after they’d already been detected, using fire buckets, extinguishers and hoses in hallways.
External fire escapes originally constructed of wood or metal were the preferable means of egress for landlords as opposed to interior fire stairs, which reduced the amount of usable and rentable floor space. Philadelphia and New York were the first cities to require fire escapes for tenements and factories in the mid-19th century.
The New York State Tenement House Act of 1901 required new construction to have outward-facing windows, indoor bathrooms, proper ventilation and fire safeguards such as fire escapes.
In 1968, exterior fire escapes were no longer required in new construction, replaced by fireproof interior stairs with access from every floor. The walls of these fire stairs are required by building code to be fireproof and the doors to the fire stairs must be metal and able to withstand fire and sparks for up to three hours.