SCIENCE 
IS 
KNOWLEDGE. 
KNOWLEDGE 
IS 
POWER. 
A PRACTICAL JOURNAL OF 
HOME ARTS 
Vol. V. 
NEW TOEX, MAY, 1882. 
No. 5. 
A Simple Fire Escape. 
VERY time a great 
fire occurs in a 
tall building we 
find either actual 
loss of life, or 
cases in w li i c h 
some of the occu- 
pants had a very 
narrow escape. 
It would seem 
that the ordinary 
fire escapes soon 
become useless, 
and at many of our great fires the ladders 
used by the firemen are entirely too short 
to reach the upper stories. This was 
notably the case at the fire in Park Row 
last winter (the old "World" building), 
where even such a well equipped estab- 
lishment as the New York Fire Depart- 
ment had not within their command the 
means of reaching the upper stories of 
a building of comparatively moderate 
height. As a consequence of this state 
of things, numerous costly and compli- 
cated fire escapes ha.ve been invented, but 
the difficulty is that they are never at 
hand when wanted. Others have recom- 
mended the use of a simple rope, three- 
eighths of an inch in diameter, and 
knotted at intervals of fifteen inches. 
Such a cord, made fast to a staple or bar, 
would enable an active man to descend 
from any story, provided he did not be- 
come giddy, and his hands were not too 
soft. Men whose occupation is writing 
could hardly descend by means of such a 
rope. Neither could women. But by 
taking advantage of the great friction 
to which even a single turn of a rope 
round a rod gives rise, it is easy for even a 
weak woman to let herself down safely. 
But of course the roi)e must be secured to 
the body in such away that its holds does 
not depend upon the strength of the per- 
son using it. 
The simplest and most efficient arrange- 
ment is that shown in the engraving. 
First of all, we have, at the upper end, a 
short rope fastened to the eye of an iron 
link. This rope has a loop at one end, 
and a snap at the other, so that it can be 
fastened in a moment to the leg of a bed- 
stead, to a staple, or to any other strong 
hold. The lower eye of the iron ring 
