Misplaced Pages

#42957

35-500: This was not the first time that New York State passed a public law that specifically dealt with housing reform. The First Tenement House Act (1867) required fire escapes for each suite and a window for every room, the Second Tenement House Act (1879) ("Old Law") closed a loophole by requiring windows to face a source of fresh air and light, not an interior hallway. An amendment of 1887 required privies interior to

70-480: A Gilded Age center of elegant society. The comprehensive exhibit, marshaled by Lawrence Veiller , covered a wide range of urban concerns including bathhouses and parks , pushing reform for the first time far beyond mere building design into the broader concerns of urban planning . The exhibit was followed by a two-volume report to the New York State and Texas Tenement House Commission, leading directly to

105-718: A Woolrich short story), as well as Weegee 's photography of the Lower East Side . Diagonal shadows of fire escapes made them a constant motif in film noir , and the balcony scene of Romeo and Juliet was transposed to a fire escape for the musical West Side Story . Fire escapes could also be used to comic effect, as seen in Stanley Kramer 's 1963 comedy It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World . The installation of window air conditioners in individual apartment units with fire escape-facing windows, often installed against code or local ordinance by residents, which require

140-453: A certain number of stories was required to have a second means of egress, and external fire escapes were allowed as a retrofit option for existing buildings prior to the post-World War II period. In the 1930s, the enclosed tubular chute-type fire escape became widely accepted for schools, hospitals and other institutions, replacing the open iron ladder type. Its main advantage was that people would have no reason to use it for anything other than

175-741: A fire escape is dictated by various local, state, and agreed-upon international building codes, such as standards provided by the International Code Council (ICC), the International Building Code (IBC), or the International Energy Conservation Code . Both the 2012 IBC and 2012 IRC require emergency escape and rescue openings for residential buildings of 4 floors or fewer, in sleeping rooms and basements with habitable space, for means of emergency egress. A fire escape can be

210-596: A fire escape, and patients could be slid down it on their bedding in event of fire. However, with the rise of urban sprawl in the mid-20th century, particularly the increase in public housing in cities in the United States and Europe in the 1950s and 1960s, certain problems with fire escapes became clear. In the poorer areas of several major American cities, such as New York, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh, fire escapes were commonly used for everything but their intended purpose. In

245-446: A fire exit door, but in most cases the only exit is through a window . When there is a door, it is often fitted with a fire alarm to prevent other uses of the fire escape, and to prevent unauthorized entry. As many fire escapes were built before the advent of electronic fire alarms, fire escapes in older buildings have often needed to be retrofitted with alarms for this purpose. An alternative form of rapid-exit fire escape developed in

280-406: A ladder should be seen as a last resort for a safe placement. The anchor point is usually a ring cemented into a slot in the brick wall to which the rungs of a ladder can be attached using rope for example, or a carabiner . If a leaning ladder is placed at the wrong angle, the risk of a fall is greatly increased. The safest angle for a ladder is 75.5°; if it is too shallow, the bottom of the ladder

315-451: A number of horizontal platforms, one at each story of a building, with ladders or stairs connecting them. The platform and stairs usually consist of open steel gratings, to prevent the build-up of ice, snow, and leaves. Railings are usually provided on each of the levels, but as fire escapes are designed for emergency use only, these railings often do not need to meet the same standards as railings in other contexts. The ladder leading from

350-628: A variation on the design, including an escape chute, after becoming superintendent of the "Royal Society for the Protection of Life from Fire." The first modern fire escape was patented by Anna Conelly in 1887. Henry Vieregg patented a US fire escape in Grand Island, NE in November 8, 1898 U.S. patent 614,043 (serial number 681,672), which was designed for traveling businessmen. As building codes became more common in countries around

385-500: A vertical surface such as a wall , and rollable ladders, such as those made of rope or aluminium , that may be hung from the top. The vertical members of a rigid ladder are called stringers or rails (US) or stiles (UK). Rigid ladders are usually portable, but some types are permanently fixed to a structure, building, or equipment. They are commonly made of metal, wood, or fiberglass , but they have been known to be made of tough plastic. Ladders are ancient tools and technology. A ladder

