 Brooklyn Theatre from Johnson Street, shortly after December 5, 1876, fire | |
| Date | December 5, 1876 |
|---|---|
| Time | About 23:20 local time |
| Location | the site of what is now 271 Cadman Plaza Brooklyn, NY 11201 United States |
| Casualties | |
| 278–300+ (estimated range) | |
The Brooklyn Theatre fire was a catastrophic theatre fire that broke out on the evening of December 5, 1876, in the city of Brooklyn (now a borough of New York City). The fire took place at the Brooklyn Theatre, near the corner of Washington and Johnson streets, with over 1,000 guests attending. The conflagration killed at least 278 individuals, with some accounts reporting more than 300 dead. 103 unidentified victims were interred in a common grave at Green-Wood Cemetery, marked by an obelisk, while more than two dozen identified victims were interred individually in separate sections at the Cemetery of the Evergreens in Brooklyn.
The Brooklyn Theatre fire ranks third in fatalities among fires occurring in theatres and other public assembly buildings in the United States, behind the 1942 Cocoanut Grove fire and the 1903 Iroquois Theatre fire.[1]
Fatalities mainly arose in the family circle, the highest tier in the theatre offering the cheapest seats. This gallery sustained extreme temperatures and dense, suffocating smoke early in the conflagration. Only one stairway served it which became jammed with people and cut off escape for more than half the gallery's occupants.[2][3]
- ^ See National Fire Protection Association, Public assembly and nightclub fires.
- ^ "Verdict of Inquest" British House of Commons page 159
- ^ Cote, Arthur E. (2004). Fundamentals of Fire Protection. New York City: Jones & Bartlett Publishers. pp. 18–19. ISBN 978-0-87765-595-4.