The Bazar de la Charité Fire | A Short Documentary | Fascinating Horror

[@FascinatingHorror]

This disaster was followed just a few years later by the Iroquois Theater Fire in Chicago - another deadly fire that made headlines all over the world. Together, these two disasters really spurred some changes to the law in France. Here's the video I made some time ago about the Iroquois fire: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mJ3ScqmeatZ_jpY

[@Badgerhollis]

Waiting patiently (sort of) for you to do the Boyertown opera house fire I sent in a request for. Can't wait! Know it will still likely be a while cause you're really busy, lol

[@ramapage7538]

@FascinatingHorror very surprised to not see the Hillsborough Disaster in this list.

[@paulkurilecz4209]

Unfortunately, we have never really learned about fire and crowd safety along with other disastrous mishaps. It seems to me about every ten years or so, there is some sort of fire catastrophe or calamity at a mass gathering where the circumstances repeat what happened previously. I suppose that is at least the length of time for the collective consciousness of disasters passes away. For example, tramplings or crushings at concerts where there is no assigned seating or people try to exit in a stampede; fertilizer explosions such as the recent ones at West, Texas and the Port of Beirut, Lebanon. I am sure that there are more series of incidents like this where there is a common thread. Anyway, it seems to be an interesting hypothesis to evaluate. PS: I almost forget, ships hitting unprotected bridge piers, Sunshine Skyway Bridge over the entrance to Tampa Bay in Florida in about 1981; and the recent collision with the Francis Scott Key Bridge over the entrance to the Port of Baltimore. Granted that is closer to 40 years, but then there aren't that many ports with bridges over their entrances that have unprotected piers.

[@Badgerhollis]

@@paulkurilecz4209 greed

[@bold810]

Mizpah Hotel fire Reno, NV. 2002/2004.

[@ragnarok7976]

Hearing how flammable people of the past were, spontaneous human combustion is starting to seem like less of a mystery...

[@KathrynsWorldWildfireTracking]

Right? There's never been a case of spontaneous human combustion without an ignition source around. Nowadays, doesn't happen much, because people have no idea how much flame retardant is in everything. It's even peppered heavily into plastics. Probably your clothing you wear, your bed mattress, and the chair you're sitting on. Scary to think in the days before it, synthetics turned people into cigarettes themselves. Scary also, to know how much we've poisoned ourselves with these retardants and PFAS...

[@thatgreenslime9517]

You can't make me stay awake while smoking the entire cigarette

[@SkunkApe407]

@@thatgreenslime9517 maybe a little less Laudinum before bed, Jim?

[@thatgreenslime9517]

@@SkunkApe407 it's prescribed

[@Reticulating-Splines]

@@SkunkApe407 Only when the opium den is closed

[@markosmywords9202]

I audibly gasped multiple times hearing just how much of a death trap this building was. I’m astonished that, of the 1800+ people inside the building, _only_ 126 were killed. I assumed it would’ve been much worse.

[@ExplodingConsole]

Me too. I admit, I feel bad thinking that :(.

[@NicolasMogensen]

I remember reading about this some years back. The reason many escaped was that, yes, the other exits were with inwards opening doors but they were made of cheap materials and I think all of them were ripped off their hinges after enough people were pushed against them. Strange to think about. Had they used better doors, more than a thousand could have died easily.

[@Yosetime]

I have watched probably every single video on this channel over the years. Of course, all of them are tragic. But I too audibly gasped multiple times while watching this particular video. It just seemed like the chain of events kept piling up, each worse than the last, with such unimaginable devastation, that it really was a miracle that so many people did survive. I would assume that more people died in the following months due to the severity of their burns and the lack of medical knowledge at the time having not helped them at all. Even thinking about the physical pain those people were in and having few options to ease that pain, makes my heart hurt. This video is, by far, the most tragic of all the videos on this channel. And I just want to cry.

[@Beth_Alice_Kaplan]

Me too. Seeing that it all started at the film projector, and adding all the I’ve watched Cinema Paradiso, I immediately knew how badly this would go. I assumed everybody died! 😕

[@bladergroen]

Let's cross off on the Fascinating Horror Bingo Card: - 100% flammable material - rotating doors - inward opening doors - highly flammable fluid used in large quantities out in the open - someone lighting a match for some reason - everybody being totally surprised by the disaster following I think that's a bingo

[@seonaelizabethcoster8465]

You forgot: A large crowd, mostly women and children

[@seonaelizabethcoster8465]

And maybe a bonus for: The people were wearing highly flammable clothing (?)

[@KathrynsWorldWildfireTracking]

Somebody high up being aware of the danger, but shrugging and saying "good enough for now."

[@Captain_Kremmen]

And of course the old chestnut 'Wealthy organiser of death trap let off with a fine'.

[@evanredmon3877]

Interesting side bits like the first incident of forensic dentistry.

