Emergency Exit

Emergency Exit

Few emergencies are more terrifying than being trapped on the upper floor of a burning building with no ready means of escape. Hoping to assuage such fears, a Pennsylvania company is marketing a portable rescue device that will automatically lower a person to safety when regular exits become blocked by fire or smoke.

The device, called the Exit Traveler, consists of a steel safety hook, a fire-resistant stainless-steel cable and a standard rescue sling, or harness, which fits under a person’s arms. In case of a fire, a person places the hook around a heavy, stable object, such as a bathroom fixture or bed, puts on the adjustable harness and climbs out the window. Then all the user needs to do is hang on.

The cable—long enough to lower a person 12 stories—automatically unwinds from an exit “cassette,” lowering to the ground anyone weighing between 20 and 150 kilograms. Two spring-loaded brakes inside the exit cassette ensure that everyone descends at about the same speed—half a meter per second—regardless of the person’s weight. That’s because the braking action increases with an increase in weight. “There is no free fall with the device, and that is unique,” says Rick Denzien, president of R.A.W. Rescue Products of Ambler, Pa., which distributes the product. With the device, one can descend from the 12th floor to the ground in 80 seconds. Owing to the adjustability of the harness, more than one person can use the Traveler at the same time, so long as the total weight does not exceed 150 kilograms. That would be necessary if there were two people in the room, since the product can be used only once.

Different models: The product also comes with a tie-down cable to be used if there is nothing around on which to place the hook. There are three models, for four-, seven- and 12-story buildings; the 12-story kit weighs four kilograms and costs $398. Why the 12-story limit? “Because that kit is not inconvenient to carry around,” says Denzien. Anything more, he adds, would be too cumbersome. R.A.W. has similar products that work up to 100 floors, but they are permanent and not portable. The Exit Traveler, which has been on sale in Holland for a few years, is now being introduced in Asia, South America, the United States and Australia.

Photo caption: “Self-rescue: The Exit Traveler” (courtesy R.A.W. Rescue Products).

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