Safety curtain/fire curtain

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 10/25/15 at 11:43pm

What is it?

[dramamama611]

Posted: 10/25/15 at 11:48pm

It's a specifically treated curtain that drops should there be a fire onstage, attempting to keep the house and backstage separate, keeping the patrons safe for a longer period of time.

Updated On: 10/25/15 at 11:48 PM

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 10/25/15 at 11:51pm

It protects the house should fire break out on the stage. Now I think it is a fiberglass partition separating the stage from the rest of the theater.. Back in the day of old picture palaces it was called an asbestos curtain. All old theaters had them .These partitions generally had some sort of scene painted on it. Generally it fit in with the theme of the theater.

Updated On: 10/25/15 at 11:51 PM

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 10/26/15 at 12:17am

On the Wikipedia page for safety curtains it says that it is required by law that the curtain must be shown to the audience at least once during a performance and it continues by saying many shows use the intermission period to show the curtain. Is this more of a common practice in England, because I don't remember seeing a safety curtain at any show that I've attended.

[Islander_fan]

Posted: 10/26/15 at 12:40am

Call_me_jorge said: "On the Wikipedia page for safety curtains it says that it is required by law that the curtain must be shown to the audience at least once during a performance and it continues by saying many shows use the intermission period to show the curtain. Is this more of a common practice in England, because I don't remember seeing a safety curtain at any show that I've attended.

 

What the article is talking about is the law in England. They don't have that here. But, I do remember when I was over there a couple of years back, every West End show I saw brought it down at some point in the intermission.

 

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 10/26/15 at 6:04am

They do it during every "interval" in London. It's very strange.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 10/26/15 at 6:23am

Reason #23587643 why you cannot take anything listed on wiki as gospel.  That law simply has NOTHING to do with America.

[MarkBearSF]

Posted: 10/26/15 at 7:28am

I recall hearing a story a couple of years ago where there was a flood from an alternative protection (flood curtain?) just before previews of a show at the Marquis (Evita?). For relatively new theaters, how common are the traditional fire curtains vs these water effects?

[Patash]

Posted: 10/26/15 at 9:20am

Instead of running down Wikpedia as being wrong, another option is to actually READ the Wikpedia listing.  Mine clearly says, "regulations in >>>>some jurisdictions<<<<< state that it must be shown to the audience, to prove its effective operation, for a certain amount of time during every performance. This usually occurs during the intermission."

Of course you need some minimal comprehension skills to realize that "some jurisdictions" does not include the whole world or even the country where you might happen to live.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 10/26/15 at 10:30am

Didn't know if you were talking to me, but I didn't say it was wrong, but only not to rely on it as a sole source.  (And of course, the OP does need to read carefully.)

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 10/26/15 at 11:20am

Well, no, you said not to take it as gospel, implying it was wrong. 

[hushpuppy]

Posted: 10/26/15 at 12:22pm

Scarywarhol said: "They do it during every "interval" in London. It's very strange.

 

Actually, I think it's rather interesting, but that's just me. I was a little freaked out the first time I saw it happen (1985), but since nobody else in the audience was paying any mind, I figured there was no emergency. 

 

The mere presence of a fire curtain doesn't necessarily protect the audience. In the infamous Iroquois Theater fire in Chicago (1903) a fire started backstage during a matinee. The stagehands attempted to lower the fire curtain, but it got stuck on light reflector halfway down. This created a draft effect, which caused huge flames to billow out into the audience, above the heads of those in the orchestra seats, incinerating those in the balconies. After the fire a chemist who later tested part of the curtain stated that it was mainly wood pulp mixed with asbestos, and would have been "of no value in a fire".

 

Those of us who regularly attend the theater would do well to heed management's warning to locate the two closest exits before the show starts. One hopes that those who are paid to keep us safe in an emergency would do so, but even recent history (such as The Station nightclub fire) sadly proves otherwise.

 

"

 

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 10/26/15 at 12:32pm

Fascinating story about the Iroquois. How terrifying. 

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 10/26/15 at 1:06pm

Apparently this no longer is the law in the UK, but most theatre's still do it.

[hushpuppy]

Posted: 10/26/15 at 1:55pm

Scarywarhol said: "Fascinating story about the Iroquois. How terrifying. 

 

It is a fascinating, yet tragic story.

 

So many safety features we take for granted were as a result of horrible tragedies. Not only the raising and lowering of the asbestos curtain, but the required use of the 'panic bar' on exit doors, lighted exit signs, direct exit routes, and doors that open outward can all be traced back to the Iroquois fire. The next time you use a revolving door note that there is a swinging door adjacent to it. This came as a direct result of the Cocoanut Grove nightclub fire (1942) in which patrons were crushed to death trying to escape through a revolving door that quickly became jammed.

 

There have been numerous studies as to how people react in the face of imminent danger. When there is no visible threat (smoke, fire, etc) people remain calm. Once instructed to evacuate, they will generally do so in an orderly manner. But once the threat is perceived as real and imminent, panic can ensue rapidly. Why do you think users refuse to allow wheelchairs or even parcels to be placed in the aisle? One person tripping over a wheelchair in an evacuation of a darkened theater can cause a human pile up within seconds.

 

Theatergoers (and nightclub and restaurant patrons) are often unfamiliar with their surroundings and can easily become disoriented in an evacuation. It is human nature to try to exit the same way you entered, but 1500 people all stampeding for the lobby is a recipe for disaster. In any public space, be it a theater, a restaurant, a nightclub, or even a hotel, take note of how to get out in case of an emergency. Stay calm, but move quickly to the nearest exit.

 

That's my public service announcement for the week.