Glen Cinema Disaster

The Glen Cinema disaster was caused by a smoking film canister in a cinema in Paisley, Scotland on 31 December 1929. The resulting panic and crush killed 69 children and injured 40; the final death toll was 71. It is considered one of Scotland's worst human disasters.

The Glen cinema was opened in 1901 then known as ‘The Glen’ and ‘The Royal Animated Pictures’. On the afternoon of 31 December 1929, during a children's matinee, a freshly shown film was put in its metal can, in the spool room, where it began to issue thick black smoke. Nitrocellulose film, as used at this time, can burn on its own without needing any supply of air. When an assistant film operator spotted the smoke coming from a film container, he tried to smother the flammable film but the container sprang open and smoke and fumes entered the hall. Soon the smoke filled the auditorium containing about one thousand children. Panic set in. Children ran downstairs so fast and in such numbers that they piled up behind the escape door which led to Dyers Wynd. The door could not be opened, as it was designed to open inwards and was padlocked. The following day, Paisley was stunned by the news that seventy children had died in the crush in the worst cinema disaster in British history.

An inquiry was held in Edinburgh on 29 April 1930 during which it was revealed that the cinema had been inspected and pronounced safe by the Paisley fire brigade on the morning of the fire. The owner, James Graham, had, however, agreed that there were insufficient exits, but claimed he had repeatedly reminded the manager, Charles Dorward, that the escape exits were not to be shut during matinee performances. The manager conceded that the exit gates had sometimes been locked to prevent children from entering the cinema without paying. A policeman who arrived on the scene just after the fire started reported that the gates were padlocked; however, another witness confirmed that she had seen Dorward unlock them. It remained unclear as to why the gates had been padlocked but there was a suggestion that it had been done by two boys. The conclusion of the inquiry was that the fire had been started by a short circuit when a metal box containing had been placed on the top of a battery in the projection room. The tragedy had been made worse by the limited number of exits, insufficient attendants and overcrowding.

The next day, the breaking news was about the tragedy. However, the irony was there was no actual or visible fire.

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