Escape rope/ladder suggestions?

M

macdo

Joined
Jan 20, 2006
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Part of the time I live in a third floor apartment in an earthquake-prone city. I've got some kit in there (and a BOB of course). That includes a decent sized crowbar under the bed.
I was thinking about a rope, or rope ladder for getting out of the building. I'll probably go with a garden variety climbing rope in the apartment. There's paracord in the BOB but wondering if the team has any thoughts, recommendations or experience with compact rope/wire ladders or actual rescue operations using paracord?
 
Do a search for folding fire escape ladder. I recommend the more ridged ones rather nylon or rope. There are also rescue ladders for lifts, I used a nylon one once. Not fun.
 
If you're the DIY type, you can tie your own rope ladder, using appropriate load rated cord/rope, and need to have some way to secure it for use in your situation. And since this type of ladder is awkward to use compared with a rigid ladder, practice climbing/descending with it would be recommended, perhaps getting some instruction from a qualified rappelling expert. Paracord is great for a lot of 'utility' uses, but is not made for 'rescue operations', so trying to support a human life with it in a climbing situation is a bad idea, and paracord manufacturers usually have disclaimers for such 'misuse' of paracord...

Having the rope ladder pre-made would require a lot of rope, and could easily fill a backpack being stored, and cost with using climbing rope would most likely be much more than a commercial escape ladder...:)
 
I am not qualified to advise you on sepcifics but I received advice from people who were qualified to advise me.... Based on what I was taught--You will want a simple harness, at least 6 locking biners, 2X the amount of rapelling rope from your window to the ground, some lighter rope for prusiks, 2 nylon webbing straps like the kind intended to tow cars(can get these cheap at Walmart)- a tough peice of canvas for lying in the window opening for abrasion resistance & a nice option is a descending rack set for your weight.

The people to talk to are:
1) find someone at your local Fire Dept that is rope certified and willing to answer questions.
2) local sports shop that supports rock climbers. They can even tie a simple harness for you from spool webbing.

The crow bar will help in removing drywall to get to anchor points, metal wall supports etc. you want multiple anchor points- ergo the two straps. You can make a "doorway anchor" from a 4x6 wood post if you are a DIY.

Bill
 
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I'd tie a bed sheet or two together and then around my wrist and jump/hang. Let's say that helps about halfway down (hands over my head = about 8 feet, plus the 5-10 feet of sheet = about 15-20 feet or so). Then it's only a 10-15 foot drop. Not gonna be fun, but not gonna kill ya.

If you want to be super prepared, go ahead and tie 4 or 5 sheets together and store it by your window. Put some fat knots in there to shimmy down. I like my odds with the bed sheet about as well as I like my odds of being able to step down a rope ladder (climbing up or down a rope ladder is not easy).

If you must use the parcord, then I gotta believe you're going to need some sort of belt/harness and work on your repelling technique.
 
a field expedient Swiss seat can be made from a section of kernmantle climbing rope... you can tie one in less than a minute after practice... you can probably find an explaination in a manual from NZ SAS, US Ranger, or US Special Forces....locking carabiner and gloves for each evacuee, locking carabiner attached to rope in a throw bag
 
uh i wouldnt swiss seat in an emergency, as someone who has used one alot they are just uncomfortable, and if you do it wrong under stress because its not something you do often then it could come undone and you could fall to your death. On the other hand rappeling is a very easy skill to pick up requiring only one or two courses to understand. My advice would be to buy a simple harness that you are used to and then get some lessons. Get 3 anchor points near a window and get some quality climbing rope attatched to them. Then all you have to do is leave your rig hooked up and incase shtf, just clip in and rappel. Just inspect it once a week or so, and instruct anyone that comes over not to play with it and your money. Alternatley just tape the harness to your BOB so incase of emergency you cna just rip the harness off and kit up. oh and dont forget some thick gloves, anytime you work with rope you need to uses gloves to keep from destroying your hands through friction. but you could zip down 3 stories in a matter of seconds with the right gear and training.

my harness is from yates, they make some bad-ass equipment. i reccomend the lightweight assault harness, you can get them cheap if you shop around. black diamond makes some quality ones for less than half the price. Go namebrand on this. You dont want to be dangling from 30 feet and your stitching gives out.

good luck and be safe.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Il8XniGqUQ0

Since no one has brought it up - the proper way to climb or descend a rope ladder is NOT to think of it as a regular ladder, but to alternate each foot on a different side of the ladder, 90 degrees out from the way you would a normal ladder. See video. i.e. The rungs of the ladder should parallel your legs.
 