SECTION 10

#1732791580043

420-574: A very important aspect of fire safety for all new construction in urban areas ; more recently, however, they have fallen out of common use. This is due to the improved building codes incorporating fire detectors; technologically advanced firefighting equipment, which includes better communications and the reach of firefighting ladder trucks; and more importantly, fire sprinklers. International building codes and other authoritative agencies have incorporated fire sprinklers into multi-story buildings below 15 stories—not just skyscrapers. A fire escape consists of

455-490: A window, and if above the first floor with an approved ladder, or door that leads to a porch with ground access or a fire escape ladder. Federal rules, such as those of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), have requirements that follow ICC codes. Ladder A ladder is a vertical or inclined set of rungs or steps commonly used for climbing or descending. There are two types: rigid ladders that are self-supporting or that may be leaned against

490-541: A young woman and child plunging from a faulty fire escape during a 1975 Boston fire. The controversial image resulted in some jurisdictions enacting tougher fire safety codes. As buildings are built taller and taller, new fire escape ideas have been gaining popularity. Elevators, though traditionally not used as fire escapes, are now being thought of as a possible evacuation for high-rises and skyscrapers. Other alternative high-rise fire escape solutions include parachutes, external collapsible elevators, and slides. The use of

525-430: Is at risk of sliding, and if it is too steep, the ladder may fall backwards. This angle is achieved by following the 4 to 1 rule for a ladder placed on a vertical wall: for every four feet of vertical height, the ladder foot should move one foot from the wall. Both scenarios can cause significant injury, and are especially important in industries like construction, which require heavy use of ladders. The European Union and

560-541: Is featured in a Mesolithic rock painting that is at least 10,000 years old, depicted in the Spider Caves in Valencia, Spain . The painting depicts two humans using a ladder to reach a wild honeybee nest to harvest honey . The ladder is depicted as long and flexible, possibly made out of some sort of grass. Rigid ladders are available in many forms, such as: Rigid ladders were originally made of wood , but in

595-402: The Lower East Side of New York, the hub of immigrant ghetto life. He views the laws and the progressive reform movement that motivated them as a confluence of the cynically-minded with the civic-minded, eventually working towards the benefit of the burgeoning city's labor force. The reform movement culminated in a prominent Tenement-House Exhibit of 1899 held in the old Fifth Avenue Sherry's,

630-623: The Progressive belief that cleaner cities made better citizens. Jacob Riis , in his ground-breaking, muckraking journalistic expose of 1890, How the Other Half Lives : Studies Among the Tenements of New York attributes the reform movement to the fear of contagious disease emanating from the ghettos , especially following an outbreak of smallpox , far more contagious than the cholera and tuberculosis that had long dwelt in

665-434: The 1879 law's air shaft, New Law tenements tend to be built on multiple lots or on corner lots to conserve space for dwelling units—the source of revenue for the tenement owner. A typical Lower East Side or East Village street will be lined with five-story, austerely unornamented pre-law (pre-1879) and six-story, fancifully decorated old law (pre 1901) tenements with the much bulkier grand-style New Law Tenements on

700-454: The 20th century aluminium became more common because of its lighter weight. Ladders with fiberglass stiles are used for working on or near overhead electrical wires , because fiberglass is an electrical insulator . Henry Quackenbush patented the extension ladder in 1867. The most common injury made by ladder climbers is bruising from falling off a ladder, but bone fractures are common and head injuries are also likely, depending on

735-516: The United Kingdom established a ladder certification system – ladder classes – for any ladders manufactured or sold in Europe. The certification classes apply solely to ladders that are portable such as stepladders and extension ladders and are broken down into three types of certification. Each ladder certification is colour-coded to indicate the amount of weight the ladder is designed to hold,

SECTION 20

#1732791580043

770-449: The building. A modern type of evacuation slide is the vertical spiral escape chute , which is a common means of evacuation for buildings and other structures. One of the first fire escapes of any type was invented in 18th-century England. In 1784, Daniel Maseres, of England, invented a machine called a fire escape, which, being fastened to the window, would enable a person to descend to the street without injury. Abraham Wivell created

805-543: The building. The failures of the Old Law — the air shafts developed to meet the minimum intent of the Act proved to be unsanitary as they filled with garbage, bilge water, and waste — led to the 1901 "New Law" and its required courtyard designed for garbage removal. Prior to these housing laws, most reforms were undertaken by philanthropists and private individuals or organizations. This sequence of laws serves as an example of

