Joseph Winters
Black Inventors
Who, What, When, Where, Why?
Learn all about the fire escape by reading each part below (Chandler/White, 1986).Who?
Joseph Winters was important to the safety of people who live in cities.What?
He invented a fire escape that was mounted on fire wagons.When?
He invented this fire escape in 1878 when cities were beginning to "grow up" instead of "growing out."Where?
Joseph Winters invented the fire wagon-mounted fire escape in the city of Chambersburg, PA.Why?
Winters noticed that firemen had to take ladders off of their wagons to climb to windows, rescue people, and spray water on fires. He thought they should have ladders that they could raise that were already mounted to the wagon. The ladders were easier to raise with Winters' invention. It was harder to carry and put up regular ladders.
Importance of Fire Escape in Life:
In the cities, people were making buildings taller and taller. Streets were getting narrow as they became crowded. The ladders that firemen used had to be long and heavy in order to reach the high floors in the tall buildings. However, the long ladders on the sides of the wagons made it difficult to move through the streets. Winters' invention was important because a set of ladders could reach the high windows on a building. Cities could keep on growing with taller buildings and people would be more safe living in them.
Here is a drawing of Winters' fire escape.
Researched by Courtney Bland, North Carolina A&T State University
Drawing by Vincent Childress.
Photo by Hemera Photo Objects [Clipart CD].
Reference:
Chandler/White Publishing Company, Inc. (1986). A Salute to Black Inventors. Chicago: author. [A series of booklets on black inventors for elementary school.] (312) 280-9451Last Update: 9-26-02