No Exit: The Rise and Demise of the Outside Fire Escape

The article traces the history of the fire escape - in its classic form, a system of iron balconies and ladders on the outside of a building, which is used for emergency exit - in the United States. It shows how this device was called into being by state and city laws in the latter half of the nineteenth century and how, when its drawbacks as a means of egress from large buildings became clear to lawmakers and property owners, was abandoned and replaced with another system: protected, interior stairs. The fire escape is an example of a publicly-constructed technology, in that its existence, development, and demise were controlled by local government rather than the market.