840-508: The certification class and its use. The color of the safety label specifies the class and use. A common superstition in English-speaking countries is that walking under a ladder is seen as bad luck . Some sources claim that this stems from the image of a ladder being propped up against a wall looking similar to a gallows , while others attribute it to ancient Egyptian traditions involving pyramids and triangles representing

875-538: The corners, always at least six stories tall. Footnotes Sources Fire escape A fire escape is a special kind of emergency exit , usually mounted to the outside of a building —occasionally inside, but separate from the main areas of the building. It provides a method of escape in the event of a fire or other emergency that makes the stairwells inside a building inaccessible. Fire escapes are most often found on multiple-story residential buildings, such as apartment buildings . At one time, they were

910-414: The early 1900s was a long canvas tube suspended below a large funnel outside the window of a tall building. A person escaping the fire would slide down the interior of the tube, and could control the speed of descent by pushing outward on the tube walls with their arms and legs. This escape tube could be rapidly deployed from a window and hung down to street level, though it was large and bulky to store inside

945-584: The hot summer months, residents of mid-rise apartment buildings would sleep outside on the platforms of their fire escapes. Such a situation triggered the plot premise of Cornell Woolrich 's 1947 short story, "The Boy Cried Murder", about a boy on a fire escape who one night witnesses a murder in a neighboring apartment; this story was filmed as the suspense thriller The Window (1949). The practice of sleeping on fire escapes can also be seen in Alfred Hitchcock 's 1954 movie Rear Window (also based on

980-421: The lowest level of the fire escape to the ground may be fixed, but more commonly it swings down on a hinge or slides down along a track. The movable designs allow occupants to safely reach the ground in the event of a fire, but prevent people from accessing the fire escape from the ground at other times (such as for burglary or vandalism). Exit from the interior of a building to the fire escape may be provided by

1015-437: The nature of the accident. Ladders can cause injury if they slip on the ground and fall. To avoid this, they tend to have plastic feet or base pads which increase friction with the ground. However, if the plastic is badly worn, the aluminium may contact the ground increasing the chance of an accident. Ladder stabilizers are also available to increase the ladder's grip on the ground. One of the first ladder stabilizers or ladder feet

1050-426: The top of the ladder. It has become increasingly common to provide anchor points on buildings to which the top rung of an extension ladder can be attached, especially for activities like window cleaning, especially if a fellow worker is not available for "footing" the ladder. Footing occurs when another worker stands on the lowest rung and so provides much greater stability to the ladder when being used. However footing

1085-406: The trinity of the gods, and passing through the triangular shape made by a ladder against a wall was seen as desecration. Ladders have also been linked to the crucifixion of Christ , with author and scientist Charles Panati noting that many believe a ladder rested against the cross that Christ hung from, making it a symbol of wickedness, betrayal and death. In comedic children's media, the image of

New York State Tenement House Act - Misplaced Pages Continue

1120-478: The turn of the 20th century, fire safety became an important concern for new construction. Building owners were increasingly required to provide adequate escape routes, and at the time, fire escapes seemed the best option available. Not only could they be included in new construction at a low cost, but they could very easily be added to existing construction. As building codes evolved and more safety concerns were addressed over subsequent editions, all construction above

1155-401: The unit to be affixed to the window sash, also make a fire escape nearly useless in the summer months; the bulk and weight of an air conditioner unit placed onto or over a fire escape in an emergency also creates additional danger for firefighters and evacuees. Boston Herald American photographer Stanley Forman won a 1976 Pulitzer Prize for the photograph Fire Escape Collapse capturing

1190-482: The writing of the 1901 New Law. Aesthetically, the New Law coincided with the introduction of Beaux-Arts architecture . The curious sandstone faces and gargoyles and filigreed terracotta of the previous twenty years of tenement design gave way to the more abstractly classical ornamentation of this urbane, international and more grandiose Parisian style . Because the New Law's required courtyard consumed more space than

1225-412: Was offered in 1936 and today they are standard equipment on most large ladders. A ladder standoff, or stay, is a device fitted to the top of a ladder to hold it away from the wall. This enables the ladder to clear overhanging obstacles, such as the eaves of a roof , and increases the safe working height for a given length of ladder because of the increased separation distance of the two contact points at

#42957