[@antlerman7644]

What a horrifying incident. Lighting a match with a can of solvent in hand is so unbelievably stupid. What a horrifying way to die.

[@hellomark1]

As soon as he started talking about film, I thought the fire would have somehow started with the film itself, since old celluloid film is *highly* flammable, and will even self-ignite if it gets too hot. I was shocked to learn they were burning ether as a light source!

[@dennis2376]

Mistakes happen and the question is did they understand the danger that were in. We all do dumb things.

[@Jabarri74]

I'd add that using ether in any confined space is potentially lethal. They used to use it as anaesthesia for a reason

[@janosnagyj.9540]

@@hellomark1 Same here. As he listed flammable materials one after the other, I already knew where this street is heading to.... and I suspected the film itself as well, never knew about using actual FLAMES to illuminate highly flammable material...

[@johnopalko5223]

@@janosnagyj.9540 It's called limelight. A flame is directed at a cylinder of calcium oxide (quicklime), which glows with an intense white light.

[@stevenstice6683]

With the highly flammable building, inward opening doors, revolving doors at the entrance, and a lighted match starting the fire, it's the Cocoanut Grove episode all over again.

[@reneedennis2011]

Yup. That's what I was thinking 🤔.

[@KathrynsWorldWildfireTracking]

Yes quite chilling. Also, the Cocoanut Grove had a "death door." A quick means of egress for hundreds of the patrons - locked to prevent people from skipping the check. This funneled an extra few hundred people from the basement lounge to the main foyer - where they collided with several hundred other patrons running for the same, small main exit... Sadly - a single guy getting his foot stuck in the door caused the jam.

[@dawnstorm9768]

Sadly predictive.

[@stevie-ray2020]

Except that this was decades before the Cocoanut Grove fire!

[@dawnreneegmail]

Or the Iroquois Theater Chicago, INWARD facing exit door still in the 1910s! No exit signs (would've uglied up the place) and of course the afternoon matinee loaded with women and their children including Burlesque star Eddie Foy (performing in the show) and his 7 year old son. Both survived but the death toll staggered the imagination.

[@Ob1sdarkside]

The lady lets people go ahead of her and remains calm. Quite amazing

[@Weretyu7777]

Kudos to the Duchess for valuing other's lives more than her own.

[@TheSaneHatter]

Ideally, that's how people of her class were *supposed* to behave: nobly. ("Noblesse oblige," as they once said.) Another example is the behavior of the Countess of Rothes, during the Titanic disaster.

[@maryeckel9682]

She was a better person than her sister.

[@MikeVal1369]

Every so often nobility acts the part.

[@marvindebot3264]

@@TheSaneHatter Her and others yes. A multi-millionaire died releasing the dogs to give them a fighting chance. One of them (the dogs) did in fact make it. Back then the rich could still be villains but they had honour in such situations almost without exception.

[@Clownacy]

You have to be sick in the head to give someone kudos for thinking that their life is worth less than those of other people. Absolutely disgusting.

[@lyedavide]

Another testament to the saying: every rule and law enforcing safety is written in blood. RIP to all those who perished in this awful tragedy.

[@ThatOpalGuy]

and yet...big goobermint is BAD.

[@MegCazalet]

The Wikipedia page includes a list of the victims and stories of survivors. So many there were wealthy aristocrats.

[@coconyt3623]

What an incredible person that Duchess was. The typical aristocrat would expect commoners to die so they can escape. But to stoically favor others in that hellscape... Damn.

[@gray_mara]

Incredible to think that if she'd been around exactly one hundred years earlier, she would have been executed during the Terror.

[@HeronCoyote1234]

Considering the sheer number of people, the high flammability of everything inside and out, and the lack of usable exits, I was surprised the death toll was as low as it was.

[@stevie-ray2020]

My guess is that many that survived the fire died rather painfully in the weeks and months following from infections!

[@Arkylie]

Yeah, that's... 1800 in attendance, 126 deaths (less than 10%) -- that sounds miraculous. Not even 300 injured (300 would be 1/6th). I mean it's still horrific, obviously, but those low numbers shock me.

[@dyamonde9555]

yeah, when i heard how many people were in there, how flammable it was and that it burned down in 10 mins, i expected a WAY higher death toll.

[@NicolasMogensen]

I read about this many years ago. The other exits had cheap doors that while opening inwards failed when enough people had begun pushing from the inside.Most of the survivors escaped like that.

[@ItsJustLisa]

The only correction that needs to be made is that women did not wear hooped skirts in 1897. At all. Skirts were gored, so yes, they swished, but they didn’t have hooped crinolines or petticoats. They didn’t even wear bustles anymore. They did, however, wear fashionably puffed sleeves, but the size of them had been diminishing from the peak of poofiness in 1895. There were no “Gone With the Wind” giant skirts anywhere inhibiting movement. So let’s not blame hooped skirts for people’s inability to move around or escape the fire.

