 --> 00:13:17,040 Speaker 1: locked to try to keep the people in the balconies 221 00:13:17,080 --> 00:13:20,800 Speaker 1: from getting to the better seats in the lower levels 222 00:13:20,840 --> 00:13:24,880 Speaker 1: of the theater without paying for them, so as people 223 00:13:24,920 --> 00:13:27,920 Speaker 1: tried to push their way out, the situation only got worse. 224 00:13:28,559 --> 00:13:31,000 Speaker 1: Smoke filled the theater and no one could see, and 225 00:13:31,040 --> 00:13:33,680 Speaker 1: there were also no emergency lights that would have helped 226 00:13:33,720 --> 00:13:37,280 Speaker 1: guide people to the exits. Those who made it to 227 00:13:37,320 --> 00:13:39,679 Speaker 1: the doors first were actually crushed against them by the 228 00:13:39,720 --> 00:13:43,280 Speaker 1: people behind. People who fell while trying to reach safety 229 00:13:43,320 --> 00:13:48,560 Speaker 1: were trampled to death. Casualties even continued outside the theater 230 00:13:48,760 --> 00:13:51,240 Speaker 1: because the fires spread up the side of the building 231 00:13:51,440 --> 00:13:54,480 Speaker 1: under the fire escapes, So people who had been in 232 00:13:54,520 --> 00:13:57,640 Speaker 1: the balconies and actually managed to get out onto the 233 00:13:57,679 --> 00:14:01,120 Speaker 1: fire escape saw that it was impassable and they tried 234 00:14:01,160 --> 00:14:04,400 Speaker 1: to jump. A lot of them died when they landed, 235 00:14:04,600 --> 00:14:08,600 Speaker 1: and later waves of people who jumped survived only because 236 00:14:08,600 --> 00:14:10,719 Speaker 1: they landed on the bodies of the people who had 237 00:14:10,720 --> 00:14:14,160 Speaker 1: died in the jump previously. Then that got even worse 238 00:14:14,200 --> 00:14:17,000 Speaker 1: because the people jumped after them crushed the people who 239 00:14:17,000 --> 00:14:21,600 Speaker 1: had initially survived their descent. And I need to break 240 00:14:21,720 --> 00:14:25,440 Speaker 1: from this story. It's so awful. It's one of those 241 00:14:25,440 --> 00:14:29,760 Speaker 1: things that sounds almost ridiculous in just the levels of 242 00:14:29,880 --> 00:14:32,960 Speaker 1: horror that keep kind of layering on top of one another, 243 00:14:33,680 --> 00:14:37,240 Speaker 1: it gets worse and worse. Yes, yeah, So we're going 244 00:14:37,280 --> 00:14:40,960 Speaker 1: to take another brief pause or a word from a sponsor. 245 00:14:49,440 --> 00:14:53,200 Speaker 1: So to get back to the Iroquois Theater fire. It 246 00:14:53,240 --> 00:14:58,000 Speaker 1: was all over in about fifteen minutes. Because there was 247 00:14:58,040 --> 00:15:00,600 Speaker 1: no fire alarm in the theater a state each hand 248 00:15:00,760 --> 00:15:03,560 Speaker 1: had to run to the nearest fire station to summon help. 249 00:15:04,400 --> 00:15:07,800 Speaker 1: Firefighters had the blaze extinguished within about half an hour. 250 00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:10,200 Speaker 1: There wasn't really much left for them to do when 251 00:15:10,200 --> 00:15:12,480 Speaker 1: they got there because the fire had burned up just 252 00:15:12,520 --> 00:15:16,880 Speaker 1: about everything that was flammable. By that point. The people 253 00:15:16,920 --> 00:15:20,400 Speaker 1: who had survived the crushing rush for the exits had 254 00:15:20,520 --> 00:15:25,440 Speaker 1: all nearly died of smoke inhalation. Firefighters found piles of 255 00:15:25,520 --> 00:15:29,200 Speaker 1: bodies up to ten deep at the exits and clogging 256 00:15:29,240 --> 00:15:32,800 Speaker 1: all of the aisles. In total, five hundred and seventy 257 00:15:32,800 --> 00:15:35,360 Speaker 1: five people died that day out of the nineteen hundred 258 00:15:35,400 --> 00:15:38,920 Speaker 1: that were there, so that equates to about thirty percent 259 00:15:38,960 --> 00:15:41,720 Speaker 1: of the audience. Nearly all of the victims were women 260 00:15:41,760 --> 00:15:44,720 Speaker 1: and children, and thirty more people died of their injuries 261 00:15:44,760 --> 00:15:48,120 Speaker 1: in the following weeks, and hundreds more were injured by 262 00:15:48,120 --> 00:15:50,960 Speaker 1: the whole event. Most of those killed had been in 263 00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:55,600 Speaker 1: the balconies. A very few people were almost miraculously pulled 264 00:15:55,600 --> 00:15:58,120 Speaker 1: out from under the bodies of