Like subway tokens, phone booths and the Metrocard (in the not-too-distant future), fire escapes may not be long for this City. The Post reports today that outdoor fire escapes are slowly being phased out of buildings, both because of safety and aesthetic concerns.
"Those fire escapes are going the way of the dinosaur," FDNY spokesman Jim Long told the tabloid, noting that fireproof interior stairwells are now the preferred addition for newer buildings.
"[Fire escapes] are not handsome or beautiful or complementary to the building. As a matter of fact, they’re a detriment to the building," said architect Joseph Pell Lombardi, who has removed fire escapes from dozens of Manhattan buildings in recent years.
Interestingly, many fire escapes were not part of the original designs of the buildings, but rather were additions in the early 20th century; as Untapped Cities explained, the first city laws on them (they had to be made of "wrought iron or steel with the ability to sustain a live load of 90 pounds per square foot or greater") were enacted after the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire in 1911, which led to the deaths of 146 immigrant workers.
But by the 1960s, the thinking around fire escapes had changed drastically: a 1968 building-code law "essentially banned exterior fire escapes for new buildings, except in certain circumstances."
