Nineteenth Century Medical Guide

[Remember, anything can burn if the temperature is high enough, anything!Don’t think it’s okay to use some metal wires on the curtains on the stage, they will still be ignited, even faster than wood, and eventually become the coffin cloth of all the victims!

— Brigadier-General Pauline Herale Malechel, Commander of the Paris Fire Brigade]【1】

12月2日晚间，20:25，巴黎歌剧院起火前15分钟
The Opera House has opera performances almost every day, and sometimes ballets, symphonies, and musicals (light operas). Pedestrians, carriages, hawkers and other people from all walks of life like to get together here, and daily congestion is the norm.

In order to maintain basic order, ZF often deploys some personnel here, such as Patrolman Barnes is one of them.

Over 40 years old, he has been working in this position for 7 years. Every day, watching the crowds in the theater and listening to the cheers looming in his ears, he will gradually feel a strange feeling.In his eyes, the renovated Paris Opera House seems to have life, and it is the most important partner besides the work partner.

Today, Barnes and Mason, who is 10 years younger than himself, work night shifts, patrolling from 6:2 pm to [-]:[-] am before leaving.And now the temperature is starting to drop gradually during this time period, which is also the most leisurely and boring time.

"Three more came out, and they all left for half the venue. Today's first premiere probably failed again." Mason was cold and sleepy, and quickly bought himself a cigarette, "When can we go in and listen to the show?" Opera? Enjoy their lives?"

"You think too much." Barnes stood by the oil lamp post, pinching up his collar to block the cold wind, with a look of seeing through life, "It's our job to stand on the street."

"I saw several of them go in before."

"They're different. They're not the miserable patrolmen like us. Let's forget about the close relationship with the Earl." Barnes took the cigarette handed by the other party and took two puffs, " This cigarette is convenient, you can throw it away after you smoke it, but it doesn’t taste as good as a pipe, it’s too weak.”

Mason listened without saying a word, but what he thought about was his future.

He is still young, and he always wants to climb up and see the world more.Seeing people in the same uniform walking into the theater talking and laughing, while I could only blow the night breeze outside, I felt uneasy: "There must be a lot of food inside, appetizing snacks, fruits, and maybe there are free Big oysters!"

Barnes didn't know if the oysters were really free, only that he was repeating his old habit and sent the cigarettes back: "Don't even think about that"

"Don't you think it's unfair?" Mason stomped his cold feet lightly and kept rubbing his hands to keep himself warm, "We were blowing the air outside, but they went inside to eat, drink, and have fun. Maybe there are delicious things inside. Champagne, even if it doesn't taste good, it's better than staying here."

"You mean the kind of champagne that has been chilled? Drinking two mouthfuls of champagne makes your teeth ache?"

Hearing Bingbing, Ma Sen was so cold that he shivered: "Don't, don't talk! I'm freezing to death!!!"

"Hahaha, the wind is really strong today!"

There were many fires in theaters in the 19th century. More than 700 theaters around the world were destroyed by fire, and tens of thousands of people died.

Drapes, valances, drapes and canvas coverings and highly flammable oil-based paints also contributed to the fires, which were largely caused by the use of highly flammable wooden building materials.In addition, open flames are used for lighting, and some have gas supplies. Once a fire breaks out, the entire theater will instantly turn into a flaming behemoth that devours everything.

The Paris Opera House was destroyed by a fire in 1781, and now it is a new theater after reconstruction.

Due to technological limitations, the rebuilt theater still followed the old path in the selection of materials.

But the Paris Fire Brigade, which is composed of Royal Engineers, has not been idle. Since the end of the eighteenth century, they will carry out security work outside the theater every time there is a theater performance.

After more than 20 years of evolution, the street-style firefighting has been replaced by firefighting posts one by one.There are no less than three guard posts around the Paris Opera House, and firefighters in the guard posts can arrive at the scene within 5 minutes with the help of telegrams.

Of course, people alone are not enough. They also asked to set up a 4 cubic meter water pump device in the theater, with copper pipes leading to all parts of the hall.

