I don't think fires during projection were responsible for most lost films. If one or two prints of a particular movie were lost that way, surely others would h

I don't think fires during projection were responsible for most lost films. If one or two prints of a particular movie were lost that way, surely others would have survived. Rather, Hollywood just didn't care to keep most such films around; many were tossed, reused (nitrate base stripped of the emulsion and recoated), or relegated to poorly run vaults in which they slowly degraded.