Fire Escape Collapse facts for kids
Fire Escape Collapse is a famous black-and-white photograph. It is also known as Fire on Marlborough Street. The picture was taken by Stanley Forman. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography in 1976. It was also named World Press Photo of the Year.
The photo shows 19-year-old Diana Bryant and her two-year-old goddaughter Tiare Jones. They are falling from a broken fire escape. This happened during a fire at an apartment building. The building was on Marlborough Street in Boston. The date was July 22, 1975. The fire escape was on the fifth floor. It broke when a ladder from a fire truck was reaching for them. They fell about 50 feet (15 meters).
Stanley Forman used a special camera to take the picture. Other photos in the series show Bryant and Jones waiting. They also show the exact moment the fire escape broke. The photo was first printed in the Boston Herald American. It was then shared in many newspapers. This photo helped create new fire escape safety laws in the United States.
The Fire Incident
A firefighter named Robert O'Neill was the first to arrive. He asked Diana Bryant to lift Tiare Jones to him on the roof. But Bryant could not do it. So, O'Neill jumped down to help them. He had one arm around Bryant. He also had one hand on a ladder rung. At that moment, the fire escape broke.
O'Neill was able to hold on and was rescued. But Bryant and Jones fell about 50 feet (15 meters). Diana Bryant was badly hurt and died a few hours later. Tiare Jones survived the fall. She landed on Bryant, which made the impact softer. A helicopter pilot named Joe Green offered to help. He landed on a nearby roof. He offered to pick up Bryant and Jones. But he did not get a response from the firefighter.
The building where the fire happened had some safety problems. There had been reports of small fires behind the building before this accident.
Stanley Forman's Story
Stanley Forman remembered the day of the accident. He was about to leave the Boston Herald office. Then he heard about a fire. He quickly went to the scene, following a fire truck. He heard people yelling for a ladder truck. Forman ran to the back of the burning building. There, he saw Diana Bryant and Tiare Jones on the fire escape.
Because of the heat from the fire, Bryant and Jones were leaning away from the building. Forman took a spot to photograph what he thought would be a normal rescue. After the fire escape broke, Forman said, "It dawned on me what was happening. I didn't want to see them hit the ground. I can still remember turning around and shaking." Forman also said he could not see them hit the ground. They fell behind a fence where trash bins were.
Photo's Impact on Safety
This famous photograph and others from the fire were first printed in the Boston Herald. Stanley Forman made copies for the Associated Press. They shared the photo with 128 newspapers in the U.S. and in other countries.
Within a day, Boston started to make fire escapes safer. Fire safety groups used these photos. They helped push for similar safety efforts in other U.S. cities.
Awards Received
- 1975: World Press Photo of the Year
- 1976: Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography
