Iron Fire Escapes
Something that I haven’t noticed in Lviv and Europe in general is iron fire escapes on the sides
of buildings. I read that the reason such fire escapes are a rarity in Europe is because European
cities have a long history of fire prevention and safety and were always ahead
of America in their immunity against fire, and thus these fire escapes were not
necessary. For example, starting in the thirteenth century, only stone and
brick, as opposed to wood, structures were allowed in the inner cities, while
even in later centuries wood remained a common building material in American
cities.
The first external iron fire escape I took note of was in my suburb
because the manufacturer’s stamp on the counterweight caught my eye. Then I started noticing them all over Chicago. Many of them
have a circular or octagonal decorative counterweight stamped with the manufacturer’s name, while some don’t have any inscriptions at all.
Fire escape in downtown Winnetka |
The majority of these cast or wrought iron fire escapes would have been made
and installed between the late 1880s and the 1930s. The ones with stamps
include the name of the company (typically Wire and Iron Works,) usually named
after the company’s founder, and the location, i.e., Chicago. Some examples are E. R. Landon Wire
and Iron Works – Chicago, F. P. Smith
Wire and Iron Works – Chicago, etc.
Not only are many of these manufacturers not around anymore, but if any are, they probably no longer manufacture such fire escapes because they have largely become obsolete.
The ones that remain are often used for various purposes other than their
original purpose (for example, residents use them as balconies, urban gardens,
etc.) and now most new buildings have modern fire prevention and safety mechanisms,
such as sprinklers and internal stairwells that act as self-contained fire
escape routes.
I like the notice at the top-right: http://biggert.cul.columbia.edu/items/view/ave_biggert_00179
ReplyDeletecool! thanks for the link! and yes, I like the notice too :)
DeleteFor example, starting in the thirteenth century, only stone and brick, as opposed to wood, structures were allowed in the inner cities chicago signs
ReplyDelete