Ordinance 1880-92 - Laserfiche WebLink

gases and flame. These open stairways are the cause of many life losses in fires. There have been innumerable cases of children on upper floors of dwellings having their escape cut off by the swift upward travel of fire. Most of the serious losses of life in hotels and apartments have been because stairways and elevators have had no enclosure. The number of casualties in multi story apartment houses, most of which could be laid to open stairways, was such that the Legislature of the State of New York passed drastic legislation covering existing tenement houses and also multi-storied dwellings which are converted into apartments, or rooming houses. The problem of correcting conditions in existing buildings is not easily solved. There is first the financial angle: the cost of such work is considerable. A second feature is how these enclosures can be put in. It is seldom feasible in an existing building to totally inclose a stairway, but it may be possible to provide a partition and door at the head or foot of a stairway. The third question is the kind of partition or separation to be used. This will depend upon the protection desired. The primary object is to stop the upward draft. This can be done with almost any kind or partition, but if the partition is of glass or of thin wood, it will not stand up long under fire conditions and may fail before the fire fighters arrive and get the fire under control. Doors on stairway enclosures must be kept closed to make the stairway enclosure effective in stopping the upward spread of fire.