[@gray_mara]

Just found your comment after I said the same thing! It's socially ingrained in us to mock women's clothing choices, even without realising it. I know the presenter didn't intend it that way, but it's so deeply ingrained in how we see the past that it's difficult to interpret it another way.

[@teaxandxcupcakes]

I was about to comment the same thing. As a historic fashion enthusiast hearing "hoop skirt" to describe the dresses of the time hurt my soul...Love this channel but I do wish that he had done a bit more research for that part.

[@maryeckel9682]

​@@teaxandxcupcakesplus hoops were collapsible.

[@annemarieanderson4824]

@@maryeckel9682came here to say this. Women are not helpless or stupid! Crinolines were flexible and collapsible. If they were even wearing them, which most likely they were not.

[@HadridarMatramen]

Thank you!!! It bothers me that so much effort is clearly put into researching a topic, but then they say something like this - hoopskirts in 1897...- that shows they did not research on that topic at all!!! And when they then make a point of the giant hoopskirts making it difficult to escape.... No. Just no. If the fashion is important to the tragedy, then they ought to research the fashion!!!

[@unrulycrow6299]

Being French and from Paris, with a keen interest in the Belle Époque, I was SO waiting for you to cover that one! For those interested, a dramatisation titled Bazar de la Charité has been made some years ago as a mini-series on this events and its repercussions on 3 women and their families. Excellent series, beautiful costumes as well (hoop skirts were out of fashion for some decades by that time, though!).

[@p4ngolin]

J'approuve. Avec la dame du lac en personnage principal, ca peut etre que bon

[@nihilusdirus]

Thank you for the comment, I'll have to check out the dramatization!

[@TheSaneHatter]

That's right: hoopskirts were from 1850-1870, bustles from 1870-1890, and now we were in a transitional period at the turn of the century. Women were still heavily corseted, though.

Superb dramatisation. I thoroughly recommend it. Rather harrowing at times and some scenes are seared into my memory... unfortunately😦

[@p4ngolin]

I'd like you to know that I watched it again this week because of this video and yes they got the skirts right hahaha

[@reachandler3655]

Flammable construction, flammable decor, flammable clothes, and flammable beauty products equals nightmare fuel!

[@zombiedoggie2732]

You forgot two ingredients. Ether and match.

[@janicesullivan8942]

The heavy layered clothing women wore back then made it difficult to escape, they went up like Roman candles. 💔💔💔

[@snewsh]

It's okay. They posted No Smoking signs. Everything should be fine.

[@zombiedoggie2732]

@@janicesullivan8942 Polyester and other synthetic fabrics also have a problem, They don't just burn but they melt as well, and thus cling to the skin.

[@dx1450]

Not to mention crowded building, revolving door, and fire.

[@ethribin4188]

The moment I heard "hundreds of people" and "rotating doors", I could think of only one word. Crush.

[@vincentshadowfriend6523]

Dress historian checking in here: Hoop skirts hadn't been in fashion for decades at this time. There weren't even any bustles that were favored anymore. By 1897, especially in fashion-forward Paris, there was a much sleeker, more streamlined silhouette. There could still be some padding around the hips, but there wasn't anything like the hoop anywhere for a lot of years by this point. Fashion was pretty chill, compared to earlier in the nineteenth century. You can literally see this in the illustration you chose. As someone who as actually worn a hoop, they don't make it hard to move around at all, especially not in historic buildings that were made with things like that in mind--the only difficulty I've had in one is trying to drive in one (do not recommend). They're quite comfortable, actually, as they take the heavy weight of the skirt off the legs and keep things nice and cool underneath. Again, this is a moot point though, as no one was wearing a hoop at this event.

[@knrdvmmlbkkn]

"no one was (...) at this event." How do you know that? Did you attend it?

[@bruhbruh-us6gl]

@@knrdvmmlbkkn I did. I was there

[@vincentshadowfriend6523]

@@knrdvmmlbkkn If you can find empirical proof of someone wearing a hoop in 1897, be my guest. This is literally my career, researching clothing, recreating it, and studying how it was worn.

[@aquachonk]

Agreed. I was looking at that image and thinking, "What hoop?" But I disagree that it should be implied that movement in one would be effortless in a crush of hundreds.

[@vincentshadowfriend6523]

@@aquachonk Oh for sure! Overcrowding definitely was a problem, and you just know there weren't any considerations for emergency exits. I just think it's wildly inaccurate to blame the clothing, which is just silly.

[@juliadagnall5816]

Always be wary of temporary structures. They often don’t get the same kind of scrutiny as permanent installations so there’s a temptation to cut corners and do things on the cheap making them especially prone to fire and collapse. I remember my Dad (who trained as a firefighter) telling me about a haunted house he went to in college. It was basically a bunch of trailers stuck together and as he walked through he realized ‘this thing is a death trap!’ Sure enough, later on the thing caught fire and a number of people got trapped inside.

