A FILM ABLAZE.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1284, 13 November 1911, Page 5

A FILM ABLAZE.

EXCITING INCIDENT AT HIS MAJESTY'S. A RAPID EXIT. fn^ 1 ' 1 ? ,,, ! -1 '? alt « ndc d the animated piciilTo S r a T cut at nis Majesty's Th* •cl, rl ?l , ? 1 ' , J ist before nine n i ll -" , ' m wh,ch Ivas l>oiliE shown fl''l>li machine. The fierce heat of tho powerful lamp in tho machine instantly fl-Ll CDlh , ,lo,d lilm ablai!o - Kol "° Ume, escaped, lroni the cabinet in which t|c uiachine is housed, and a majority kpW° , a !. ,dl( ; u ".. naturally somewhat bc.uerl, kit hurriedly. Tho exit doora ga\e irca egress, and there was no verv Benous contusion. Tho blaze in l.lio cab", mi'.t was quickly suppressed, and tho perv.ces of the lire brigade wero not required, speaking to a reporter Inst evening, Mr. ». Douglas (mannjjcr of His Majesty's Ihoa re made light of tho incident mid stated that (hero was not at any time cause dor a arm. As mauy pjoplo know, ine kmemulograph. machiuo at His Jlajetty s, as in other modern living-picture theatres, is enclosed in a Rpocinlly-cou-slructod hre-proof cabinet. This is made oi plate iron lined with asbestos, and it is a complete box, iloor, ceiling, and walls. A movablo shutter is provided, which can bo used at will to closo the aperture in front of the cabinet, through which views ore projected upon tho screen. As soon _as tho film caught iiro on Saturday m-cmiig, tho licensed operator, Mr Tnrjou, promptly dropped the shutter. Mr. Douglas stales that no (lames would bavo appeared outside the cabinet bad not somo well-intentioiicd, but mistaken, iudivirtual pushed a coat into tho aperture closed on the inside by tho shutter. Tho result was that tho shutter was pushed out of its place, and a tongue of ilniue flickered put. A Minima* fire-<stingnishor is kept in the cabinet, and also a tub of water, with a wet blanket. Using thesn appliances tho operator and tho firemen, in attendance extinguished the blazo in auout thrco minutos. Mr. Douglas added that tho damage dono was slight. A length of him was destroyed, and a condouser lens was broken, but tho latter item of damago is of not infrequent occurrence at ordinary times.' Accordiug to Mr. Douglas, many of tho people downstairs did not know exactly what had happened. Ihcre was a call of "lire," the lights went up, and they trooped out. A number of peoplo upstairs remained in tho building, and looked on while tho firo was being extinguished. "We could have b '.mo on with the show twenty minutes after Uio thing happened," Mr. Douglas remarked. "It will servo to show how little dnmagn was done that tho saino machine will bo v.sQd nt this evening's entertainment." Ac tho members of tho audienco went cut they were each given a ticket which will entitle them to visit any future chow at His Mnjesty's. Mr. B. Fuller, on being quoslionecL gavo substantially the same ucconnt ni : what had happened. Tho film, he stated, burned for three or four minutes, thn damage. done was infinitesimal, and no insurance will be collected. His ida- . jesly's Theatre is insured for about X2SOO. A momber of Tnfi Dominion staff, who r.ttonded at His Majesty's on Saturday evening, gives tho following account of what happened:—"Justbefore nino o'clock tho machine was reeling off one of the pathetic-play films, and was about halfway through tho story whoti something happened. The effect was verv curious. In the foreground was a lady nolding a large white carnation, and suddenly Iho (lower swelled until it filled the wholo picture—leaving a white square. It waa at once evident to everybody that tho film had caught firo, and tho celluloid burned wry swiftly, for as soon as they looked round the audienco instantly sprang up shouting. A number of young men who had been seated near tho oper-ating-box rushed (x> the rescue, , while, everybody else was scrambling for an. exit. There was a good deal of screaming, and every appearance of a panic. Fortunately, neither tho circle nor tho floor of the theatre was quiio filled, po that at their first movement the audience did not, find'.''themselves'.blocked. The people in the circle rushed tho two side exits at the stage-pnd, as .jvcll as tho main exits. . A good many lusty voices endeavoured to reassure tho scrambling peoplo, and for a moment it seemed that the audience would go out quite coolly. The flames insido the box increased rapidly, hownver, nnd at last gushed out of tho front aperture and swept up to tho roof. Tho rush to escape recommenced, and crowds poured on to tho streets from all the exits, but tho extinguishing of tho flames camn in timo to stop tho rush, and about half the upstairs audienco remained to look on. Tho trouble was over when the I?ire Brigade arrived—it had only lasted about five minutes." Superintendent O'Brien, of the , City Fire Brigade, described the outbreak as being of very trifling importance. Hβ stntod that there was no possibility under the circumstances of tho firo extending to the main biyldiug. The shutter olosing tho front aperture, ho added, was not driven in. Someone pnflicd a coat into thp opening, and foi a HHle wliilo provented tho shutter descending. Tho moral, Superintendent O'Brien remarked, is that members of tho public should not interfere on occasions of the l;iud, but should keep their heads and pet quietly out of tho way. Ho considers that in thn matter of provision against firo rislrs His Majesty's, aud tho other picturo theatres in Wellington, aro satisfactorily safeguarded, and Hint there is no danger to tho general public.