Entertainments given in private houses

Entertainments given in private houses, which are
quite inadequate to accommodate the number of people
they are called upon to hold, are another source of
danger. On such occasions houses are not infrequently
filled to such an extent that to move from one room to
another is almost an impossibility, while the staircase
is totally inadequate to allow the people to escape in
case of fire. The remedy for this lies to some small
degree in the hands of the designer, for he can provide
ample door openings and staircase accommodation, but
the safety of the guests must chiefly depend upon the
discretion of the host, who should proportion his
entertainments with regard to the accommodation of
his house ; while, on the other hand, by placing furniture
across doorways in passages, he may do much to
render useless the provisions made by the architect.

Entertainments in private houses or in other places
are often rendered particularly dangerous by the very
general practice of decorating with flimsy hangings and
many small lights. Such hangings on catching fire
will fall against other inflammable material, and the
spread of fire will be rapid, while a large quantity of
smoke will be produced by its combustion.