Ninth Ward School disaster facts for kids

The Ninth Ward School disaster was a very sad event that happened on November 20, 1851. It took place at Ward School No. 26, which was located on Greenwich Street in New York City. During classes, a sudden panic spread among the teachers and students. They thought there might be a fire in the school building. This led to many students rushing to escape down a staircase, which caused a terrible accident.

The Ninth Ward School Disaster

On that day in 1851, students and teachers were in their classrooms. Suddenly, everyone became very scared because they believed there was a fire. This fear caused a large group of students to rush towards the staircases to get out of the building. As they hurried down one staircase, the railing, also called a bannister, broke. This made the students fall into a huge pile at the bottom of the stairs. Reports said the pile of students was about 10 to 12 feet deep.

What Caused the Tragedy?

Sadly, forty-three students died in this accident. Most of them passed away because they couldn't breathe, which is called suffocation. After the disaster, an investigation was done to find out what went wrong. The investigation found two main problems that made the escape difficult and dangerous.

First, the exit doors of the school opened inward. This meant that when many students pushed against them to get out, the doors were hard to open. This slowed down their escape. Second, the staircase bannister was not strong enough. It could not hold the weight of so many students pushing against it at once. This caused it to break, leading to the pile-up.

Important Lessons for School Safety

A group called a coroner's jury looked into the accident. They decided that no one person was directly to blame for the disaster. However, they made very important recommendations for the future. They suggested that all schools should be built with safer stairways. These stairways should be protected in case of a fire. Most importantly, they recommended that all school exit doors should open outward. This way, people can push them open easily from the inside during an emergency. The Ninth Ward School disaster helped teach important lessons about making schools safer for everyone.