In 1975, Stanley Forman took a Pulitzer Prize-winning photo of a fatal fire escape collapse during a Boston apartment fire. That photo would spur the city to enact new regulations to keep fire escapes safe. Mark Strassmann has the story.

Boston

Stanley Foreman, a veteran news photographer, captured a tragic moment when a fire escape collapsed during a Boston apartment fire, resulting in the death of 19-year-old Diana Bryant and the survival of two-year-old Tiara Jones. The powerful image, which earned Foreman a Pulitzer Prize, was published worldwide and drew attention to the dangers of poorly maintained fire escapes.

The widespread impact of the photograph led Boston to update its city code, requiring fire escapes to be certified as safe every five years. The incident and Foreman's photo not only changed local regulations but also increased public awareness and prompted similar safety measures across the country.

How a photo of a deadly Boston fire sparked change

Oh, look at this one. This is when I turned the corner. Stanley Foreman's news photos have gripped Boston for decades, a scrapbook spanning nearly 60 years of city history. Foreman is now 80. He still listens to three police scanners in his truck. My idea is to beat them, so they need my stuff. A freelancer hustling for the next big photo. So you're standing here. I'm on top of the fire. But the image he'll always remember, and Boston never forgot, is the one he took of a fatal fire a half century ago today. Right up there. In this Boston alley, Foreman came to a fire racing through an apartment building. A firefighter had just reached a young woman and a two-year-old girl trapped on a rickety fifth story fire escape. He said, I'm going to climb up, and I'm going to hoist you up, and we're out of here. And then it went. It collapsed. The fire escape collapsed. I mean, you know they're falling. There's no doubt they're falling. And the fire escape coming down behind it. Firefighter Robert O'Neill dangled with one arm, clutching the ladder, and survived. But the fall killed 19-year-old Diana Bryant. Two-year-old Tiara Jones landed on top of her and lived. I realized that two people had fallen to the ground. You said you were shaking. Oh, I was, yes. I just watched something awful, awful happen. I never had doubts about getting the picture, but I saw something awful happen. Does it still get to you? Yes, it does. I watched death in front of me. I mean, I was like a part of this. This haunting image, published worldwide, earned Foreman the Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography, his first of three Pulitzers. It also woke up Boston. Oh my god. This is what can happen when fire escapes need to be used during an emergency, and they're not in good repair. What sort of regulations, inspections were in place? Well, there were no regulations at the time. Warren Kindler is director of the National Fire Escape Association. Within months after Foreman's photo was published, Boston changed city code to require fire escapes be certified as safe every five years. The impact of that photo is undeniable. Undeniable. It had a ripple effect throughout the country. Foreman told us the photo's power is simple. Well, I think it scared people, and it also made them aware. How's my fire escape? I mean, I remember reading stories, people going out and testing their fire escape. This could happen to us. Stanley Foreman did more than chase Boston history. He changed it. For Eye on America, I'm Mark Strassman in Boston.

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