The end of the copper tube is a leather tube that can be bent and folded downwards, equipped with a screw cap interface, and also has a water gun head.As long as there is a fire, the security guards in the theater can use this system to quickly release water to put out the fire.

A lot of money was spent on the system, and the effect is remarkable. Since the rebuilding of the Paris Opera House, there have been small fires, but it has never caused a catastrophe.

It's just that the peaceful days of more than 80 years have made the largest firefighting force in Europe a little slack.

Part of the work of Barnes and Masson overlaps with that of firefighters. If you look at the patrol system list from 50 years ago, there is a record in it: [Patrol officers must always pay attention to whether there is fire in the house, and if found, they must go to the nearest Search for water sources to help put out the fire, and at the same time pass the fire alarm message to the fire station]
It's a pity that the two have never encountered a decent fire in the past 50 years, and this system has become a decoration in their eyes.

20:38, 2 minutes before the Paris Opera House caught fire

In the 19th century, sound insulation materials were limited, and some vague music could always be heard outside the opera house. Even comic operas with straightforward lines often had soundtracks, so there was no sound at all.

In particular, operas are divided into acts, and the music is interrupted between acts, but the music and libretto in each act should be very coherent.But the music stopped shortly after the opening of the fourth act. Even if you haven't heard Bizet's new opera, you can still feel the strangeness in it.

"What's the matter?" Barnes just took the wine that Mason brought, and before he started drinking, he couldn't help looking at the theater, "Why did the music stop?"

"Maybe there was a pause in the middle."

"No way, no matter how messed up Bizet is, it wouldn't be like this. How can someone cut off the music in the middle of singing for no reason." Barnes felt strange, and approached the door, "...No, even the vocals are now Gone."

"problem occurs?"

"do not know"

The old policeman's experience made him realize that something was wrong, but he didn't turn it into action.Barnes froze in place, not knowing what happened inside, and he didn't know whether he should go in and ask what happened or stay where he was.

Just when the two were still about to discuss a few words, the theater suddenly became restless, like a frying pan when the oil was just warming up, and began to crackle.

The more Barnes thought about it, the more he felt strange. He stepped forward and found the attendants and guards at the door: "What happened inside? Why did the opera stop?"

"We don't know either."

"Could it be that the six people who went in just now had problems arresting people?" Mason tried to find a reasonable explanation. It’s reasonable to stop.”

"possible"

Just as Barnes was about to step forward to ask if he could enter the venue to check the situation, he heard a loud noise outside the theater, and then a heavy object wrapped in flames was thrown out, and then hit the side street heavily On the stone road.

At this time, there was a terrible cry in the theater, and the audience who left first began to run away with a little flame on their bodies, and at the same time they shouted in horror: "Fire! Fire!!!"

Also at 20:38, the VIP room on the third floor of the theater
At this time, the kerosene lamp was smashed, and the flames fell on Ashley's tutu skirt. Safit stepped forward and pushed the earl's daughter into the arms of the two policemen.Then he followed the same pattern and smashed the second kerosene lamp, and the third lamp was not subdued by two policemen with fire on their bodies until he was about to rush towards the fourth lamp at the door.

Unfortunately it was too late.

The 19th century was the peak period of the crinoline trend, and Eugénie brought up the crinoline-style crinoline and became the first choice of all aristocratic women.Coupled with a corset and a slender waist that was cinched to the extreme, the girls at that time showed an hourglass figure. 【2】

It's fine if they are ordinary people, they need to sit in the auditorium, and the skirts are still restrained, and some simply change into simpler skirts.

But this is the earl's daughter, and her status does not allow her to be careless about her dress.There is also a lot of space in the VIP private room, and the birdcage-like support hidden under the clothes made of rattan, metal wire and whalebone will be particularly exaggerated.

Both these supports and the layers of fabric that cover them are generally flammable and can engulf the skirt with just a touch of open flame, not to mention kerosene.

In fact, the police uniforms and Safit's coats were no different. Clothes made of cotton, linen and animal hair would ignite when caught fire, and the flames spread instantly in the crowded VIP room.

