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Newspaper
Muscatine Journal
Location
Muscatine, Iowa, United States of America
Date
Dec 31, 1903
Page
5
Five hundred seventy one dead and more than two hundred injured after a fire at the Iroquois Theatre in Chicago on December 31. Sparks from spotlights ignited a theater drapery as chaos and stampede left aisles jammed with victims and firemen rescuing crowds.
Miss Charlotte Plamondon described a Chicago theatre fire that sent patrons racing for exits. She noted stage hands and Eddie Foy guiding audiences, women and children overwhelmed by a crush, men trampling others, and the collapse of exits as the crowd surged toward safety.
Chicago witnesses a dreadful theatre fire leaving hundreds dead or burned as firefighters recover bodies among marble columns and broken balconies. Mothers cling to children and survivors recount a frantic surge as firemen mourn the victims amid the holiday crowd.
Police with clubs cleared a path for wagons as crowds, mostly men who had sent wives and children to the theater and feared their own families might be aboard a drag, were forced back.
Chicago reports the Iroquois theater fire began when an exposed arc light fuse blew out due to crossed wires. Sparks ignited a linen tormentor behind the backdrop triggering a rapid stage fire that spread to hangings and seating. About 300 people were on or near the stage when the fuse exploded, with many in dressing rooms and on the stage.
Dead from the Iroquois theater fire overwhelmed removal efforts as drays, delivery wagons, and patrol vehicles crowded Thompson's restaurant sidewalk. Chief O'Neill and Coroner Traeger dispatched teams to repurpose wagons, while Dixon Transfer and state retailers lent extra loads, with police and onlookers helping move the bodies.
Chicago authorities report a devastating blaze at John R. Thompson’s restaurant on Rastolph Street adjoining a theater. Dozens died, with bodies piled along walls and tables as doctors fought to revive the living. over 150 bodies reported in Thompson’s establishment.
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