Is it possible to have an escape rope in a flat?

inferno

inferno

inferno

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I have always wondered this, do you think it is feasible to have an escape rope in a flat, in case your exits are blocked and the building is burning down? Do any companies specialise in this kind of thing? Guessing you would want small wire and some very thick gloves...
 
The US has those outdoors steel staircases. I think a firepole type thing would be better, unless your rope was designed to be "released" if needed? Either way, obese people in the building are gunna burn :eek::p
 
You need one of those inflatable slides like they have on aircraft, probably best to keep it cool with lots of water too :p
 
Get some sort of karabina thing. So you have a ring that is hard bolted into your wall. You have your abseiling rope coiled up ready then when the fire breaks out you can just hook the rope onto the ring, let the rope un-ravel then abseil down. I suggest a harness though. I can see it being quite feasible actually as long as the bolt through the wall is substantial enough! Alternatively just keep an umbrella in your room.
 
iirc you can get rope ladder type things that hook over the window opening to let you escape if need be, although i think they are generally only made for houses that are a couple of floors high.

The karabina thing sounds like it would be workable, although you'd want to make sure you knew how to use it :p
 
inferno said:
I have always wondered this, do you think it is feasible to have an escape rope in a flat, in case your exits are blocked and the building is burning down? Do any companies specialise in this kind of thing? Guessing you would want small wire and some very thick gloves...
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I remember seeing people on American news channels after 11/9 trying to sell parachute equipment meant for escaping buildings but seem to remember the consensus being that abseiling gear would be better/safer.
 
Yes it's entirely possible, in an old job (climbing equipment specialist) I helped a quite paranoid gent do something like this:

Petzl MGO scaffold hook loop stitched to the end of 50m of Beal Hotline. Connected to this was a Petzl Stop. Also hanging up was a Petzl Newton Fast Jak with a Petzl Omni caribiner.

http://en.petzl.com/petzl/ProProduits?Produit=346
http://www.bealplanet.com/portail-2006/index.php?page=cordes_secours&lang=us
http://en.petzl.com/petzl/ProProduits?Produit=525
http://en.petzl.com/petzl/ProProduits?Produit=556
http://en.petzl.com/petzl/ProProduits?Produit=470

All this equates to a system that you could hook to any large static item, get into an easy to wear harness and attach yourself to a length of (somewhat) fire retardant rope and descend from a building quickly and easily.

Petzl in conjunction with the New York Fire Department have developed a system that does just this in an all in one system, not sure of its uk availability though (been out of the climbing game for a fair few months)

http://en.petzl.com/petzl/ProProduits?Produit=647 with
http://en.petzl.com/petzl/ProProduits?Produit=470

Hope this is the kind of thing you are looking for

p.s none of this is a cheap option, a few hundred quid, but its available if you want it
 
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Fortunately I'm on the first floor, and I've jumped down from the window a few times - so I'm safe :D :p

However I did make up a long rope with knots when I lived on the 3rd floor, I used it twice just to try it, but honestly it would probably be easier to buy a rope ladder as you'll get safer footing.
 
http://www.fireescapesystems.com/peace-of-mind-smoke-hood.asp

Ha ^.

Thinking about it, I live on the 3rd floor (kind of the 4th because the basement is above ground level at my end of the building), and it would be pretty awesome to be able to abseil down to the shops. Used to climb and was a qualified belayer. Reckon you could do it so that once the weight of your body left the rope and harness it would retract back up to the balcony again? Making a cool 'wwzziiissshh' noise as it went obviously.
 
Freefaller said:
Fortunately I'm on the first floor, and I've jumped down from the window a few times - so I'm safe :D :p

However I did make up a long rope with knots when I lived on the 3rd floor, I used it twice just to try it, but honestly it would probably be easier to buy a rope ladder as you'll get safer footing.
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You nutter :p:D.
 
In the time it normally takes me to get a climbing harness on I would have probably burned to death!

PK!
 
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