On July 22, 1975, the American photographer Stanley Joseph Forman was sent by the newspaper he worked for, the Boston Herald, to document a fire that occurred near Marlborough Street.


 On site he found a firefighter who was saving two people who were stuck in their apartment on the fifth floor of a building from the flames; the three were going down the fire escape. Forman prepared to take photos depicting a mundane rescue.


Suddenly, however, the emergency ladder gave way and Diana Bryant (19 years old) with her daughter Tiare Jones (2 years old) tragically fell into the void.


Diana died a few hours later in hospital but her body cushioned the little girl's fall and she managed to survive; the fireman instead saved himself by clinging to a beam.


Forman immortalized the moment thanks to the technology of his new camera, but said that he looked away from the lens because he did not have the strength to witness the tremendous impact with the ground.


The photograph immediately went around the world and earned him the Pulitzer Prize. Furthermore, the shot focused attention on the important problem of workplace safety in the event of fire or emergencies of various kinds... Continue reading 

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