What is the importance of the fire escape in the memoir, A Walker in the City?

The fire escape (as described by the author) provided a place for him to escape and dream, to sit and read the books (including the New Testament) that inspired him to hope for, to long for, and to take action to reach for the life beyond Brownsville. There is the sense that its height above the ground and its wider view are physically metaphoric representations of this spiritual / emotional aspect of his life.