WITNESSarchive

W–029 · Documentary photograph and sources

The Fire Escape Collapses

Safety was only a step from one ladder to another. On the fifth-floor fire escape stood nineteen-year-old Diana Bryant, her two-year-old niece and goddaughter Tiare Jones, and firefighter Robert O’Neill. He had come down to them from the roof; an aerial ladder was being raised from below. The apartment building on Marlborough Street in Boston was on fire. It was 22 July 1975.

1. The fall

Diana Bryant and two-year-old Tiare Jones fall beside the collapsing fire escape. This is the fifth and final image in the official World Press Photo series. Stanley Forman / Boston Herald American, 22 July 1975.
Diana Bryant and two-year-old Tiare Jones fall beside the collapsing fire escape. This is the fifth and final image in the official World Press Photo series. Stanley Forman / Boston Herald American, 22 July 1975.
Provenance and sources for frame 1

Stanley Forman photographed this scene on Marlborough Street, Boston, on 22 July 1975 for the Boston Herald American. This frame belongs to the five-image sequence published by World Press Photo; the gallery captions identify its position in that official series. Displayed file: 1397 × 1920 pixels. Full image record in Russian.

worldpressphoto.orgView image file

Stanley Forman of the Boston Herald American arrived after hearing the call on a fire-service radio. He climbed onto a fire engine for a higher view. As he later recalled, it looked like a routine rescue: O’Neill would cross to the aerial ladder, take the child, pass her to another firefighter, then help Bryant.

2. Smoke above the building

Bryant and Jones are on the upper platform beside a firefighter. An aerial ladder approaches from the right; smoke and flame emerge from the windows. Stanley Forman, Boston, 22 July 1975.
Bryant and Jones are on the upper platform beside a firefighter. An aerial ladder approaches from the right; smoke and flame emerge from the windows. Stanley Forman, Boston, 22 July 1975.
Provenance and sources for frame 2

Stanley Forman photographed this scene on Marlborough Street, Boston, on 22 July 1975 for the Boston Herald American. This frame belongs to the five-image sequence published by World Press Photo; the gallery captions identify its position in that official series. Displayed file: 1537 × 1920 pixels. Full image record in Russian.

worldpressphoto.orgView image file

As the ladder reached the platform, the fire escape gave way. O’Neill caught hold of the aerial ladder; the woman and child fell five storeys. Forman kept photographing, his camera’s motor drive set to three frames a second. Just before they hit the ground, he turned away. That evening he learned Bryant had died and Jones had survived. According to World Press Photo, the child landed on her godmother’s body, which cushioned her fall.

3. At the edge

Robert O’Neill reaches towards the aerial ladder while Bryant holds the child beside him. Another man is visible on the roof. Stanley Forman, Boston, 22 July 1975.
Robert O’Neill reaches towards the aerial ladder while Bryant holds the child beside him. Another man is visible on the roof. Stanley Forman, Boston, 22 July 1975.
Provenance and sources for frame 3

Stanley Forman photographed this scene on Marlborough Street, Boston, on 22 July 1975 for the Boston Herald American. This frame belongs to the five-image sequence published by World Press Photo; the gallery captions identify its position in that official series. Displayed file: 1920 × 1468 pixels. Full image record in Russian.

worldpressphoto.orgView image file

The next morning the photographs appeared on the first and third pages of the Boston Herald American, then were reproduced around the world. Some questioned whether a newspaper should show the moment of a person’s death. Others asked about the condition of fire escapes. Boston soon required them to be inspected every five years.

4. The collapse

The platform pulls away from the wall and tips. Bryant and Jones begin to fall while O’Neill remains above by the aerial ladder. Stanley Forman, Boston, 22 July 1975.
The platform pulls away from the wall and tips. Bryant and Jones begin to fall while O’Neill remains above by the aerial ladder. Stanley Forman, Boston, 22 July 1975.
Provenance and sources for frame 4

Stanley Forman photographed this scene on Marlborough Street, Boston, on 22 July 1975 for the Boston Herald American. This frame belongs to the five-image sequence published by World Press Photo; the gallery captions identify its position in that official series. Displayed file: 1513 × 1920 pixels. Full image record in Russian.

worldpressphoto.orgView image file

In 1976, the image of the fall was named World Press Photo of the Year, and the series won first prize in the Spot News category. Forman also received a Pulitzer Prize for the photographs.

5. Below the ladder

Bryant falls feet first, with Jones to her left. O’Neill hangs from the ladder above as debris and flowerpots fall beside the woman and child. Stanley Forman, Boston, 22 July 1975.
Bryant falls feet first, with Jones to her left. O’Neill hangs from the ladder above as debris and flowerpots fall beside the woman and child. Stanley Forman, Boston, 22 July 1975.
Provenance and sources for frame 5

Stanley Forman photographed this scene on Marlborough Street, Boston, on 22 July 1975 for the Boston Herald American. This frame belongs to the five-image sequence published by World Press Photo; the gallery captions identify its position in that official series. Displayed file: 1411 × 1920 pixels. Full image record in Russian.

worldpressphoto.orgView image file