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THE BURNING OF THE BIJOU THEATRE.

THE BURNING OF THE BIJOU THEATRE - reprinted from the Argus 24.04.1889, page 5.

The main topic of conversation yesterday was the burning or the Bijou Theatre, and all day long crowds visited the scene of the disaster. Barriers were erected in Little Collins street on either side of the theatre, the condition of the south gable wall being considered too dangerous to allow any traffic to pass.

A special examination was made yesterday with a view of discovering any clue as to the origin of the fire. The chimney winch had been blamed was tested and carefully scrutinised but revealed no flaw. The fact that several costumes were recovered from the wardrobe room, seemed to indicate that the fire had not commenced there, and the fusing of the electric wires was not considered possible. Some significance was however, given to the last theory by a small fire which occurred in the Palace Hotel yesterday afternoon about 4 o'clock, and which was unquestionably caused by the fusing of some of the wires. On the other hand, Mr. Wilson, the proprietor, and his engineer explain that this was merely what they anticipated would happen.

The water which had been poured upon the place during the progress of the fire had filtered through the floors and came into contact with the wires. The insulating material became affected and lost its power. The electric current was turned on earlier than usual, in order to discover the weak spots, and as soon as the wires fused the flames were extinguished and fresh wires fixed in. It is claimed that is none of the conditions existed on the afternoon of the fire, there was no reason why the wires should fuse Thus the cause of the fire still remains a mystery.

The building has also been overhauled by several practical men, amongst whom was Mr. P. Kerr, the Government architect, and the unanimous opinion is expressed that all the walls must be taken down, as they are entirely unfit for future use. Mr Wilson is prepared to get to work as soon as the insurance adjuster has finished his work and in the interest of public safety it is to be hoped that no unnecessary delay will take place. The gable wall and the eastern wall, part of which has already come down, are particularly dangerous and should be razed with all possible haste.

The inquest on the bodies of the men who were killed will be held at the Melbourne Hospital this morning at 10 o'clock. A special jury has been summoned, and the inquiry will be conducted by Dr Youl. Captain Parsons, one of the victims, was a carriage trimmer by occupation and resided with Ins father at Avonleigh, Highett street, Richmond He was 33 years of age, and a widower, with no family. The whole of the firemen in the city and suburbs are re quested to attend the funeral which will move from his late residence to the Melbourne Cemetery at half past 2 on Thursday afternoon.

The firemen are, however, requested to assemble in full uniform with caps at the East Melbourne Fire Brigade station at at half past 1 o'clock . The South Melbourne and Richmond brass bands will also attend to pay the last tribute of respect to their late comrade. The coffin will be borne on a manual fire engine. The other victim, Williams, has been found to be the halI porter at the Victor1au Club, which adjoins the Palace Hotel. It has not yet been decided whether his îunerai will take place simultaneously with that of Captain Parsons.

The injured men are all progressing favourably but Otto Yehn, another member of the East Melbourne brigade, who was injured by the fall of debris which killed his captain, is not yet out of danger. The concussion from which he was suffering has turned out to be more serious than was at first supposed and he still lies in an unconscious condition.

James Thomas of the Carlton brigade, who fell from a root and sustained concussion of the brain, is now out of all danger, and will be able to leave the hospital in a day or two, whilst Robert Dando a member of the Richmond brigade, has recovered to such an extent that he wished to leave the institution yesterday, but the doctors advised him not to do so. The others, who sustained minor injuries of a more or less serious nature, are all as well as can be expected.

Superintendent Stein, who was absent on holiday when the fire first broke out, returned to town late on Monday night, and visited the scene. He considers that to stop the fire where it was stopped was all that the brigades could do, and he is thoroughly satisfied with the way in which they kept the flames confined to the theatre, although he is somewhat surprised at the vast quantities of water which were poured on the other portions of the premises. He says that a fire in a theatre must either be of a trivial character or the whole place must go, that is the outbreak must be checked at once or all the brigades in the world are useless if it once gets well alight.

In connection with this he says that the fire appliances at all the theatres are insufficient lo cope with fire. The 110th section of the Health Act, under which the theatres are controlled, reads: -

The Central Board of Health require that during the time of every public performance at any theatre there shall least two firemen on the premises. They also Stipulate that…[deleted for brevity]… The best suggestion that can be offered is that the members of the Central Board should consult with a few practical firemen, and decide upon some measure more stringent mid conducive to public safety.

Contributed by Greg Lynch -