[@gray_mara]

It sounds like one already covered by this channel.

[@ahill4642]

Wise advice.

[@pavlinas3422]

Sad and strange fate of Sofie (Duchess Alençon). In young age she was engage with Ludwig II. from Bayern But later it was abolish. She must have wedding with d'Alençon, but of course it wasn't happy marriage. Next, Ludwig died and she was very shaken, she got ill both physically and mentally. When she was somehow back, Sissi alegedly not welcome her and don't want her in imperial court. Sofie and her husband came to Paris, when she start doing charity and work for Dominican Sisters. They said when she dying, she comfort her friend and one nun. Strangely she and all her sisters have sad fate.

[@reneedennis2011]

Wow. Thanks for the information.

[@carey579]

Ludwig II broke off the engagement because he was gay and didn’t want Sofie to be unhappy with him.

[@reneedennis2011]

@@carey579 Oh.

[@lavacakez5912]

thank you, very real pavlina

[@empresskrissy1527]

Sophie Charlotte never lived with Ludwig. Because she was unmarried, she lived with her parents in Bavaria. The engagement ended after Ludwig refused to set a wedding date. Sisi talked with Ludwig on her sister's behalf and it was because he was in love with Richard Wagner at the time. Sophie stayed with her parents until she married the Duke. Sisi didn't invite her sister to the Viennese court because she was rarely there. She preferred to travel and stay in Hungary to escape the rigidity of the court as well as her marital issues with Franz. It is true none of the sisters had happy marriages. Ludwig died first, then Sophie Charlotte and the Sisi was last.

[@Bintexas]

Papier maché, sawdust, canvas, drapery, voluminous clothing, petroleum products and matches. What could go wrong? The only thing missing is the “This is fine” dog meme.

[@MusicoftheDamned]

There is a cruel irony that the sole actual precaution of a smoking ban, which I was expecting to be the cause of the fire, seems to have actually worked...only for some overeager projectionists to fuck it up because they were trying to avoid briefly blinding people for a second. Good going, guys.

[@mountaineergirl255]

In Girl Scouts we made our firestarters out of sawdust, fabric scraps & petroleum products (usually old paraffin candle wax). Every time I hear about one of these fire disasters I remember how great those firestarters work and I wonder what the hell people were thinking.

[@SkunkApe407]

@@mountaineergirl255 my 11 year old is in the GSA. They don't teach that anymore. Her Troop looked at her like she was some sort of genius, because I had sent her with some that we made at home, for their camping trip last summer. We use paraffin for our main cooking fire, and we make smaller ones with citronella for starting smaller fires near our tents. If you position your campsite correctly, you can keep most bugs away with a ring of smaller fires in front of the tents.

[@zombiedoggie2732]

And ether, and idiots lighting matches around ether!

[@nadrewod999]

Don't forget the heat and potential electric sparks from the earliest film projectors...

[@worldwideinterests1]

Am I the only one who heard 126 deaths and thought, "Whoa, I thought that would be a LOT worse."?

[@sweetistweeter]

I know! I wonder how many people died subsequently, though. Burns can kill slowly through sepsis etc. they may not have been able to collect that information.

[@MegCazalet]

There’s a French tv series about this called Bazar de la Charité. Highly recommended. Don’t watch the English dub. Watch it in French and read subtitles. The performances are lost if you watch the dub. The scene of the fire is terrifying. The show follows the stories of three women who survive. That’s all I’ll say. It is a compelling, beautifully acted, gorgeously-shot program. In English it’s called Bonfire of Destiny.

[@moomyung9231]

Dubs of live action tend to ruin whatever you're watching. It's fine if it's a cartoon or anime, but all other dubs are a travesty.

[@adde9506]

Interestingly, the sawdust under the floorboards, while potentially highly flammable in other circumstances, is a non-issue here. Dust explosions and fires are fantastic disasters but that's when they are loose and on the move. A packed density of even the most flammable material burns poorly or not at all, whether it be tightly shelved books or the bag of flour you dump on a grease fire. The sawdust doesn't mean a thing when evey surface is flammable with plenty of airflow. I'm honestly shocked that it was the projector that set it off and not some careless bit of smoking, but I suppose the attendees recognized tge tinderbox they were walking through, even if they didn't realize just how flammable they themselves were.

[@TrineDaely]

Flour on a grease fire? Baking soda for a grease fire unless you have an extinguisher rated for it.

[@serendipitish]

Never flour on a grease fire, agreed! But this person is pointing out that a whole bag of flour won't burn/explode in the same way a scatter/cloud of loose flour will, because the particles are closely packed, just as the compressed/contained sawdust under the floors likely didn't contribute as much to the fire here as it might have in other situations.

