A LOW-COST FIRE ESCAPE

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Take advantage of a lazy summer afternoon to make this easy-to-build ladder.

by Glenn Jacobs

When I first moved my family to Poverty Flat, Arizona, we had to convert the attic of our small house into two little rooms for our children. After flooring and insulating the area, however, I realized that the stairway provided the only exit from either of the cubicles . . . and that—should we have a fire—an alternate escape route might well be needed.

At first I put together simple drop ladders made from clothesline wire, but they were difficult to climb and tended to tangle when used. However, my new fire escapes (there's one outside of each bedroom, accessible by means of a hinged window) are constructed from lengths of 1-1/2" dowel, chain, and heavy steel wire. They can be hung under the house's eaves when not in use, and dropped in half a second . . . even by a sleepy youngster working in pitch darknessl

And I haven't had any trouble getting the children to practice using their escape routes, either. In fact—even after three years "fire drill" is among their favorite games!