Theatre fires

On this day…..101 years ago, up to 300 people perished in a fire at the Flores Theatre in Acapulco, Mexico. More than 1,000 people had packed the wooden building for a special show in honour of the state governor.

The fire began while they were watching a film, and it quickly spread to bunting until the whole building was alight. In the panic to escape, many people were crushed to death in addition to those who perished from fire or smoke.

According to a contemporary report, many of those killed were “from the first families of the state, the affair being a social event of considerable importance.”

The world’s deadliest theatre fire happened at Canton in China on March 5, 1845. More than 1,650 people were killed, as the theatre was completely destroyed, and the flames are said to have destroyed another 30 buildings nearby.