[@nlwilson4892]

Considering that it was fresh so the sawdust would not be bedded down and you'd have sawdust mixed in with shavings I'd say that would burn very quickly.

[@wilsjane]

The biggest problem was the ceiling, since the draped fabric had air on both sides. The original fire first travelled upwards, then along the entire length of the structure, dropping burning fabric at the same time.

[@TheOnjLouis]

Thank you for such captivating videos, I genuinely look forward to these every week. Your channel is a personal favourite of mine.

[@AndrewBrown-fq6vp]

Once again I have never heard of this disaster. Brilliant video.

[@roadweary5252]

Rotating doors, drapery hanging from the ceiling….Both made me immediately think of the Coconut Grove in Boston

[@myragroenewegen5426]

From our perspective the danger here is blindingly obvious. It makes me think it would be important to contextualize in a history of fire safety awareness. Also, without the fire, it just sound like such a generally lovely, well thought out event in other ways, so the reasons basic fire awareness wasn't there would really give us insight into how safety knowledge builds over time.

[@patriciamariemitchel]

Forty years ago washing machines had slides on the transmission. One day , I was spraying them with brake cleaner in my basement, with the windows shut, to get the gunk off them. I was really happy with how that was working. I didn’t notice that the excess cleaner was dripping onto the floor and going and running down the floor drain. I also didn’t notice how the fumes were accumulating in my work area, which was about six feet away from the gas water heater and when it lit up, there was suddenly a loud banging noise. I thought someone dropped something heavy upstairs. I didn’t know it was the brake cleaner exploding in the drain so I ignored it and kept spraying. I was almost done and began to back out of the opening when there was a huge whooshing noise that came out of the washer and blasted me. I was so stunned I didn’t realize my arms were on fire. I heard a crackling noise and turned to see a huge ball of fire between me and the hot water heater. That’s when I stood up and ran. Then the air exploded and it left little fires burning all over the place, on the ceiling rafters and everywhere! My kids came down to see what was going on. I looked like the bride of Frankenstein, running around putting out the little fires. I thought I was brushing fire residue off my arms, but it was my skin. Thank God I had a big jar of sulfadine cream burn ointment: amazing stuff that formed new skin anywhere it’s needed. I had it for times when I got careless with my solder guns. They use silverdine now and it works pretty much as well. I had a newspaper route with about thirty stores at the time so I asked my son to help me that night and I drove, sticking my arms out the window almost constantly because it was winter and the cold air quelled the pain. By the time my route was over, I was pain free. For three days I changed my gauze after showering and reapplied the burn cream. Except for the memory of that day, I have no scars. Yes, God does heal stupid people! 🕊️

[@maryeckel9682]

Holy cow!

[@thereisnosanctuary6184]

Single mom story.

[@jalapeno1119]

"hot water heater"

[@seandelap8587]

Always look forward to a Tuesday morning video by FH

[@gwenmitchell3207]

Same

[@daffers2345]

Yesterday I was heating some oil in a pan to fry something. (I have a gas stove.) I walked off to wait for it to heat, and then I got distracted and forgot about it. About 2 minutes later my smoke alarm went off. The oil was smoking like crazy. I was able to take care of things before a fire started. My smoke alarm goes off a lot because the apartment is small. It's annoying sometimes, but I am SO grateful for it. If the oil had caught fire, I'm not sure what I would have done. Stories like this remind me why we are required to have working ones in all units here.

[@marvindebot3264]

Just don't pour water on it!

[@emordnilap4747]

As long as nothing else has caught fire yet, you just have to remove it from the heat, then cover it with something like a lid, or plate. As long as there's no more oxygen getting into the pan, it's 100% effective, will go out immediately.

[@daffers2345]

@@emordnilap4747 Yup, I just shut off the heat and moved the pan to another (cool) burner. I also know to throw baking soda on a grease/oil fire. But I'm just glad the alarm went off BEFORE it was in flames!

[@hostrauer]

After hearing this story, I am STUNNED the death toll was "only" 126. I was expecting 500-1,000 dead.

[@colemarie9262]

They built a literal pyre between two revolving doors and packed in over a thousand people. I’m surprised at how many escaped!

[@TigerRose246]

Just a note: At 5:30 the illustration of the dress is right but it is not a hoop skirt. Per Fashion History Timeline: "Early 1890s dresses consisted of a tight bodice with the skirt gathered at the waist and falling more naturally over the hips and undergarments than in previous years. Puffy leg-of-mutton sleeves (also known as gigot sleeves) made a comeback, growing bigger each year until reaching their largest size around 1895." The cage crinoline, or the hoop skirt, made a comeback in mid-1850s to mid-1860s. Think Scarlett O'Hara in "Gone With the Wind". Ironic to think that if the women were indeed wearing hoop skirts there could not have been nearly so many people in the hall.

