(Contributed by P. J?. Strong)

The risk of fire in a theatre is the risk to the lives often of many hundreds of people. The materials used upon the stage, the flimsy hangings and decorations, unless special means be taken to prevent it, may be readily set alight, while the large open area of the theatre is particularly conducive to a fierce fire. To indicate the great risk of fire in such places it may be mentioned that Mr. E. O. Sachs, in his work on Modern Opera Houses and Theatres, enumerates eleven hundred cases of fire in theatres, music halls, etc., while the awful danger of life attendant upon such outbreaks is common knowledge.