FIRE IN THEATRE

Evening Post, Volume CXXII, Issue 155, 29 December 1936, Page 8

FIRE IN THEATRE

PLAZA GUTTED

SMOKE WAKES FIREMEN

EARLY MORNING CALL

Awakened by heavy smoke at the Central Fire Station in the early hours of this morning, firemen began to dress and almost immediately were summoned to the Plaza Theatre, Manners Street, where a fierce blaze caused extensive damage to practically the whole of the interior of the brick and concrete building. The cause of the fire is unknown.

The alarm was given by a police constable at the station door at 2.37 a.m. Many of the firemen had already been awakened by the heavy smoke which drifted from the burning theatre a block away, and an exceedingly quick getaway was made, the first engine leaving within 45 seconds, followed immediately by three others, the fleet comprising two motor-pump engines, a salvage van, and the ladderescape wagon. The firemen found the whole of the neighbourhood clouded with dense smoke, and it was not until they were in Pringle Avenue, behind the Plaza, that they could see the flames breaking from the roof.

Two deliveries were run to the fire,, -one through the front door of the theatre from Manners Street and the other from Inglewood Place, attacking the flames from above the roof. It was obvious that the fire had been feeding on the interior woodwork and decorations of the theatre for some time, for the heat and smoke were terrific and not until the fire was almost subdued were the brigadesmen able to work without breathing apparatus. Under the direction of Superintendent C. A. Woolley twenty-five firemen toiled hectically for three-quar-ters of an hour before the fire was checked. The engines and most of their crews then returned to the station, freeing the Thorndon men and machines which had been standing by, while other firemen remained on duty in the blackened theatre for the rest of the day. STARTED BACKSTAGE. The fire began, in a manner unknown, behind the screen, probably not very long after the theatre had been closed down for the night at 11 p.m., all then being well. The screen and its supporting woodwork and the silken hangings at either side of it provided ready fuel for the flames, which must have travelled quickly upwards to the well-ventilated space between the decorative ceiling and the corrugated iron roof. In this tunnel, fanned by the southerly breeze which gained access through a roof-long ventilating channel, the fire fed greedily on the wooden rafters and the composition material, largely wood, of the ceiling. The brigadesmen worked heroically, but the blaze had a good start and before it could be got under control it reached the back of the theatre, via the ceiling. There, however, it stopped, the firemen being able to prevent its spread to the long foyer of the theatre, with its accompanying offices and cloak rooms, although so fierce was the heat and so dense the smoke that all of them today had black-streaked ' walls and fittings. GREAT INTERIOR DAMAGE. Daylight revealed a scene of ruin within the brick and concrete shell. Backstage at the seat of the fire only charred framework and tattered hangings remained of what was last night a tastefully decorated1, stage and screen. Lying forlornly on the floor of the stage was the massive baffle board, also charred, but still holding the ruined speakers of the sound equipment. Around the to? the proscenium arch was burnt through and from there right back to the projection box broad irregular gaps in the ceiling showed charred rafters and twisted iron above. The central decorative panel on the ceiling, being of plaster, came through unscathed but smoke-blackened. Expensive carpets and beautifullyupholstered seats were stained and sodden, although it was only in the upper circle at the back of the theatre that any of the seats were damaged by fire. There the blazing embers from the roof, not many feet above, had set fire to the kapok stuffing, and many of the seats were ruined. FILM UNDAMAGED. The projection box was subjected to a lot of flame and heat, being in close proximity to the ceiling along which the fire ran, but its metal, and asbestos lining saved the valuable projectors within, and even the film remained intact. Smoke, heat, and water did some damage, but by comparison with the rest of the theatre the projection box escaped lightly. In the foyer and adjacent offices and rooms there was only smoke and heat damage. Coming at the holiday season the loss !to the theatre management is severe, although the building and contents were covered by insurance. The place will need a new roof and practically a new set of interior fittings, v work which may occupy as long as two months. The fire will riot mean an interruption in the screening of the latest George Arliss picture, "East Meets West," which today was transferred to the King's Theatre, with its supports.