Morbid Fact Du Jour For October 30, 2016

Today’s Absolutely Fireproof Yet Truly Morbid Fact!

The newly built Iroquois Theater was packed with nearly 1900 patrons on December 30, 1903, for the popular musical Mr. Blue Bird. Only a month old, the spectacular theater with its mahogany and marble was billed was “absolutely fireproof,” the “safest” building of its kind in Chicago.

During the second act, sparks from an overloaded electrical circuit ignited a drapery behind the stage. Stagehand William McMullen, who was stationed on a catwalk, tried to snuff out the tiny flickers, but they were two inches beyond his reach. Quickly, the flames spread to the adjoining scenery. The on-duty fireman, with only two tubes of firefighting substance called Kilfyres at his disposal, failed to stop the fire. The star comedian, Eddie Foy, shouted to lower the asbestos curtain to keep the fire from spreading into the audience but the curtain snagged halfway down and so when fleeing patrons threw open the exit doors, the curtain acted as a flue. Fueled by the fresh air, a fireball shot out from under the curtain and reached the patrons in the first balcony, burning them in their seats.

The explosion that followed lifted the entire roof. The hysterical crowd on the upper floors pushed and trampled each other in their race to the stairwells and fire exits, which turned out to have no ladders. In the crush, patrons were pushed off the tiny balconies and fell to their death. In less than thirty minutes the fire was out, but the gruesome discovery of bodies piled ten feet high around windows and in stairwells awaited the rescue workers. Six hundred and one people died in the fire.

An investigation began immediately. A coroner’s jury found fault both with the theater and with city officials although no one was criminally charged. The jury pointed out that the theater had inadequate exits (some were locked to prevent people from sneaking in), totally inadequate fire fighting equipment and untrained staff.

Culled from: Disaster Great Lakes

Grim Chicago: If At First You Don’t Succeed Edition

You may remember the guy who was shot while livestreaming on Facebook in Chicago’s south side in March?  He survived that shooting but was shot to death Friday night.  If at first you don’t succeed…

Man Shot on Facebook Live in March Killed Friday on South Side

A 30-year-old man who was shot while live-streaming a video on Facebook Live in March met a tragic end late Friday at a South Side gas station.

Brian Fields was sitting in a vehicle about 10:20 p.m. at the station in the 1900 block of West Garfield when a gunman walked up and shot him in the chest, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Chiquita Ford, also 30, who was in the vehicle with him, was shot in the side. They were both pronounced dead at the scene at 11:02 p.m. No one was in custody, and police continue to investigate.

A police source confirmed Fields was shot earlier this year, on March 31, in West Englewood.

At that time, Fields was using Facebook Live, which sends out a live video stream, while standing on the corner of 56th Street and Hoyne, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

Shots suddenly rang out, and the video feed began to wobble and then dropped to the ground, pointing up at the blue sky. The shooter — wearing a red, white and black jacket then appeared above — holding a pistol with both hands, firing more shots.

Fields was shot multiple times and taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in critical condition.

Residents in the neighborhood said Fields had recently moved away from Chicago and had only been back in the city for a few days, perhaps hours before getting shot, the Sun-Times reported after the March 31 shooting.

Court records show that Fields pleaded guilty to second-degree murder charges in 2005, and was sentenced to time already served after spending nearly four years in Cook County Jail awaiting trial.

Fields is one of nine people killed in Chicago, including two teenagers, since Friday evening.

Here’s the video of the shooting in March.