I don't know, those didn't seem like they were super expensive though and since the box is metal at least it won't burn, although could be very hot to the touch. I guess the cost would add up with many.

I'm sure you could do what you're talking about, just want to make sure they wouldn't burn as well and become useless if needed.

Awhile back someone posted a picture of a fire escape ladder under the window in their child's room. I tried a search and I can't find it. Maybe someone else can remember?

I remember someone mentioning building them into a window seat below the window, but couldn't find the post either. I think both are a great idea. This would be a simplier and less expensive option. I've looked into other fire escape ladders, but they required the person to put the ladder on the window. I was concerned that my younger kids wouldn't be capable of doing so, especially during an emergency. Thanks for the post.

Are these really practical? Has a child ever been saved by one? I would have trouble stepping over the window and going down a straight ladder (rather than a step ladder which is on an angle), I cannot imagine a child doing it safely. The Pearl website has all kinds of testimonials from people on how "safe" they feel, but there is no testimonial from someone who actually used it. Scroll down on the page linked to above and you see a picture of a little boy climbing down one. It looks like the distant between the rungs is too far for a small child.

How is the wall insulated where the box is?

i did notice the distance between the rungs on the ladder on the pearl site. i don't really like this particular brand, as this is one problem i noticed with them.

"Has a child ever been saved by one?"

i don't know. i just remember watching the world trade center burn on 9-11 and all the people who chose to break open the windows and leap to their death ...and then the awful sounds of the bodies crashing to the roof tops below.
and then the cameras were turned away. but it was too late for me. i already saw it.

all i know is if there is one installed in every bedroom there is a better chance to get out. God forbid we couldn't get to them to help, they would at least have a chance to get out on their own. as far as i'm concerned it would be the best $1000 i ever wasted if we never had to use them.

I have one of those ladders under the window in an upstairs bedroom. We discussed putting them in all three upstairs bedrooms, but decided just to put it in the room at the north end of the house. With that ladder on the north end and the staircase on the south end ~ hopefully one way or the other would be available in event of a fire.

Has a child ever been saved by one? I don't know, but there's no way my kids were going to sleep upstairs without some method of escape. It gives us peace of mind to know it's there.

I'll go dig up my pictures.

Here they are. Mine were called "Chains of Life", but I haven't had luck finding them online anymore. They were less expensive than the link posted by the OP.

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What a great idea. Even if a child could not use one by himself, if he could at least be trained to toss it out the window, it would make it possible for people outside to climb up and rescue him. If I had a 2 story house, I'd be giving that some serious though!

"all i know is if there is one installed in every bedroom there is a better chance to get out."

My concern is they create a false sense of security. I just don't see a kid or an older person getting down one of those. My niece is a very adventurous 9 year old and I don't see her stepping out a window in the dark and going down a ladder that isn't rigid. I would be terrified to do it but could. Most people are nervous on an 8' step ladder.

Being diligent about maintaining your smoke alarms will do a lot more to get you out in time. Smoke alarms are triggered pretty easily, in my experience. Make sure you have them not just where code requires but where it makes sense. Our house more than required by code. For example, we have one in the laundry room. Many fires start there and could smolder for quite awhile before the smoke reaches the detector in the kitchen 20+ feet (and through a closed door) away. You should have heat and/or smoke detectors in the basement, attic, garage, laundry room, kitchen, each floor, every bedroom and outside every bedroom in the hallway. Don't allow smoking in your house. Don't allow guests or children to have candles in their bedrooms. Make sure all candles used (in kitchen, dining room, etc.) are extinguished before you go to bed, before you leave the house or before you take a nap. Maintain your chimney flues.

If you have the ladders what will the children be taught? If the smoke alarm goes off open the window, drop the ladder and go out? Without knowing if there is a fire or any danger? Without knowing if the parent will just walk down the hall and help them? In the middle of winter? Can the child even reach the window lock and remove the screen?

I think it makes more sense to teach them to close their bedroom door (but not lock it) and then open the window and wait at the window. If you live in a place where the fire department is very slow, keep a ladder somewhere on your property and climb the ladder yourself and bring them down if you can't get to them from inside the house. Stash an ax somewhere as well in case they don't open the window.

