Fire! A brief history of theater fires in New York City

https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/roundtable/fire

by robbybaron • 7 years ago

33 8 7 years ago

And here's a brief history of the phrase "yell fire in a crowded theatre," and its use in politics and law, and in modern free-speech issues: https://www.popehat.com/2012/09/19/three-generations-of-a-ha...

mikestew2• 7 years ago

Gerhard claimed that the average life of a theater in the United States was only about thirteen years due to fire.

Though approaching retirement age, I have always wondered why such a thing had its own phrase, “...’fire’ in a crowded theater.” I mean, c’mon, how often does that happen? Well, apparently, before any of us were born...

Which brings to mind how many other idioms we have that haven’t been relevant in our lifetime. Heard a podcaster the other day ask his fellow hosts where the phrase he had just used came from: “nuke the site from orbit, it’s the only way to be sure.” He didn’t forget, he hadn’t even seen any of the movies. It is entirely possible that the source material is older than he is. (I saw it in the theater, which remained uncombusted, if I might bring this back on topic.)

yeldarb• 7 years ago

Interesting; I didn't know that was a movie reference. I had usually only seen it used in conjunction with "kill it with fire" (eg when fire wasn't enough).

The first recollection I have of it is this reaction gif (which must be 15+ years old by now): https://tenor.com/view/stickman-nope-funny-crazy-destroy-gif...

mikestew2• 7 years ago

Well, FWIW, you’re missing a good action-filled sci-fi flick that still stands up well after 35 years, IMO. (And believe me, I know what it’s like to recommend movies to youngsters that, whoops, didn’t age so well. I’m looking at you, Eacape from New York.)

dredmorbius2• 7 years ago

The original, though the full films are highly recommended:

https://invidio.us/watch?v=nnHmUk_J6xQ

cascom• 7 years ago

Tangentially - I can’t recommend Ken White’s first amendment related Make No Law podcast highly enough - and his podcast on the often mis-interpreted but oft quoted “fire in a crowded theatre” is great.

Episode is: https://legaltalknetwork.com/podcasts/make-no-law/2018/06/fi...

dredmorbius2• 7 years ago

Having seen this essay as it's appeared a few times across HN and elsewhere, a key lesson is the extreme tendency of those who are responsible for and more specifically benefit by externalised risks, to deny, equivocate, and outright lie about those risks.

It's a lesson that applies as well to numerous other technologies: asbestos, lead paint, leaded petrol, CFCs, tobacco, vaping.

And, just possibly, some aspects of information technology.

There's also the long history and tremendous advances in fire safety, mostly through avoidance, but also through improved response and firefighting techniques. Among the notable aspects of the 1991 Oakland Hills Fire was that it was the largest urban fire in well over half a century. I've just looked through Wikipedia's listings for an earlier comparable event, and thought there was one in the 1920s or possibly 1930s, but there the only remotely similar fires were in the 1900s or 1910s, with the Great Fire of San Francisco (1906) possibly being the most notable. Also suggesting that the SF fire and quake left such an impression simply because there was no comparable disaster following it. Previously, great, city-wide conflagrations occurred with distressing regularity.

ruminasean• 7 years ago

As a stagehand, I've spent an inordinate amount of time on fireproofing, worrying about fire, as well as working with fire officials to make sure the risks are minimized as much as possible. Oh and also cleaning up after one fire, which destroyed a major-market local news studio and pushed Regis and Kelly out of their studio. It's no joke.

Fire! A brief history of theater fires in New York City

Related Stories