Ninth Ward School disaster

The Ninth Ward School disaster occurred on November 20, 1851, at Ward School No. 26 on Greenwich Street in New York City.[1] While classes were in session, panic suddenly arose among the teachers and students about a possible fire in the building. A mass of students proceeded to flee down a staircase, causing the bannister to fail and the students to tumble into a large pile—reportedly 10 to 12 feet (3.0 to 3.7 m) deep—at the bottom of the staircase. [2][3] Forty-three students died, mostly due to suffocation.[2] An investigation determined that the students' escape had been slowed by inward-swinging exit doors and that the construction of the staircase bannister was insufficient to support the weight of the students. While a coroner's jury found no fault in the accident, it recommended that all schools be built with fire-protected stairways and outward-opening exit doors.[4]

References

  1. ^ "THE CATASTROPHE.: ACCIDENT IN THE NINTH WARD SCHOOL. CORNER'S INVESTIGATION. VISIT OF THE JURY TO THE BUILDING, FURTHER PARTICULARS. BURIAL OF THE DEAD. SOLEMN CEREMONIES. INCIDENTS ATTENDING THE DISASTER". New-York Daily Times. November 24, 1851. p. 3.
  2. ^ a b "THE NINTH WARD CALAMITY.: CORONERS'S INQUEST". New-York Daily Times. November 22, 1851. p. 2.
  3. ^ "The Ninth Ward Accident--The Inquest and the Firemen". New-York Daily Times. December 2, 1851.
  4. ^ Friedman, Donald (September 5, 2018). "The engineer as expert: early structural forensic reports in the United". Building Knowledge, Constructing Histories. 6th International Congress on Construction History (July 9-13, 2018). Brussels: CRC Press. pp. 59–66. ISBN 978-0-429-01362-1.

40°44′7.5″N 74°0′0″W / 40.735417°N 74.00000°W / 40.735417; -74.00000

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