Escape Rescue Systems
 

Enough of these spread out (staggered) around the building could be a big help for higher floors in a fire or in situations where the stairwells are blocked.

This video was done at the Azrieli Centre in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Since the video was created a third, square footprint, tower has been built (completed June 2007).

That's neat, but why have it waste a trip down in the beginning? Are the firefighters really needed to shepherd people onto them? Seems like it could be designed to take a load of people down on that first trip, then refill with firemen for the first trip back up.

But it is neat. Not as neat as my idea about birdseed shirts, but neat.

rb, you know as well as I that most people are stupid. add the panic factor of a fire and you just KNOW that people would fuck up the whole "open the thing up" procedure...probably fall out and kill themselves in the process...

Okay, so you nominate a team of "floor captains" who have training at being the shepherd. I just think, at the rate that thing descended in the video, you'd have some roasted people by the time it got to the bottom and back. There's got to be some way they don't have to wait for help to come to them, when they could have gotten out early.

we'll see....maybe parachutes next?