The fire at the Park Avenue studios of Pathe' film company snuffed out the lives of ten persons. Nineteen others were injured in a disaster that might have been prevented had the building been equipped with an adequate sprinkler system. Following the tragedy a grand jury inquest revealed that Pathe' had appealed the implication of an ordinance requiring sprinkler installation. The regulation had become effective six months before the morning fire of December 10, 1929.