others, which had protected 265 00:15:58,120 --> 00:16:01,600 Speaker 1: them from the smoke and the fire. The whole thing 266 00:16:01,680 --> 00:16:07,920 Speaker 1: was obviously devastating to Chicago's families, with the overwhelming number 267 00:16:08,640 --> 00:16:13,200 Speaker 1: of victims being moms and their children. Was the deadliest 268 00:16:13,240 --> 00:16:17,200 Speaker 1: fire in Chicago history, far out pacing the Great Chicago Fire, 269 00:16:17,240 --> 00:16:20,680 Speaker 1: which killed about two hundred and fifty. Was also the 270 00:16:20,720 --> 00:16:24,920 Speaker 1: deadliest theater fire in United States history, and I think 271 00:16:24,920 --> 00:16:33,560 Speaker 1: it's still also the largest single building fire death toll. 272 00:16:33,680 --> 00:16:38,040 Speaker 1: The cast, having escaped through the stage door, was almost unscathed. 273 00:16:38,280 --> 00:16:41,680 Speaker 1: The only fatality among the performers was a tightrope artist 274 00:16:41,760 --> 00:16:43,800 Speaker 1: named Nellie Reid, who was supposed to be part of 275 00:16:43,840 --> 00:16:46,520 Speaker 1: a flying ballet and had been in the loft above 276 00:16:46,520 --> 00:16:49,240 Speaker 1: the stage when the fire started. She died of her 277 00:16:49,320 --> 00:16:52,320 Speaker 1: burns a few days after the incident. When all of 278 00:16:52,320 --> 00:16:56,520 Speaker 1: this happened, it was a huge scandal. Even though having 279 00:16:56,600 --> 00:16:59,920 Speaker 1: twenty seven exits and an asbestos curtain and a non 280 00:17:00,600 --> 00:17:04,680 Speaker 1: on site firefighter sounds like it's good from a fire 281 00:17:04,800 --> 00:17:10,840 Speaker 1: safety standpoint. A whole series of inquests and investigations followed 282 00:17:10,840 --> 00:17:14,119 Speaker 1: the tragedy, and every single one of them unearthed all 283 00:17:14,280 --> 00:17:18,320 Speaker 1: kinds of problems in terms of safety and oversight. The 284 00:17:18,400 --> 00:17:22,840 Speaker 1: Chicago Daily Tribune actually sponsored its own investigation, and it 285 00:17:22,920 --> 00:17:28,040 Speaker 1: later published an enormous list of faults and wrongdoing. The 286 00:17:28,040 --> 00:17:31,119 Speaker 1: theater itself had actually been in violation of fire code 287 00:17:31,160 --> 00:17:35,399 Speaker 1: before its opening, but city officials got complimentary tickets and 288 00:17:35,440 --> 00:17:38,439 Speaker 1: they looked the other way. In addition to all the 289 00:17:38,440 --> 00:17:41,760 Speaker 1: problems we mentioned earlier, there were no hooks for taking 290 00:17:41,760 --> 00:17:45,120 Speaker 1: down burning scenery, there were no fire extinguishers, and there 291 00:17:45,160 --> 00:17:47,119 Speaker 1: was no training for the staff about what to do 292 00:17:47,200 --> 00:17:50,159 Speaker 1: in the event of an emergency. Had all the proper 293 00:17:50,200 --> 00:17:53,359 Speaker 1: codes been followed and had basic safety precautions been in place, 294 00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:57,280 Speaker 1: many lives would have been saved. Yeah, this is a 295 00:17:57,440 --> 00:18:00,080 Speaker 1: tragedy that a lot of times gets a lot of 296 00:18:00,119 --> 00:18:07,119 Speaker 1: credit for revolutionizing fire safety, which in some aspects is true. 297 00:18:07,200 --> 00:18:10,560 Speaker 1: But in other aspects there were actual elements of the 298 00:18:10,600 --> 00:18:13,600 Speaker 1: fire code that would have saved lives and were not followed, 299 00:18:13,960 --> 00:18:18,760 Speaker 1: and city inspectors did not do anything to prevent the 300 00:18:18,760 --> 00:18:25,360 Speaker 1: theater from opening before those faults were fixed. Although the 301 00:18:25,359 --> 00:18:29,920 Speaker 1: theater manager, and several Chicago public officials were indicted. None 302 00:18:29,960 --> 00:18:33,119 Speaker 1: of them were ever charged. The owner of the theater 303 00:18:33,400 --> 00:18:37,399 Speaker 1: was charged and convicted, but that charge was later reversed. 304 00:18:37,920 --> 00:18:40,960 Speaker 1: The only person who ever did jail time in conjunction 305 00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:44,520 Speaker 1: with this fire was a tavern keeper whose business had 306 00:18:44,520 --> 00:18:48,000 Speaker 1: been used as a temporary morgue, and he was convicted 307 00:18:48,040 --> 00:18:52,240 Speaker 1: of stealing from the dead. None of the victim's families 308 00:18:52,280 --> 00:18:55,600 Speaker 1: received any sort of restitution, apart from one class action 309 00:18:55,800 --> 00:18:59,520 Speaker 1: suit whose members each received seven hundred and fifty dollars. 