Colorful sheets of fabric were tied to upper floors of the wreckage, presumably so those inside could climb or slide down and escape.

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"The Night Watch" is the only picture in the gallery to have its own "escape slide, " designed in 1934, to allow it to be swiftly moved out of danger in case of fire, or other threats.

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Some of the other firefighting equipment founded in Chicago is less high-tech: the snorkel truck, the fire plug or hydrant, the collapsible fire escape and the fire pole, which was invented by a Chicago fire captain in 1874 so firefighters could slide quickly to the ground floor.

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