The story of the tragedy at the Flower World was recapitulated on Tuesday, when the inquest into the deaths of the three victims was} held by the Mixed Court authorities.
Insp. T. Kerrigan appeared for the Police, and Dr. Fisher and Mr.
P. Holcomb represented the theatre management.
Tueory oF THE Fire.
The film operator said he had just ordered his assistant to drive away some of the audience who had been Tooking into the operating room when he noticed flames. He hauled the film out of the machine and slammed the door. It was his opinion that a member of the audience had thrown a lighted cigarette end into the room and this had caused the fire.
The two Chinese firemen who were on duty spoke to extinguishing the flames in a few minutes, and afterwards trying to stay the panic which had arisen.
Mr. Perr's Views Ox Ex:
Chief Officer Pett, of the S.F.B, was the chief witness. After rel ing the struggle to quell the panic, he said in answer to Mr. Tenney, the Assessor, that it was hard to say whether the exits were adequate or not. The trouble was that in such a crowd the people alway: rushed for the staircase by w! they had entered. He did not have much faith in the emergency exits in such cases, as it was difficult to get the people to use them. On this occasion the hotel and theatre rooms were absolutely packed and the majority of the people were from the villages around Shanghai. He believed there were 3,000 people on the two top floors. The film operating box should at all times be kept absolutely closed and there should be no chance of lighted cigarette ends being dropped into Supervising Fireman Gilhooley also gave evidence.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.