Fire escapes are secured means of rapid egress from a building. They are primarily intended for use in case of fire. There are a couple of types of designs available. Many types have been used for commercial purposes as well. Fire escapes are usually a knotted rope or rope ladder secured to an inside wall. It could be an open iron stairway on the building’s exterior, an iron balcony, a chute or an enclosed fire- and smoke proof stairway.
The iron stairway is the commonest because it can be added to the outside of nearly any building of modest height. Although it has certain drawbacks, unless it’s built against a blank wall, it may be rendered useless by smoke from windows, and a means must be provided for keeping it in readiness while denying its use to thieve and prowlers.
The iron balcony extends beyond the exterior of a building to provide a corridor along which persons can flee from fire-imperiled rooms for safety behind a firewall or in an adjacent building. They are designed by well-trained steel builders.