I hear about firefighters that get trapped and die in fires. Turns out in NY and a few other places they’ve been issue bail out gear. A hook and pulley that attaches to the window and rope.
They’re trained to escape in 15 seconds.
I wonder why all Fire Stations don’t issue this equipment? It seems like effective and inexpensive protection for the firefighters.
I found this web site.
I used to be affiliated with a local company that started making these about 15 years ago. I’m pretty sure they had a few competitors back then. It’s not brand new tech but it’s probably new enough that states are just catching up to requirements.
Don’t assume that departments don’t have them just because only one state requires it. No doubt many departments run on very slim margins, while some are able to afford $300/person sets and have been using them for years.
What prevents the rope from melting?
Showed this to my husband, who is a FF. He said that there are different policies in each city on whether they can work above the fire floors. Here in Calgary they don’t go above the fire floor in a high rise, so they wouldn’t have as much need for this kind of escape. Second, you would only use these in downtown / high rise situations, not in residential areas, so entire fire departments probably don’t need them, just the halls that are in those types of areas. So, this wouldn’t be applicable to all departments depending on how they run.
That said, he mentioned that he’s aware of these and wants to personally buy one for additional safety as part of his gear (the department isn’t interested in buying these right now).
So they would need to wear that harness on every call? How long does that take to get into, and does it restrict motion?
The coats they wear are sturdy enough - they could probably support a FF’s weight.
Adding straps just below the arms and mid-thigh with quick-connect hardware would be a great improvement - no harness, just a strap with d-clips on each end and a pulley in the middle - the D-clips connect the ends of the straps together, then slip onto the rope.
I guess the hook isn’t getting a lot of weight? It’s just barely secured on the window ledge. (there’s a piece of metal on the plywood edge and the hook is grabbing that). This was a training session and the trainer was watching and making sure it was safe.
I bet a lot of the weight is pressing vertically down on the window ledge. Not much on the hook. WAG
The rope doesn’t get hot. You hook it to the window, repel/slide down it and that’s it. If the rope gets hot enough to melt, the FF is already in more trouble than it’s going be able to save them from.
The ropes are made of Kevlar which has a melting point of 930 degrees F.