Sounds like run down theaters - in a run down section.
I thought this one is sorta new. All I ever witnessed is everyone enters and leaves through the front doors and the exit doors by law are lit by signs for emergency use only and are rigged with alarms.
You open one and an alarm blares away and the perpetrator will be caught. And the alarm goes right to the fire department which notifies the police. That alarm going off indicates a fire or such/an emergency. It’s all for the safety of the patrons.
The fire department doesn’t inspect those doors to make sure they work for the safety of those inside in case of a fire?
They do it for restaurants, offices, etc. - most public places to make sure they are up to snuff for safety purposes and if not, the establishments will be fined. An exit door can never be locked from the inside or anything interfering with safe passage out.
The killer could never have carried out his plan if there was an alarm on the exit door. Watch for some changes to that lax system!
Those doors use a self-contained “crash bar” unit that is like the ones on auxiliary doors at Walmart. It is often battery operated, and the battery runs down, gets disconnected, etc., etc. Even in new theaters - kids are clever, instructions on disabling them are on the Internet and they want to let their friends in for free. It is not uncommon for those doors to be inoperative just a couple of hours after an inspection.
“The fire department doesn’t inspect those doors to make sure they work for the safety of those inside in case of a fire?”
It depends on the city.
Some cities are anal about stuff like that, while others don’t care so much as long as they get their kickback in terms of tax $$.
Last time I went to the movies, the city had a fire marshal there to enforce the occupancy restrictions, and check the exit doors. That is on top of police/ sheriff department presence at the theater.