Although there were stairways and escapes, several had doors that opened inward, and one may have been locked. This led to building codes that redefined adequate egress from buildings. Wermiel concludes that the pivotal event of modern fire-resistive construction was adoption of skeleton frame construction. It brought together existing fireproofing materials and experience to build fire-resistant tall buildings. She also argues that since fireproof buildings were so much more expensive than regular buildings, government contract requirements and code regulations provided incentives for architects, engineers, and industrial people to come up with new materials and construction techniques for fireproof projects.
Several observations are in order.
Several names familiar to me surfaced in Wermiel's book. Engineers F.J.T. Stewart and William H. Merrill served as advisors to the National Board of Fire Underwriters, the National Fire Prevention Association and various consulting committees. I would, therefore, have enjoyed more information about the role these groups played in the development of and campaign for fire-resistant materials and construction techniques. But I cannot fault Wermiel for sticking to her topic. Her work has whetted my appetite for more explanation, an outcome I attribute only to good books.