Safety of Theatres.

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume I, Issue 56, 20 October 1887, Page 2

Safety of Theatres.

MB McFABLANE’S COMPLAINT. Ar the Borough Council meeting on Tuesday evening, the following letter was received from Mr McFarlane I beg to state that the report furnished td you by yoUf Fire In»|>H O t(Jr on ths uimos of escape from ths gallery nf the Academy of Music if a panic were to tvko place Is unln. teiliglble, alarming, misleading, and uojus? towards me as proprietor and oaretaker ot the hall, I wish no unduo favor, but I claim a right to have the management and arrangements of the hall reported truthfully it reported at all, Just see the fal>e and exaggeiated comments in the BtawbaM oi the 8&h Inst., which evidently creme to hav* originated from the Fire Inspector's repote, The gallery Is only large enough to Mat 100 people, certainly not 130 as stated in the M> port. The entrance to the staitosse is made to appear to have only one door opening in« wards, which showed the danger of a block by not being able to open the door, whereas there are three doors, two of which open outwards. Ths report makes it appear that through the staircase only Can anyone get out of the gallery, whereas there are four doors in the parapet of the gallery through which it is easy to pass and drop on the ground floor of the hall. The drop would be from three to four feet, in accordance with the size of each person. Come to the ball and investigate the truth of what I state. In reply to Or Lewis the Fire Inspector said no alteration had yet been made. His Worship : In the meantime I support the gallery is closed. Mr Faram; Yes, sir; Or Dunlop: The letter does not seem to res quire any answer. His Worship : I do not know whether Mr McFarlane requires an investigation. Cr Lewis: That is what he does ask"—hC says so at the end of the letter. Cr Lucas : I don't see that it is necessary for the Council to visit the hall. Surely we can rely on the Inspector's report in this matter. I shall move that the report from the Inspector be carried out, and that the galleries remain closed till the necessary alterations are made;

Hts Worship: I think the proper ooursd would be to refer the matter to the Fire In* spector. It is his report that is being questioned, and we might leave it to him to see if there is any reason to rescind his previous report. Cr Lucas said the letter did not say any. thing about altering the staircase, which was very bad. A resolution had already been passed in favor of the Inspector's report, and he did not think there was any gentldman present not well acquainted with the outlet from the hall. He thought it would be very erroneous on their part to evade what they had already passed. His Worship : We could not do that. Cr Joyce: We have concurred in the Inspector's report, and I think it would be wrong for Us to oantrkdict oat own statements when so verifying his report, at least until we see some further reason. There might be a dozen doors leading from the gallery to the body of the hall, but that would not be cotHpljrlng with the resolution of the Council.

His Worship: The Council cannot very well depart from their resolution. We rely upon the Inspector’s report, and I would suggest that the report be referred to him. If the Inspector sees any reason to alter his report, the Council can very consistently agree with him.

Cr Townley would suggest that the In* spector should confer with Mr McFarlan*; and see if they could devise a better means; and something that would still answer the purpose. Mr McFarlane wished to have the management of hie own hall, and no doubt it would be difficult to keep the gallegy in order if it opened on the street. He thought that was an error in the decision of the Council. If the Inspector and Mr McFarlane could devise a better means of exit that was all the Council wanted. As to the parapet, the doors opening in front were hardly suitable for ladies to jump down from on a lot of moving people below, if a fire took place. He had observed the insufficient outlet when the late alarm took place. They should try and meet Mr McFarlane as far as possible—they did not want to impose impossibilities on him or anyone else. All they wanted was to ensure safety, but if they did seem a little harsh they should be on the safe side. Something better might be devised. Cr Lewis: The doors might be made to open on either side of the hall, if that would suit Mr McFarlane better. It was resolved that the Inspector should confer with Mr McFarlane to see if anything better could be devised to suit all parties,