[@pmberry]

The incident reads like a checklist of every fire safety regulation yet to be written at the time.

[@cya2163]

Horrific disaster that Netflix made into a movie, Bonfire of Destiny, in 2019...just a ghastly way for people to perish...

[@whiplashfatigue1430]

No longer on Netflix, not streaming anywhere. I looked.

[@AJP1613]

The fire scene was intense! Slightly hard to watch. The horror those people experienced 😢.

[@micadean1600]

@@whiplashfatigue1430damn.

[@New_Wave_Nancy]

@@whiplashfatigue1430 That's a shame. It was quite good.

[@Klm49]

​@whiplashfatigue1430 Oh No! Was going to go watch now!

[@cleopatracatra2097]

What a tragedy! But the artwork shown in this video is superb! Gorgeous!

[@kimhohlmayer7018]

Growing up I loved reading books written in the late 1800s. Such stories often included parties or bazaars describing how the decorated areas were created including huge sheets of muslin and cheese cloth. Others focused on long, sweeping gowns with balloon sleeves. Thus as you described this setting I could almost feel the disaster forming in my mind. All that fabric and paper based decor would have literally burned in a flash. That combined with the exit issues make it a miracle that anyone escaped.

[@thegodofpez]

Horrible tragedy. Awesome artwork.

[@ASnarkyCatLady]

I learned about this first from a Netflix show called Le Bazar de La Charite which I think did a great job showing the fire and aftermath. Its a fictional accounting, because this is a small part of the overall story, but the fire was terrifying and they showed most of what you talked about in this video. Definitely recommend watching episode 1 too see what it might have been like inside.

[@ksteak27]

You should do a story on the Boyertown Rhoads Opera House fire in PA.

[@daffers2345]

He has an email in the description. I recommend emailing him your suggestion. I have done so twice, including a suggestion for the Sight & Sound theater fire in 1997. He has not done mine, at least not yet, but he was courteous enough to respond to both emails.

[@ksteak27]

@@daffers2345 Thanks!!

[@Sharon-kl3by]

The running theme is money over safety.... another interesting story. Love this channel

[@fredsalter1915]

Thank you for researching and presenting this!

[@FascinatingHorror]

Thanks for watching!

[@ajh6354]

I like the old historical stories that I have not heard before. RIP to the victims and well done to the heroic rescuers.

[@jenniferbrewer5370]

This is literally the first documentary of any kind I've seen about this deadly fire.

[@TakeMeToYourLida]

They built a building-shaped bonfire, lured people inside, and set it ablaze. Surprising more didn’t perish. Wow.

[@MrMalvolio29]

Congratulations, @FascinatingHorror, on the success of your superb, thoroughly researched, engaging, and beautifully scripted videos and on the exemplary KZbin channel that streams them. I’ve been a subscriber for quite a good while, due in no small part to your being one of my favourite human KZbin narrators. Bravo!

[@ethribin4188]

The fact that one of the worst fires in Paris ever is "just" a Bazaar, shows how devestating this fire was.

[@zombiedoggie2732]

By 1897, The hoop skirts were actually out of fashion. The look was still large though, with huge leg o mutton sleaves, and hips that don't lie that was padded out. (not to the extremes of the 1700s of course) Skirts were still volumous, but not nearly so as they were in the 1860's. Also. Match plus Ether is NEVER a good combo!

[@crow-jane]

The big sleeves were largely out by 1897; the silhouette was actually pretty streamlined and is one of my favorites.

[@zombiedoggie2732]

@@crow-jane Ah thanks for the information! I didn't realize the leg o mutton deflated so soon. Still oriognal point stands. The ladies wern't wearing hoops.

[@crow-jane]

@@zombiedoggie2732Not unless they were borrowing their grandma’s clothes. 😂

[@zombiedoggie2732]

@@crow-jane then they'd be all "All dis fabric in the skirt! lets make something new!"

[@zombiedoggie2732]

@@crow-jane Then they'd be all "Look at all dis fabric in this skirt! lets make something new!" I think there's more than one Edwardian skirt made from grandma's/great grandma's ginormous lace shawl.

[@hebneh]

Movie film at this time was made of cellulose nitrate plastic, which was explosively flammable. The very bright light source necessary to make the image visible on a screen also required the film projector to contain fuel that had to be ignited. I knew this fire had started because of the projector and I also knew the nitrate film was not the actual cause of ignition, but regardless, this disaster started an awareness of the danger of nitrate film being used in crowded auditoriums. Movie theaters in the USA by the 1920s had to have concrete projection booths with fireproof metal doors so that if reels of film did catch fire, the projectionists could run out, close the doors and confine the flames so audiences could get out safely.

[@MusicoftheDamned]

Thiis weirdly feels like a mixture of the last three or so videos between the shoddy construction, the deadly crush of people, and the absurdly flammable conditions (that I'm surprised lasted ten minutes).

