Day 38: Flagged Fire Escape

2026-03-16

This article has a major correction; this kind of fire escape is probably fine! I might be making a big deal out of nothing.

Back on Bristol's Main Street...

Hello!

I didn't realize it at the time, but the building in this photo has one oddity. With your eyes, trace the fire escape from the red, white, and blue flag, down to each platform, down to the ground — wait. It doesn't touch the ground.

The last flight of stairs has been folded up to hover over the sidewalk. I don't pretend to know the intentions of this decision, or whether it's permanent or not, but that feels wrong. Beyond an incredibly-nerdy conference on fire doors and codes (thanks, Tom Scott and Technology Connections), I haven't been exposed to any expert perspective on fire codes.

But I'm a history nerd, and looking back at this picture, I think of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, and how its fire escape failed at a crucial moment because the owners got lazy meeting the bare minimum.

There's a reason we have robust regulations. They were written in blood, and we must follow them, or else those mistakes become a pattern of negligence.

Finally, a Topsy-Turvy World by Frank Kunert. These are not real places, they are models constructed to imitate reality. One intentional omission is included in each photo that makes you stop and observe. The playground slide dumping you on a major road is dark and hilarious to me. Of course, Kunert's works are different to my photo today, but they both have that one oddity.

Cheers,
David