Showmen's Trade Review (Oct-Dec 1948)

Projection Council Report: Safety Requires Projection Room Emergency Exhaust and Lights Use of Shipping Reels for Projection Called Dangerous; Safety Shutter Controls Should Be Located Near Exit Door and Tested Weekly for Reliable Action Safety in the projection room requires installation of automatic provisions for exhausting smoke and fumes, in the opinion of the majority of the Projection Advisory Council. Some kind of emergency lighting for the projection room in case power fails is also essential, the Council holds. Use of shipping reels instead of projection reels for running the show was voted unsafe almost unanimously. The Council believes that projection room safety shutter controls and power switches should be located near the exit, to assure that the projectionist can reach them without needless danger to himself if fire forces him to leave the projection room instantly. Opinion is divided on the desirability of duplicating these controls outside the projection room. Action of the port shutter safety release should be tested weekly to make certain it is always in perfect working order. The Council discussed these and a number of other matters relating to projection room safety at their current meeting. The subject of the meeting naturally led to the question of the Underwriters' recommendations for the projection room. The Councilors find themselves wholly in accord with the practices the Underwriters recommend. No member thinks any of their recommendations is either unnecessary or excessive. And with one exception, no member finds any of their recommendations inadequate. A single suggestion was made for improvement in one detail. To Meet the Smoke Menace The majority of the Councilors participating do believe that if use of safety film in theatre projection becomes universal, some present-day precautions can be relaxed or abandoned. However, there is strong difference of opinion as to that. For exhaust of fumes and smoke from the projection room in case of fire several different methods are favored by different members of the Council: "We use a mercury switch mechanically linked to the port shutter master bar; and connected electrically in parallel with the projection room exhaust fan switch." "A two-speed exhaust fan motor can be so wired to the port shutters that when they go down, the fan speeds up." "Special arrangements should not be necessary. The regular exhaust system should be designed to change air fast enough to exhaust any smoke or fumes in case of fire, and it should be operated at all times when the projection room is in use." A minority considers that no exhaust provision is needed. "The projection room is of fireproof construction, and as long as the fire shutters operate and doors are self-closing a smoke exhaust will serve no purpose. Without an exhaust system fresh air cannot infiltrate and support combustion." (This Councilor, of course, assumes that both port shutters and projection room doors will be sufficiently air-tight to keep smoke from leaking into the auditorium.) Some sort of emergency lighting for the projection room is strongly favored, but not necessarily anything complicated. One member suggests: "Nothing other than one or more good flashlights." Others say: "Projection room emergency lights should be connected to the regular theatre emergency lighting system." "Some kind of provision is a must. An emergency light or lights in the projection room should be wired to whatever the theatre uses for emergency exit lights." "Most of our theatres have emergency lighting connected to a second source of public power. Those that do not use dry cells." With respect to the use of shipping reels in the projector, for running the picture, only one Councilor thinks the practice is safe under any circumstances; and he qualifies his opinion by saying: "The practice is not a hazard if the projectionist checks the reels and rewinds mm he finds on defective ones." He is, however, in a minority of one. "We feel that shipping reels as received in our circuit are definitely a hazard if used in the projector." "Unquestionably. Every theatre should have its own projection reels." "Our projectionists are under orders to use projection reels only, and to discard those when they become bent or misshapen in order to prevent hazardous sparking." The Council, however, does not see any hazard in the wide-spread practice of removing hot carbon stubs from the lamphouse, instead of leaving them in the bottom of the lamp until they have cooled. "If proper receptacles for carbon stubs are under the lamps, and if film is properly stored in cabinets and enclosed rewinds, this practice is not hazardous." "No, there's no hazard if the stubs, are, properly handled." A minority prefers to take no chances, but to leave the stubs inside the lamp until they are no longer hot. Proper Location of Shutter Ports In regard to the best location for port safety shutter controls, the members par-, ticipating are unanimous in holding that the vicinity of that exit door which the. projectionist will use in case of fire is the only proper place for them. They are. almost unanimous in believing the projection room main power switch should be. similarly located. But opinion is evenly divided on the desirability of putting duplicate controls and switches outside the, projection room door. Some members say this is not necessary at all; others that it is not strictly necessary but advisable. Where house lights are controlled from the projection room, those controls do, not need to be located near the projection room door, in the view of the majority, to, enable the projectionist to bring up the house lights in case of fire. It is noted that there will be — or should be — duplicate {Continued on Page E-22) ROBERT P. BURNS Balaban & Katz Corp. COL. FRANK CAHILL Warner Bros. Circuit G. CUTHBERT Famous Players Canadian Corp. C. A. DENTLEBECK Famous Players Canadian Corp. HARRY J. GLENN Wm. K. Jenkins Theatres IRL GORDON Skirball Bros. Theatres C. HORSTMANN RKO Theatres A. C. INCE Griffith Theatres COUNCIL MEMBERSHIP LESTER ISAAC I. F. JACOBSEN Loeu/s Inc. Balaban & Katz Corp NATHANIEL LAPKIN Fabian Theatres L. E. POPE Fox-Midwest Amusement HARRY RUBIN Paramount Pictures LEONARD SATZ Century Circuit. J. C. SKINNER Interstate Circuit. BILL TONEY Tri-States Theatre Corp.