[@DARWINZOO]

Sort videos by oldest to newest. 😂❤

[@zoltanrudolf]

This is one of the best channels on KZbin.

[@yesenia8415]

Aways so excited to see your posts! Keep up the amazing work!!

[@sarapenn9776]

By 1897, hoop skirts hadn't been in fashion for a few decades. Most skirts worn at this time were not nearly as cumbersome or voluminous as mentioned.

[@drummerdavemax]

It's startling how many of the disasters you cover are fires!

[@ayo_nik]

the decor of this place reminds me of the lakeline mall in austin back in the day. the food court was decorated to look like a victorian street, the ceiling painted to look like a blue sky with small pretty clouds, and the very center was a huge fake hot air balloon. as a kid i used to imagine you could pay to go up there, for like a birthday or something.

[@matthewpaul6904]

I first heard of this fire in the doc "Cinema Europe The Other Hollywood" Nice to get more details about it.

[@TheLanise]

I have a suggestion the Ashland Kentucky theater fire 1959

[@instigatedeye5941]

Your videos are oddly relaxing to listen to. I enjoy that you cover cases that haven't been covered by literally everyone else, thank you for sharing with us. Have you done any video covering the Paradise Camp Fire?

[@maryeckel9682]

Skirts in the 1890s had no hoops or crinolines. They were full and often touched the ground, but they weren't hard to move in per se. The gigot sleeves could be stuffed to puff them out more, but again, not really an impediment to movement. I'm sure a lot of skirts got stepped on and torn, and the fabrics were certainly inflammable, but that's about it. Btw even hoops and crinolines were collapsible, like accordions. These myths need to be quashed, not spread.

[@evangelinehoke5512]

Great video thank you- love watching these with my sisters

[@starry53]

To think that place is fireproof, but I guess I thought wrong. Everything is quite flammable.

[@spiderwrist]

What a horrifying and tragic event, a great video though. A minor nit-pick: hoop-skirts weren't worn in the 1890s. You can see in the images you used about the event that the skirts, while long, weren't that big and certainly nothing like actual hoop skirts.

[@adde9506]

I noticed that too. No hoop skirts, but some hella sleeves. Nutty as it seems, hoop skirts may have improved the situation; necessitating larger doors and reducing the number of people inside.

[@robertphillips6296]

History keeps repeating itself with preventable disasters!

[@ahill4642]

Yes! Safety standards may improve after these disasters but not everywhere. And greed/saving a buck will never die.

[@jonathanfox676]

Crazy that they auctioned off the burned stuff afterwards

[@hebneh]

As many others have commented, women were not wearing hoop skirts anymore in 1897 - but they WERE burdened by skirts that went all the way past their ankles, many layers of fabric and corsets that all made movement much more difficult. Not to mention that their clothing made it easier for them to catch on fire.

[@gemfyre855]

As soon as you said ether I just said, "oh NO!" out loud.

[@ahill4642]

I said that at “revolving doors” 😬

[@daviegriffin3539]

_Thanks for the uploads._ 🎞 *Cheers 🍻 from **#CancúnMéxico* 💙🇲🇽

[@LawnmowerJoe]

I’m happy you finally covered this one!

[@bettygreenhansen]

Husband is member of NFPA, the National Fire Protection Agency. In the US qualified and experienced Fire Protection engineers write the National Fire Code. This set of directions helps keep you from being burned alive. FYI, in addition to helping the NFPA write fire code, he primarily inspects Child Development Centers on Air Force bases worldwide. The NFPA IMHO does not get enough credit. Next time, when you don’t burn, thank them.

[@vulcantoaster]

I have no idea how I missed this video when I've been binging these while sorting packages at work but here I am! I hate to be nitpicky but I wanted to point out that hoop skirts had stopped being worn by the 1860s, they were simply sewn in a bell shape. I'm just a nut for fashion history!

[@artman2oo3]

This is one of your best videos, FH. It’s pure fire! 🔥 🔥

[@Straswa]

What a horrific fire. Thanks FH for another insightful video.

[@JennRighter]

Patiently waiting for the Haaj stampede/crush video. Tens of THOUSANDS died. Why won't any channel cover it? I've been subscribed to you for years, it seems like something you would treat with sensitivity and treat factually.

[@John081590]

On the first part of the narration enumerating the construction materials and contents of the bazaar, I already new this is just a bonfire waiting to light up. Helium gas filled centerpiece underneath a canvas ceiling Cardboard and papier mache walls A cinema(film for cinemas at that time is made of easily combustible materials.

[@garyb6219]

"How do you like my new dress." "I love it. What's it made out of." "Gasoline." "Oh dear."

[@JGCR59]

Hoop skirts went out of fashion in the 1870s though. In the 1890s, as you can see in the pictures, outrageously large sleeves were in rage and they were probably as much of a hindrance.

