Lescale's Automatic Fire Escape, 1878

Among the things most required in these days of tall buildings and narrow places of entrance and exit, are means of escape in case of fire for those who occupy the upper apartments. Apparatus for this purpose should be compact, portable, and yet strong and reliable. To embody these qualities in a single device has been the aim of Mr. John M. Lescale has devised a lifesaving appliance on wheels which may be kept in the house as a piece of furniture, to be moved to a balcony or window in the event of fire breaking out. After folding out the brackets of the apparatus, the person wishing to escape takes a seat in the ring formed by a length of cable with a ring and a hook, and attached to a cable which is wound on a reel. While defending, the user grips the rope connected to the braking device with one hand. Only when the rope is pulled can the cable uncoil from the reel to permit descent. When the descent is completed another person may leave the building by using the second cable during which operation the first cable is automatically pulled back up. In this way, a large number of people can leave the burning building

Picture No

12698033

Media ID

47677370

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3305px x 3900px (6.6MB)

Credit

Science Source/Mary Evans