How the Deadliest Fire in U.S. History Saved Countless Lives

The Iriquois Theatre fire was the deadliest theatre fire and the deadliest single-building fire in United States history. 

At least 602 people died as a result of the fire, doubling the fatalities of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, which claimed the lives of approximately 300 people.

Most of the deaths resulted from people unable to open exit doors. They opened in, instead of out. And with hundreds of people pressing against an exit door, opening it inward was nearly impossible. As a result, only a few people escaped while hundreds of others perished just a few feet from survival.

As horrendous as this tragedy was, it resulted in one of the most significant safety inventions of the 20th century. The panic
bar.

Unfortunately, it needed a disastrous event that took hundreds of lives for the panic bar to be created.

Here’s what happened…

The Iroquois Theatre Fire of 1903

December 30th was a chilly day in Chicago.

Mothers, children and teachers, off for Christmas vacation, packed the Iroquois Theatre for a sold-out performance of Mr.
Bluebeard, a musical comedy starring Chicago native Eddie Foy.

The theatre had a seating capacity of 1,602 people. Every seat was sold, including hundreds more for the “standing room” at the back of the theatre. It’s estimated that 2,100-2,200 were in attendance that day,
mostly women and children.

As the show began its second act at 3:15
that afternoon, a spark from an arc lamp ignited a strip of paint-drenched drapery. The fire ran up the strip and started spreading to the scenery hung
high above the stage.

Blazing fabric began to rain down. Performers raced offstage. The audience began to bolt. Foy ran onstage and tried to calm the crowd, ordering the orchestra to keep playing. For a moment, the panic eased. But a draft from a stage door opened by fleeing cast members caused a sudden ball of flame to explode through the theatre.

Many in the balconies were instantly killed.

Part of the stage collapsed.

The lights went out.

That touched off a human stampede for the 27 exits, some hidden by drapes, others locked to prevent gate-crashers, some had bascule locks which no one knew how to open and others looked like doors with windows, but were actually only windows. Most of the other doors could not be opened.

Within 20 minutes, hundreds of bodies began piling up, 7 feet high, unable to exit the burning building.

Some 575
people perished that day. Hundreds were injured and another 30 died from their
injuries soon after. The theater’s managers and several public officials were indicted in connection with the fire, but none was ever punished.

When the firefighters finally entered the building, an eerie silence had fallen over the charred remains of the theater.

“Is there any living person here?” one fire marshal shouted over and over. “If anyone is alive in here, groan or make a sound.” Not one did.

A shameful list of fire safety valuations

The list of basic fire safety features missing from the Iroquois Theatre was revolting:

• No fire alarm.
• No automatic sprinklers.
• No exit signs.
• No emergency lighting.
• No suitable fire extinguishers.
• Stairways were blocked with iron gates to prevent people with inexpensive tickets from sneaking into more expensive seats.
• Theater staff never had a fire drill.
• Several ornamental “doors” looked like exits, but were not.
• Fire escapes lacked ladders.

But the biggest fire safety oversight and main cause of death were the exit doors.

They opened inward, into the theatre. However, the immense crowd pressed against the doors keeping them closed. When someone was able to pull the doors open enough to squeeze out, some people became wedged in the door opening as people continued to push on the door.

How the Iroquios fire inspired the invention of panic bars

Carl Prinzler, a hardware salesman who had
originally planned to attend the performance at the Iroquois Theatre the day of the fire, was determined that such a tragedy would never happen again. He immediately went on to work with his colleagues to invent a crash bar mechanism on doors that prevented entry from the outside – the major concern of ticket sellers at the time – but could be easily opened in case of emergency.

It’s been over 100 years and public buildings are still using Prinzler’s first design for panic bars.

What is a panic bar?

A panic bar (also known as a crash bar or exit device) is a door opening mechanism which opens a door by pushing on a bar. Panic bars are a crucial safety device during an emergency evacuation when people are rushing to exit a building. Instead of having to pull the door open, an almost impossible task with a tidal wave of people pushing to get out, panic bars open the door with a just only a minimal amount of pressure.

A panic bar’s fast-acting mechanism helps prevent a rushing crowd from bottlenecking at an exit door. When such a human avalanche happens, falls, crushing, injury and even death occur because the rear of a crowd has no idea that the people in the front have encountered a door.

While originally created as a way to prevent crowd crushing in an emergency, panic bars are now used as the primary door opening mechanism in many commercial buildings.

This simple safety mechanism has saved the millions of lives.

When is a panic bar required?

Crash bars are typically found on doors which require emergency exits serving a particular type or quantity of occupants. Common locations include doors which provide egress from assembly areas, doors which
serve many occupants, or doors serving hazardous areas.

According to the International
Building Code (IBC) starting with the 2006 edition, panic bars are
required for the following buildings:

1. Public building with occupant load of 50 people or more
2. Educational building with occupant load of 50 people or more
3. High hazard building with any occupant load

These requirements apply to doors which lock or latch. They do not apply if a door has push/pull hardware and no lock or latch.

Day cares with an occupant load of 100 people or more are also required to install panic bars by the National Fire Protection Association (FPA).

Panic exit devices are now required by building codes for high-occupancy spaces, and are mass manufactured in the US.

Types of Panic Bars

Exit devices come in a wide variety of options and in various price ranges to suit your doors needs and your budget:

• Rim exit devices
• Mortise exit devices
• Vertical rod exit devices
• Alarmed exit devices

In addition to a large selection of panic bars and exit devices, we also stock many panic
bar parts and accessories to help replace or repair any panic bar you may have.

Benefits of Panic Bars

The greatest benefit of a panic bar/exit device is the quick and safe evacuation of a building in the case of an emergency.

However, there are other benefits of a panic bar that are worth noting:

• They are installed on the inside of the door, securing your door from the outside
  and warding off any unwanted visitors.
• Exit devices can also be equipped with an alarm to notify the police or security
  company of unwarranted exit. This can be very useful on rear exits or exits to
  a roof where you need to keep track of who may leave from there.
• When your hands are occupied, exit devices also come to good use. Just lean your
  body or package on the bar and the latch will release to allow you through. Panic bars are therefore very useful on doors which are frequently used for large deliveries and in hospital corridors where carts and stretchers are constantly being transferred.

Installation Requirements for Panic Doors

• No additional locking device (deadlock, chain, padlock & hasp, etc.) may be installed on a door required to have a panic device
• Panic hardware may not be equipped with any device that prevents the release of the latch when the touch-pad or cross-bar is pressed.
  The exceptions to this are:
  a) Electromagnetic locks released by a sensor or by a switch in the panic hardware.
  b) Delayed egress locks which release after 15 seconds to allow egress.
  c) Controlled egress devices which are allowed in some types of healthcare units such as memory care and maternity wards.
• The actuating portion of the panic device must be at least half the width of the door.
• The maximum unlatching force shall not exceed 15 pounds.
• Panic hardware used on balanced doors must be touchpad type, and the touchpad must not extend more than half the width of the door measured from the latch side.
• Doors serving electrical rooms with
  equipment rated 1,200 amperes or more and over 6 feet wide that contain overcurrent devices, switching devices, or control devices with exit access doors.
• Current codes require panic hardware to be mounted between 34 inches and 48 inches above the floor. Existing panic hardware may have been installed in accordance with previous code requirements.

Stop and think.

We’ve all used panic doors.

You probably even used one today.

And the next time you push that non-descript lever on an exit door, stop. Stop and think about how many people had to perish to inspire the panic bar. But also think about how many millions of lives have been saved with this simple safety device.