Why Panic Bars Were Invented
Without panic bars and other building safety measures, businesses can face serious consequences both legally and professionally if an evacuation results in increased deaths due to poor safety standards. Prior to the invention of panic bars, there were few national and international building safety laws that businesses were required to follow. After three preventable tragedies occurred between the late 1800s and the early 1900s, building safety standards were forever changed.
The first tragedy that started a chain of events that led to better building safety standards is often referred to as the Victoria Hall stampede. In 1883 in Sunderland, England, a theater performance was put on in the concert hall for nearly 1,100 children. Towards the end of the performance, the children in the audience were informed that the first children to reach the back of the theater would receive a prize. This, of course, led to a flurry of activity as all of the children raced for the back door. This particular theater at the time only had one exit. To make matter worse, the door was bolted in such a way that only one child could exit the theater at a time. Because of the excitement, lack of exits, and poor functioning door, a stampede broke out and claimed the lives of 183 children.
The second disaster occurred in the United States in Chicago, Illinois. In 1903, a theater fire broke out at the Iroquois Theatre. After one of the stage curtains caught fire, over 1600 patrons rushed to leave the theater as quickly as possible. Because the theater had narrow stairwells, a lack of exits, and no other building safety provisions in place, 602 people perished that day.
The final incident that influenced the widespread implementation of panic bars occurred just five years after the Iroquois Theatre fire in 1908. This time, a fire broke out at Lake View School in Collinwood, Ohio. The school had only two exits, one of which was immediately blocked after a fire started in the school. This resulted in students and facility members rushing towards the only remaining exit. Just as in the Victoria Hall disaster, a stampede broke out as everyone tried to exit. 172 students, two facility members, and one rescue worker all died that day.
Following these three major worldwide tragedies, citizens and legal entities began to take notice. It was in the following years after these incidents that building safety regulations and panic bars were made legally mandatory and implemented worldwide. Panic bars save countless lives every year and help dramatically decrease death tolls during tragedies and emergencies.
