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Fire escapes on Couch Alley side of Iroquois Theatre in Chicago.
From Iroquois promotional material:
"As for exits, they are far
more numerous, the entire north frontage being
available for such service in case of emergency.
Another large emergency exit leads across the
stage to Dearborn Street from the passageway and
doors behind the boxes on the south side of the
auditorium proper. The directness of entrance
and the availability of exits are a praiseworthy
feature of this admirably planned house of
amusement."
Door 31
There were conflicting reports about the existence
or absence of a fire escape stairway outside the second-floor balcony,
Door 31. During the Coroner's inquest much testimonial time was spent unraveling the matter.
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The steps were there, but the landing was a 24" drop
at the doorsill (see illustration above). People at the front
of the crowd blocked the view of the landing so the drop couldn't be seen and anticipated.
By the time people saw it they were already being ejected
through the door, pushed from behind by the crowd like a sausage machine.
There were children, old people and
women wearing ankle-length dresses. Some tripped and
fell onto the landing, their bodies becoming a human
footstep, but the fallen were not yet dead.
They struggled to regain their
footing, grasping at those climbing over them, sometimes tripping them so that they too became
trampled and suffocated.
The torrent of people pushing through the door
didn't stop and they began falling roughly 40 feet
to the alley floor below.
Interesting
study of fire escapes in Elizabeth Mary André's thesis.
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The Iroquois Theater disaster caused renewed vigor in fire drills at schools.
Pictured are children at the Washington school, reported to have emptied in
under two minutes. Had flames been licking out through windows as they
tried to descend, as happened at the Iroquois, many would have died.
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