# Rhoads Opera House fire



## cda (Jan 19, 2015)

Rhoads Opera House fire





Have not heard about this one before:::

The stage and auditorium were located on the 2nd floor and the few emergency exits available were either unmarked or blocked. Two fire escapes were available but were only accessible through latched windows whose sills were located 3 & 1/2 feet above the floor. Of the approximately 400 men, women, and children either in attendance or associated with the performance of the play 171 perished in various ways as they tried to escape the conflagration. In the panic to escape many were crushed in the narrow main entrance stairway as well as against the jambed main exit swinging doors of the 2nd floor auditorium. In a few instances entire families were wiped out. One firefighter William Graver, was also killed while responding to the incident.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhoads_Opera_House

http://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/palitmap/Rhoads.html

Spurred by the catastrophe in Boyertown, Gov. Edwin Stuart signed Pennsylvania’s first comprehensive fire-safety laws on May 3, 1909.

The legislation served as a model for other states, creating standards for doors, landings, exits and other features of public buildings. It also banned combustible stage curtains and kerosene lighting from theaters.

The building’s owner, Dr. Thomas J.B. Rhoads, vowed to rebuild, and he did, an imposing three-story structure that still dominates the corner of East Philadelphia Avenue and South Washington Street. A plaque on the front marks the tragedy.

http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/east/2008/01/15/86413.htm


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