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A safety curtain (or fire curtain in America) is a
passive fire protection Passive fire protection (PFP) is components or systems of a building or structure that slows or impedes the spread of the effects of fire or smoke without system activation, and usually without movement. Examples of passive systems include floor- ...
feature used in large
proscenium A proscenium (, ) is the virtual vertical plane of space in a theatre, usually surrounded on the top and sides by a physical proscenium arch (whether or not truly "arched") and on the bottom by the stage floor itself, which serves as the frame ...
theatres Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communica ...
. It is usually a heavy
fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, and different types of fabric. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is no ...
curtain located immediately behind the
proscenium arch A proscenium (, ) is the virtual vertical plane of space in a theatre, usually surrounded on the top and sides by a physical proscenium arch (whether or not truly "arched") and on the bottom by the stage floor itself, which serves as the frame ...
.
Asbestos Asbestos ( ) is a group of naturally occurring, Toxicity, toxic, carcinogenic and fibrous silicate minerals. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous Crystal habit, crystals, each fibre (particulate with length su ...
-based materials were originally used to manufacture the curtain, before the dangers of asbestos were widely known. The safety curtain is sometimes referred to as an iron curtain (or iron) in British theatres, regardless of the actual construction material.
Occupational safety and health Occupational safety and health (OSH) or occupational health and safety (OHS) is a multidisciplinary field concerned with the safety, health, and welfare of people at work (i.e., while performing duties required by one's occupation). OSH is re ...
regulations state that the safety curtain must be able to resist
fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion re ...
for a short time to delay fires starting on stage from spreading to the
auditorium An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theaters, the number of auditoriums is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoriums can be found in entertainment venues, community halls, and t ...
and the rest of the theatre, to provide additional exiting time for audience members and members of staff. The curtain is heavy and requires its own dedicated operating mechanisms. In an emergency, the
stage manager Stage management is a broad field that is generally defined as the practice of organization and coordination of an event or theatrical production. Stage management may encompass a variety of activities including overseeing of the rehearsal proce ...
can usually pull a lever backstage which will cause the curtain to fall rapidly into position. Alternatively, heat-sensitive components can be built into the rigging to automatically close the curtain in case of fire. It may be released electronically with the activation of the building's
fire alarm system A fire alarm system is a building system designed to detect, alert occupants, and alert emergency forces of the presence of fire, smoke, carbon monoxide, or other fire-related emergencies. Fire alarm systems are required in most commercial buil ...
. It can also be flown in and out, as regulations in some jurisdictions state that it must be shown to the
audience An audience is a group of people who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature (in which they are called "readers"), theatre, music (in which they are called "listeners"), video games (in which they are called "players"), or ...
, to prove its effective operation, for a certain amount of time during every
performance A performance is an act or process of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function. Performance has evolved glo ...
. A safety curtain is required per United States building codes if the proscenium wall is required to be fire rated. The curtain is required to demonstrate a fire rating of approximately 30 min per testing. In the UK, it is a requirement that a safety curtain must be fully down within the proscenium opening within 30 seconds of being released. In 1794 the
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and listed building, Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) an ...
became the first theatre to install an iron safety curtain. Several other serious fires, including the 1887 Exeter Theatre Royal fire, led to the introduction of safety curtains on a wider scale. However, Edinburgh's
Royal Lyceum Theatre The Royal Lyceum Theatre is a 658-seat theatre in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, named after the Theatre Royal Lyceum and English Opera House, the residence at the time of legendary Shakespearean actor Henry Irving. It was built in 1883 by a ...
, built in 1883, has also been described as the " irsttheatre in Britain to be fitted with an iron safety curtain". A very early example of a safety curtain installation in the United States was at the New
Fifth Avenue Theatre The Fifth Avenue Theatre was a Broadway theatre in Manhattan, New York City, United States, at 31 West 28th Street and Broadway (1185 Broadway). It was demolished in 1939. Built in 1868, it was managed by Augustin Daly in the mid-1870s. In ...
(New York City) which opened in 1873. Chicago's 1903
Iroquois Theatre fire The Iroquois Theatre fire was a catastrophic building fire in Chicago, Illinois, that broke out on December 30, 1903, during a performance attended by 1,700 people. The fire caused 602 deaths and 250 non-fatal injuries. It ranks as the worst ...
resulted in over 600 deaths when the theater's safety curtain got stuck midway down, along with other structural deficiencies in the building.


Related stage fire safety devices

The safety curtain can be combined with other safety devices, such as: *Smoke pockets - are steel channels located at either side of the proscenium arch that the safety curtain travels within to create a physical barrier between the auditorium and the stage. The safety curtain is not intended to create an air seal but rather prevent material from falling from the stage house into the audience. *
Fire door A fire door is a door with a fire-resistance rating (sometimes referred to as a ''fire protection rating'' for closures) used as part of a passive fire protection system to reduce the spread of fire and smoke between separate compartments of ...
s - that automatically close any doorway onto the stage in the event of a fire. *Smoke vents - vents above the stage which will allow
smoke Smoke is an aerosol (a suspension of airborne particulates and gases) emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with the quantity of air that is entrained or otherwise mixed into the mass. It is commonly an unwante ...
to move out of the roof of the theatre, enabling safer evacuation of the audience. *Water curtain - sprinkler heads or other nozzles directly in front of the
proscenium A proscenium (, ) is the virtual vertical plane of space in a theatre, usually surrounded on the top and sides by a physical proscenium arch (whether or not truly "arched") and on the bottom by the stage floor itself, which serves as the frame ...
to prevent sparks from flying off the stage or to extinguish any burning material (such as a set) which may fall through the
proscenium A proscenium (, ) is the virtual vertical plane of space in a theatre, usually surrounded on the top and sides by a physical proscenium arch (whether or not truly "arched") and on the bottom by the stage floor itself, which serves as the frame ...
.


References


External links

* Berufsgenossenschaft Regulation
Accident-Prevention Regulation BGV-C1
for Staging and Production Facilities for the Entertainment Industry, adopted on 1 April 1998 (PDF, 266 KB)
Safety Curtains: Types and Models

Fire Safety in the Theater
{{Fire protection Stage terminology Fly system Parts of a theatre Safety equipment