Ashley was equivalent to being tied to the stake, and soon her skin was burned, and her shrill screams spread throughout the theater in a circular venue that could accommodate more than 2000 people.The flames swept her whole body, and the two policemen behind her were not spared, and they were immediately surrounded by flames and turned into burning men.

Others wanted to help put out the fire, but all the available flammables were around.

"It's on fire, bring water quickly!!!"

Only then did the people realize that something serious had happened in the private room, and they stood up one by one to see what happened.Years of peaceful coexistence paralyzed their nerves, and not many people realized the seriousness of the problem.

But as long as you stand on the corridor outside the private room on the third floor, you can see the horror of this flame.

Several fire men broke through the gate and quickly touched the outer wooden boards and wallpaper. The oil-based paint on them raised the fire two or three levels and began to spread to both sides.

At this time, Edward, who was still making out with Sharana next door, also heard someone shouting and wanted to come out to see the situation.Unexpectedly, just as he opened the door, the flame, like a hungry tiger, pounced on his body and made an intimate contact.

The poor diplomat didn't even have time to speak, he just yelled a few times at the top of his voice, and the high temperature dried the moisture in his throat.
"It's not right, did someone shout fire just now?"

"It's just that the kerosene lamp was knocked over. It's just a small flame, and it will be extinguished soon."

"What are you afraid of? You have to trust the firefighting staff in the theater. They have experienced many battles and will soon return to normal."

"Compared to the flames, I care more about the scammer identified by Miss Ashley just now. How short-sighted is he, how dare you bully the daughter of the Minister of Police?"

There is a fluke mentality everywhere in the ordinary auditorium. As long as you don't see the flame, you will assume that it does not exist or poses no threat.It wasn't until the staff in charge of safety and sanitation in the theater shouted "Hurry up" with a water gun nozzle in their hand that they knew that the danger had come to them.

Suddenly, the audience boiled up, not because of the unfinished performance of "Baby City Belle", nor because of the upcoming "Mignon", but because of escape.

The memory of the fire more than 80 years ago revived. They seemed to see the god of death wielding a sickle on the stage, and began to rush towards the gate quickly, hoping to be the first lucky one to escape.

It's a pity that the opera house closed most of the entrances and exits in order to prevent people from sneaking in during the performance.

Most of them were blocked by hanging metal curtains, and others were locked or tied with bars so that they could not be opened from the inside.

And some doors have not been used much, and the handles and locks are rusted.In normal times, as long as you give it a little more time, you can pry it open. No matter how bad it is, there are tools that can be used around, but the swarming crowd of panicked people didn't give anyone a chance, including their own.

More than 1000 spectators in the theater can only walk through the small door with a width of three people. The efficiency and congestion can be imagined.

Among them, there were quite a few gram-style tutu skirts that were completely stretched out, which slowed down the passing speed even more.Squeezing, trampling, shouting, and howling filled the dim exit. The people in front were still trying to figure out a way, while the people behind had already started rushing forward desperately, trying to break open the locked wooden door.

At this time, the staff and actors who had not received professional fire training were very calm.

It is normal for the theater to catch fire. They have seen it several times as perennial performers. Panicking cannot change the fact of the fire. The only thing to do now is to leave here in a quiet and orderly manner.

Instead of choosing the crazy front door, they tried to open the back door of the stage to escape.This place originally leads to the back street of the theater, and it is also a dedicated passage for the staff and actors. The passage is very spacious, and as long as you obey the order, you can leave here safely.

But when the team leader just opened the back door, it happened that a cold north wind outside the house poured into the theater.
In the 19th century, when firefighting knowledge did not exist at all, no one knew the meaning of deflagration, because as long as you feel it, you have no chance of surviving.

In just a short moment, everyone felt a huge wind pressure coming from behind, and there was a loud noise in their ears.The flames that were still raging around the VIP room absorbed a lot of oxygen, and quickly rushed to the ground and the dome, giving everyone a roasting feast.

[All theaters can only succumb to the fate of being destroyed by fire sooner or later, and little human beings have no chance even to succumb - Daily Figaro]