THE PAISLEY DISASTER

Dominion, Volume 23, Issue 84, 3 January 1930, Page 9

THE PAISLEY DISASTER

HEAVY DEATH-ROLL DUE TO PANIC NO DANGER FROM FIRE TRAGIC SCENES OUTSIDE MORTUARY The kinema disaster at Paisley was due to the children becoming panic stricken, the danger of fire having been averted by the burning film being thrown on to some waste land. \ (United Press Association.—By Electric Telegraph.—Copyright.) London, January 1. The nation is shocked by the Paisley kinema disaster, which was apparently caused when somebody shouted “Fire.” The gas brackets were broken in the children’s wild scramble. Many rescuers declare emphatically that the hall was thick with coal gas fumes aud smoke. Many of the dead were black in the face. It is revealed also that a few died of injuries. There was ah extensive scratching of knees and faces during the panic owing to acute hysteria. Three children of one family perished. Had the children remained calm and made an orderly use of the various exits the tragedy would have been averted, for the building was quite undamaged by fire. Quite a number of children were trampled to death. Firemaster Wilson, in a statement, says that the children were everywhere, some behind the screen and some in the orchestra pit. The stairways were a ghastly sight, about ten feet wide, packed with children huddled in every conceivable position as tight as a wall of cement, the bodies twisted, and some just moaning. A relief fund has been opened, and subscriptions amount to £lOOO. The seventieth victim has died In the infirmary. His younger brother was killed yesterday. Paisley in Mourning. To-day the town of Paisley is in mourning. Social events an dthe New Year’s celebrations have been . cancelled. Men and women are going about their duties with grave faces, and children are talking in hushed voices. There were tragic scenes outside the mortuary. Hundreds of men and women, parents of the dead children, waited for hours in the pouring rain, some so poorly clad that they used newspapers to keep off the rain. At the infirmary the doctors and nursing staff worked throughout the night, tending the little ones, many of whom are suffering from shock. Their efforts are likely to be successful, for of thirty-seven patients it is hoped that, twelve will be able to go home to-night. Was Rear Exit Gate Locked? One point in an exhaustive inquiry into the tragedy will be whether the rear exit gate was locked. It seems established that this was open before the performance, but locked when scores of children endeavoured to escape. The scene in the mortuary, where long rows of the victims are lying, bears evidence of a struggle in the shape of torn clothes, bruised arms and legs, and bootless and stockingless feet. In addition to the Paisley Town Council’s action, many public bodies have initiated relief funds, as the majority of the bereaved families are of the working class. INVESTIGATION BY EXPERT PUBLIC INQUIRY LATER SYMPATHY OF THE NATION (British Official Wireless.) Rugby, January L Immediate investigation is being made by an expert of the Home Office into the disaster at a kinema at Paisley whereby 69 children lost their lives and 37 were injured, one of whom has since died. A public inquiry will later be held. Dr. Gray, of the Paisley Infirmary, has dismissed the theory that the victims died from carbon monoxide poisoning from the fumes of burning film. It appears to be established that, had there been no panic, there would have been no casualties, for the burning film, though it filled the auditorium with smoke, was thown out of the kinema on to some waste ground within a few seconds. In the words of.one official, “The children were killed trying to escape from a danger which did not exist.” But the cry of fire had already gone up and it was too late to avert panic. Most of the children died from suffocation in the crush. Some of them leapt from a balcony on fb the heads of those beneath. The King and Queen have sent to the Provost of Paisley a message expressing their great distress at the appalling disaster and asking the Provost to convey to bereaved relatives their heartfelt sympathy in their overwhelming sorrow. The Prime Minister, telephoning to the Provost and speaking for his countrymen and countrywomen, sent a message of sympathy. He said such a tragedy at any time would have moved the country to sorrow, but happening on New Year’s Eve, when everyone was happy with children and was planning feasts and gaiety for them, deep indeed was the gloom which this devastation had cast upon them. "Everyone blessed by having their children around them understands in a most intimate way the torturing sorrow which is in the hearts of so many of your citizens.” The Town Council at a special meeting to-day decided to head the Reliel Fund with a grant of a thousand guineas and to defray the funeral expenses of the victims. A public funeral service will be held on Friday of the victims of the kinema disaster at Paisley.