Theatre Catalog (1947-48)

EN SPRINKLER HEAD SYSTEM installed on the outside wall of the Rialto Theatre, Lancaster, : peg ea a prevented damage to the theatre (above) when fire gutted the adjoining building. Such water curtains add further protection against exposure fires. In e lobby (below) of the same theatre may be seen a series of sprinkler heads which stand as automatic firemen’ in case of a fire. 430 “We believe you might be interested in knowing what we think of our automatic sprinkler system. Ours is a dryvalve type installed in 1929. Since that time, our sprinkler has more than paid for itself through savings in reduced insurance rates plus the added advantage of having the protection of an automatic fire-fighting system on duty 24 hours a day. “We had a fire here a couple of nights ago, the first time in all the 17 years since it was installed that we had need for our sprinkler system. If it had not paid for itself before, the job it did on this one night more than justified the investment we made in its installation. The fire occurred at 8:30 in the evening and the theatre was filled to capacity. If the fire had gotten out of control at any time, there was a possibility of a great loss, not only of property but of lives. The fire department in the town of Marshfield is 100 percent call men, so that it took them a little while to get here. In the meantime, our sprinkler system proved it worth, keeping the fire well under control at all times, so that when the fire department arrived, it had a much easier job to handle—and it did a mighty swell job, too. We can best tell you of the terrific heat by telling you that four sprinkler heads went into action and we were very much surprised to see what a thorough job they really did. Incidentally, our patrons feel more secure than ever in our building knowing the extra protection we have afforded them—business is better than ever. We hope we will not need the system again, ever—but, if we do, there is the satisfaction of knowing it will be right on the job.” On May 8, 1947, about 4:15 a.m., a small fire in a stage curtain at the Del Mar Theatre, Santa Cruz, California, was extinguished by the theatre’s sprinkler system. Fire department members said that the blaze started from a lamp which was standing too close to the drapery and which workmen used while putting in new rugs. Barney Gurnette, district manager of the Golden State Theatre and Realty Corporation, wrote on June 22. “Our recent fire could have been a great deal more serious if it had not been for the sprinkler equipment on our stage. The heat from the buriing curtain released six of the automatic sprinklers, thereby preventing a more serious fire.” Here is what the proprietor of a chain of southern theatres wrote to another one of the NASFCA members some years ago. “In our theatres, we protect against loss of operating profits by a fire stoppage through positive action of sprinklers in putting out a fire at the start. We can, and do, cover any loss of physical property by fire insurance; the daily operating profits, however, would in a very few days amount to very large sums, which. would be lost if sprinklers did not stop the fire.” Automatic sprinklers are constantly extinguishing fires in theatres not only in this country, where the record, as compiled by the National Fire Protection Association, shows a 95.5 percent satisfactory performance in sprinklered theatres since 1980, but also in other parts of the world. Here is an account ° THEATRE CATALOG 1947-48