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Edward F. Croker
 This photograph shows Chief Croker's buggy of the 1910's. Although by this time chiefs in Fire Department, City of New York (FDNY) were using automobiles to respond to fires, horse-drawn buggies were kept in reserve because motorized vehicles were still not always reliable.
All photos and captions courtesy of the NYC Fire Museum.
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Edward F. Croker, Chief of the Fire Department of New York City (1899-1911), was an experienced firefighter and a pioneer in creating laws to safeguard against fire hazards. Although he had many times witnessed the destruction caused by fire, the horror of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire caused him to fight for life-saving measures in fire prevention and safety.
Chief Croker carefully studied the Asch building to determine the cause of fire and to make a case for changing the law. In his book, Fire Prevention, he used photographs to show the results of fire in non-fireproof buildings. Croker stated that the simplest way to prevent fire death is the simple drill. Knowing the location of exits and the use of clear signs and directions (which seem obvious today) were radical ideas at the beginning of the 20th century. In a city filled with immigrants without a common language, the giving and following of directions was not a simple task. For this reason, Croker proposed that, "…all instructions for fire drills should be printed in the language of the majority of the workers in a given shop; in two or three languages if necessary, in addition to English." He recommended training a manager to take charge, and teaching workers how to behave in a calm and orderly fashion in the event of a potentially dangerous situation.
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Chief Croker suggested alternatives for constructing fireproof buildings, such as eliminating all wood and using metal, terra cotta, or concrete, and for establishing adequate exit routes. His ideas were the foundation of the Fire Prevention Law of 1911, a direct result of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory tragedy. The law was amended the following year to increase power of the Fire Commissioner to enforce fire drills in factories, businesses, hospitals, schools, and other institutions.
After the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire of 1911, Chief Croker testified before the New York State Factory Investigating Commission (established to determine fault for the deaths of 146 people). The following statement illustrates the fact that he found immediate enforcement of the law critical and would not tolerate its negligence by business owners: "I have found that the owner with any intelligence is more than ready to bear this trifling expense in loss of workers' time, once he has been shown the inestimable advantage to himself, from the practical as well as the humanitarian point of view, which the drill will inevitably bring."
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References:
Croker, Edward F., Fire Prevention.
New York: Dodd Mead & Co., 1912.
New York State Factory Investigating Commission, 1912, 3 vols.
(Albany, New York: The Argus Company, printers, 2:5-6, 14-21, 35-36, 39-40.
Photos courtesy of the New York City Fire Museum.
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