THEATRE BURNING AS AUDIENCE WATCHES FILM
(P.A.) Christchurch, Oct. 3. Simultaneous with the showing of the main film, an outbreak of fire in the Roxy Theatre at New Brighton last night threatened to cause serious damage. Fortunately the fire was noticed before it had got a hold and the audience of about 200 persons was cleared from the theatre without panic.
Firemen quickly attacked the outbreak and put it out in a few minutes. The fire caused some damage to a section of the stage, but the sound system and screen nearby escaped the flames. The Are was caught in time by firemen who arrived at the theatre promptly after the alarm was given.
First to notice the outbreak was the manager of the theatre, Mr. E. D. Johnston. He attacked it with a bucket pump, but this proved unavailing. He then gave the alarm by telephone.
The picture was kept running as long as possible to divert the attention of the audience, and then the lights were turned on and the staff conducted the audience quietly from the theatre.
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WC19461004.2.86
Bibliographic details
Wanganui Chronicle, 4 October 1946, Page 6
Word Count
180THEATRE BURNING AS AUDIENCE WATCHES FILM Wanganui Chronicle, 4 October 1946, Page 6
Using This Item
NZME is the copyright owner for the Wanganui Chronicle. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International licence (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of NZME. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.