310 00:19:00,280 --> 00:19:03,240 Speaker 1: The mayor of Chicago at the time was Carter H. Harrison, 311 00:19:03,359 --> 00:19:05,480 Speaker 1: and he was one of the people who was indicted 312 00:19:05,600 --> 00:19:09,199 Speaker 1: after the fire. Afterward, he shut down more than one 313 00:19:09,280 --> 00:19:13,399 Speaker 1: hundred and seventy theaters, churches, and other gathering places to 314 00:19:13,480 --> 00:19:18,480 Speaker 1: have them reinspected. He also passed ordinances requiring that all 315 00:19:18,560 --> 00:19:22,800 Speaker 1: theater doors be clearly marked and open outward in the 316 00:19:22,840 --> 00:19:25,800 Speaker 1: direction that traffic would need to go in an emergency. 317 00:19:26,920 --> 00:19:30,440 Speaker 1: And as devastating as this fire was, the building itself 318 00:19:30,560 --> 00:19:34,600 Speaker 1: was actually mostly unharmed. It closed down, and it reopened 319 00:19:34,640 --> 00:19:37,480 Speaker 1: a year later as the Colonial Theater. It was then 320 00:19:37,560 --> 00:19:39,800 Speaker 1: torn down in nineteen twenty six to make room for 321 00:19:39,840 --> 00:19:43,280 Speaker 1: the Oriental Theater. It is now the Gertrude Sea Ford 322 00:19:43,400 --> 00:19:47,560 Speaker 1: Center for the Performing Arts. There's also a memorial to 323 00:19:47,640 --> 00:19:52,479 Speaker 1: the disaster in Montroe's Cemetery in Chicago, and today, as 324 00:19:52,520 --> 00:19:55,320 Speaker 1: Tracy mentioned at the top of the episode, just about 325 00:19:55,320 --> 00:19:57,800 Speaker 1: everywhere has laws saying that exits have to be clearly 326 00:19:57,880 --> 00:19:59,320 Speaker 1: marked and that you have to be able to see 327 00:19:59,359 --> 00:20:01,920 Speaker 1: them from the inside, even if you can't get in 328 00:20:01,960 --> 00:20:05,360 Speaker 1: from the outside. As I was working on the outline 329 00:20:05,359 --> 00:20:08,720 Speaker 1: for this, I was reminded of the SS Sultana episode 330 00:20:09,560 --> 00:20:13,439 Speaker 1: Yes and which people ignored safety to make extra money. 331 00:20:13,920 --> 00:20:16,760 Speaker 1: I feel like we have had other episodes also about 332 00:20:16,760 --> 00:20:20,280 Speaker 1: people ignoring safety to make extra money. I know there 333 00:20:20,280 --> 00:20:24,800 Speaker 1: are definitely definitely episodes in the archives about people ignoring 334 00:20:24,880 --> 00:20:28,159 Speaker 1: safety to make extra money. I would like the world 335 00:20:28,520 --> 00:20:32,280 Speaker 1: to learn a lesson from this history and stop ignoring 336 00:20:32,359 --> 00:20:36,199 Speaker 1: safety to make extra money. Yeah. I mean, it's one 337 00:20:36,240 --> 00:20:39,879 Speaker 1: of those sort of horrible indicators of you know, that 338 00:20:40,000 --> 00:20:42,879 Speaker 1: aspect of human nature that you will prioritize cash flow 339 00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:48,400 Speaker 1: over doing the right thing. It's not our finest hour 340 00:20:48,480 --> 00:20:57,320 Speaker 1: as people. No, thanks so much for joining us on 341 00:20:57,359 --> 00:20:59,919 Speaker 1: this Saturday. Since this episode is out of the art. 342 00:21:00,320 --> 00:21:02,600 Speaker 1: If you heard an email address or a Facebook RL 343 00:21:02,720 --> 00:21:04,960 Speaker 1: or something similar over the course of the show, that 344 00:21:05,240 --> 00:21:09,199 Speaker 1: could be obsolete now. Our current email address is History 345 00:21:09,320 --> 00:21:13,880 Speaker 1: podcast at iHeartRadio dot com. You can find us all 346 00:21:13,880 --> 00:21:17,760 Speaker 1: over social media at missed Inhistory, and you can subscribe 347 00:21:17,800 --> 00:21:21,960 Speaker 1: to our show on Apple podcasts, Google podcasts, the iHeartRadio app, 348 00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:27,640 Speaker 1: and wherever else you listen to podcasts. Stuff you Missed 349 00:21:27,640 --> 00:21:30,800 Speaker 1: in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. For more 350 00:21:30,800 --> 00:21:35,200 Speaker 1: podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or 351 00:21:35,240 --> 00:21:37,440 Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.