This is one reason I don't like houses with first floor masters. Our bedrooms are all on the second level, there is little chance a fire would be between us and anyone in the other bedrooms. If necessary we can go to a bedroom with the porch below. DH can drop down and then help anyone else. I might break an ankle, but I could drop down as well if necessary.

I can understand your concerns, but I have to respectfully disagree. My upstairs children (ages 15, 11 and 9) have been taught to use the ladder in the event that they are physically unable to get down the stairs and out of the house. Not just if a smoke alarm goes off, but if their access is cut off and they are trapped. Is it possible they might freeze up and be too afraid to use the ladder? Most certainly. It's also possible that it may save their lives one day. I see it as added insurance which we will hopefully never use. To not provide them with a means of escape seems unfathomable to me.

our children know to touch the door to see if it is hot. if it's hot they are not to open the door. they know in the event we cannot get to them they will have to open the window and toss out the ladder. as i stated above in my recollections of 9/11, fire is a very big motivator.
while we'll keep the screens on the windows in summer they will only be up for 12 to 14 weeks at which point they'll be put away. even if they needed to remove the screen it's not terribly difficult. same thing with the locks on the window itself. it's a brand new house with all new windows. even now in our sixty year old temporary house they certainly know how and have opened a window.
while our master is on the second floor along with the children, we're on the opposite end of the house down a long hallway. if the hallway is filled with smoke or flames how would we get to them? teach them to wait by the window??

"If you live in a place where the fire department is very slow, keep a ladder somewhere on your property and climb the ladder yourself and bring them down if you can't get to them from inside the house. Stash an ax somewhere as well in case they don't open the window."

to this i will cite the case of elizabeth smart.
if i can climb a ladder and hack through a window with an ax so can any nut case. LOL, thanks sue. i'll go for the ladders.

I'll try and ignore the end of that last post... I don't believe one belies the other.

I do have a few questions though, if our house is to be "sprinkled" should we still consider this type of ladder? Or should we not be concerned?

What about teenagers and sneaking out? Has anyone but me thought about this?

coysmum - if you are planning on having a monitored security alarm system in your house, just put window sensors on the windows in your kids' bedrooms. That's what we did. Then make sure your system is set to audibly beep when anything wired with sensors in the house is opened or closed.

In our house, every single door/window beeps if opened or closed. Added bonus: If you set your house alarm at night, even if you were to sleep through the single beep of the window opening, you wouldn't sleep through the alarm that goes off. *lol*

My kids (who are too young to even contemplate sneaking out right now) will be TICKED as they get older and realize that there is NO WAY they'll be able to sneak out. *lol*

From what I understand, a sprinkler system is not used to actually put out a fire, but only to buy time (? extra 15 min) until the fire department gets there...

Just my 2 cents. I'm also planning to put a ladder in the bedroom with no balcony.

Just my two cents: we had a small fire and my son who was about 13 at time never woke to the alarm. It was literally right outside his door. The rest of the family did! Not long after that I saw a segment on the TODAY show where they had statics about children not waking to fire alarms (smoke detectors). So a fireman invented a different type of detector that instead of using a shrill alarm used a human voice. The parent would record a calm message, waking the child and reminding them to follow their fire exit plan.

Of course you should have a plan that everyone in the family follows and practices.

A sad note: in my old neighborhood a mother died going back into a burning house to rescue her child who already made it out alive. They didn't have a pre-determined meeting place. It may seem a small detail, but in the dark of night with all that confusion and adrenaline anything could happen. Best to practice a safety plan that hopefully you will never have to use.

Almost 50 years ago, fire broke out in the home of a lovely 16-year old girl I worked with. Her brother and mother escaped. She refused to jump from her bedroom window to the garage roof below, retreated and died in the fire. I'm not knocking any safety measures. But I concentrate my efforts on multiple smoke alarms, fire extinguishers and safe electrical practices.

Nessie,
I hope your son was ok. Every bedroom has to have a smoke detector INSIDE the room, not just outside. Having it just outside is a code violation.

Thanks sue36. Everyone here is okay but I was shocked that my son slept through the event. I was grateful for the minor damage because in the end everything turned out as it should. If we were not home, the house may have burned down. And since the whole family of 5 WAS home (at 5 am) and the fire was estinguished easily I was so grateful that the smoke detectors did wake four of us and no one was injured. Without the alarms I shudder to think of what might have happened.

My home is 20 years old. Our smoke detectors are hardwired, though not located inside the bedrooms.