[@perkins1]

It’s pretty astonishing just how many disasters covered on this channel were caused by fire . . .

[@iainballas]

With so much paper, sawdust, wood, chemicals and idiots around, this was bound to be the hottest party of the year.

[@nihilusdirus]

Events like this always make me wonder, if a time traveler went back and prevented it, or lessened the damage - what kind of changes could there have been for the future? When large quantities of influential people perish in one giant event, or are left changed because of some event, I always wonder how future events, like civil movements, wars, the standards of industries, could've been altered. Historical fires, crushes, naval disasters, etc all had so much more influence than we may expect. Like mentioned in this video, even when legislation isn't immediate, discussions happen.

[@rainey1987]

As someone who was there during the fire I can only say that this video does such a great job to elaborate on the horrors that we saw that day.

[@irishrebel1976]

I look forward to these every week. They help keep my mind off of this 110 degree weather here in Las Vegas. Keep up the great work!

[@springgayspringthey]

as a historical costumer, hoop skirts and even petticoats weren’t really in fashion at this time. think anne of green gables, newsies, and mary poppins type dresses. and while yes, hoop skirts take up a good amount of space, you can run like hell in them, (i have done it many times) especially if you’ve worn them many times.

[@donweatherwax9318]

10:05 those workers from the stables across the street were pretty heroic. "Okay boys, tie up Bessie and let's go be firefighters!"

[@opwave79]

I know this was over 100 years ago, but “pop up” (temporary) venues are becoming popular again today. Pop up sports stadiums especially. It makes me wonder if the temporary nature, along with its different set of regulations, is a disaster waiting to happen .

[@Cryptish]

Holy shit, journalists really didn’t hold back describing the horrors back then.

[@rondavis13]

Thank you for creating such great videos. They are a great way to look back at the mistakes made and learn from them. Thank you!!

[@vinawaldren6888]

Wow! Horrors! I definitely didn't know about this. Thanks FH!

[@marilynfoster1233]

This one really got me, just about couldn’t finish it. Heartbreaking 💔

[@Sasuhinagirl1]

Yay, its Tuesday!

[@mollygirl]

As an American, I grew up in a time when the doors to establishments open outward, it was the norm and (usually) the law. Then I married and moved to England and, thirty years later, I still can't get comfortable with the doors that open inward. And over here, that's most of them.

[@aquachonk]

The eerie music's playing, everybody dance!

[@daffers2345]

You ever hear it playing in your head when you're about to do something stupid?

[@MainelyLove]

One possible action could have been to open up all the secondary doors to the bazaar before the crowd arrived, so that people could have entered or exited at other locations within the building.

[@angusmoffat]

That one got me. "An earing with a charred piece of flesh still attached was auctioned off." Awful and terrible. Add to that in 1896 the burn victim survivors would have lived in terrible pain. Never heard of this disaster until now. Ether lamp projectors!? Wow...

[@catalepticdru]

I watched a mini series about this, it was very good

[@terrisomers7843]

Another great video, thank you!

[@jenniferlonnes7420]

Sounds like it would've been a delightful event to attend. Sounds lavish. But what it takes to learn to do things the right way!

[@thefanone]

The terror those poor souls must have been in before passing on 😢😢😢

[@BritaLee]

A slight correction; but hoop skirts were no longer a thing people wore by the 1890s. The silouette was a lot slimmer than previous decades. It would not have been difficult to move aside from the obvious push of the crowds.

[@p4ngolin]

i was surprised because as he mentionned the hoops, he showed a more accurate depiction of current fashion with no hoops lol

[@dennis2376]

Thank you.

[@Tindometari]

2:04 "This was a new technology in the time, and it generated a great deal of excitement." It was an incendiary new technology that generated a great deal of social heat. One might even say that it set people aflame with a burning desire to attend. Dark humour aside, it's worth emphasizing that the cinematic film of the time was made of ... wait for it ... *nitrocellulose.* That's right, that wonderful stuff that in the world of firearms is known as *cordite,* and is highly esteemed for its remarkable tendency to reliably undergo extremely rapid and vigorous combustion at very small provocation. And thin sheets of it might as well have been purpose-designed as an excellent incendiary. And the process of cinematic projection inherently brings film stock into close company with very, very hot projector bulbs. A whole genre of repeated fascinating horrors ensued until less hazardous film stock was invented. Even novice chemists know -- or quickly learn, often in a disconcerting manner -- that the prefix 'nitro-' attached to any organic molecule means that the substance involved will almost always burn or explode if given an opportunity. (The early decades of energetic materials chemistry were dominated by chemists joyously nitrating TLF out of essentially anything they could get their hands on -- from petroleum fractions to cotton to sawdust to sugar -- and sometimes losing parts of said hands in the process.)

[@KyoushaPumpItUp]

It looks like you added 5 more minutes to your regular uploads.