A NEW FIRE ESCAPE.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume XI, Issue 1301, 27 March 1883, Page 3

A NEW FIRE ESCAPE.

Ax- & recent meeting of the Ashburton Western Fire Brigade the Secretary, Mr C Braddell, who is also Town Clerk of Ash burton, exhibited a neat little model of i fire escape for hotels and private houses which he had constructed. It is describee as follows The escape consists virtually ol i rope ladder, of whatever length may b< Required for the particular building in which It is to be kept, and from which it is in tended to be used. Each side rope of th< ladder is attached to an eye in a band, th. latter being slipped over a wooden bar fiv« feet long and two by three inches thick Every fifth rung of the ladder is of wo»d to keep it extended when in use. At th< bottom the ropes are let into a roller, oj which, when not in use, the ladder is coder and strapped together by a three-inch leather strap, which keeps the whole compact and in small compass, so that it can be hung up !n a bedroom or on a. landing ready for us. at any moment. The escape can be used at a moment a notice, and is calculated to be id its most handy place in a landing on th. second storev. When required to be used, the lower sash of the wind© * should hthrown up. the strap of the es a >e unbuckled the five-feet wooden bar placed against th. bottom of the window frame, and the rolle with the ladder thrown out. The roller wil unwind itself in descent. There is a lim (made of ordinary signal halyard) attached to the bar, and to the end of this line r leather belt is secured. This line can be use. for three purposes. By strapping the be! round the body and under the arms of a child, it can be lowered to the street in safety. Aj aged or invalid person can he steadied dowi the ladder in the same way. Should th escape be taken to another building, the li»»* can be coiled up and thrown up to a window can then be drawn up and used.