I had a booth at a trade show next to a company that made and sold fire safety equipment and they had a ton of info on this type of thing and they would only sell ridgid rung ladders because soft rungs are hard to use and often make people fall or get stuck .The major factor in the choice or hard rungs was that chance of you not having shoes on at the time of use ,Also the "soft" ladders are prone to twisting under load ,metal ladders often have standoffs to keep a distance from the wall. They also sold a ladder that you cut into the wall below the window and attached to the studs ,it was a nice looking unit that was around $125 I think it was in a nice looking flush mounted metal cabinet when closed . This one is nice(and pricey) it has flat rungs that are much better for children/elderly and heavier folks .
http://www.fireescapesystems.com/pearl.asp
 
i climb trees profesionally, and do alot of repelling in my work, in an emergency, your best bet is a variation of the prusik knot, can be tied in seconds, and will hold you , and works great for repelling
 
macdo said:
Part of the time I live in a third floor apartment in an earthquake-prone city. I've got some kit in there (and a BOB of course). That includes a decent sized crowbar under the bed.
I was thinking about a rope, or rope ladder for getting out of the building. I'll probably go with a garden variety climbing rope in the apartment. There's paracord in the BOB but wondering if the team has any thoughts, recommendations or experience with compact rope/wire ladders or actual rescue operations using paracord?
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While you can get 5.5mm paracord that’s rated to 1100 lbs, for rappelling you should use cord that’s actually rated for rappelling, such as Mammut 6mm glacier cord (rated to 3000 lbs.) This may seem like overkill until you remember that knots reduce the strength of the rope by 50%, abrasion of the rope on rough edges can occur during the rappel which can weaken the rope considerably (even dangerously) and shock loading can increase the force on the rope to several multiples of body weight. Also best to use a rappel device designed for such skinny rope such as a Sqwurel, an ordinary aluminum figure 8 won’t give enough friction. Leather gloves, for sure.
 
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barleywino said:
knots reduce the strength of the rope by 50%, abrasion of the rope on rough edges can occur during the rappel which can weaken the rope considerably (even dangerously) and shock loading can increase the force on the rope to several multiples of body weight.
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Didn't know that. Good info, even if you were replying to a topic from over 12 years ago. :p
 
Guy McVer said:
Didn't know that. Good info, even if you were replying to a topic from over 12 years ago. :p
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Yes, it occurred to me that at the time of the original post (12 years ago), cord similar in size to paracord but also rated for rappelling was not available. Such cord only came onto the market around 2015 when Petzl released their Rad line to the public. So those wanting to upgrade their paracord to something suitable for an escape rope now have some options thanks to new technology! ( The sqwurel rappel device came out about the same time).

Of course fatter ropes have always been available but they’re much bulkier and heavier than paracord. 6mm accessory cord has also always been available but it is only rated to 1600 lbs (which drops to around 800 lbs if there is a knot) so is not rated for rappelling.
 
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TN_KNIFE said:
I'd tie a bed sheet or two together and then around my wrist and jump/hang. Let's say that helps about halfway down (hands over my head = about 8 feet, plus the 5-10 feet of sheet = about 15-20 feet or so). Then it's only a 10-15 foot drop. Not gonna be fun, but not gonna kill ya.

If you want to be super prepared, go ahead and tie 4 or 5 sheets together and store it by your window. Put some fat knots in there to shimmy down. I like my odds with the bed sheet about as well as I like my odds of being able to step down a rope ladder (climbing up or down a rope ladder is not easy).

If you must use the parcord, then I gotta believe you're going to need some sort of belt/harness and work on your repelling technique.
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Which knot are you going to use on the bed sheets? Not all knots are made to carry heavy weights and can pull apart under load. Square knots won't cut it in that scenario. I have a hard enough time remembering how to make a Carrick bend as it is without the stress of a fire.

Been thinking about this topic every once in a while. It was either This Old House or Ask This Old House where they installed a folding ladder in the wall. Unless there is a heavy duty eye bolt or something similar screwed into a beam, rope may not be an option. Most bedroom objects will move if you lash a heavily weighted rope around it. The dresser will tip over, the bed will slide, etc.

Found it!
 
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sheet bend, I mean, it's right there in the name.
As a person who taught rope work, you want a ladder, not a video tutorial, not a single lesson. I've been off rope for almost five years now. If I had to do an emergency rap, could I do it? probably if it was just me. Could I make sure someone else stayed safe too? getting dicey. It's a very perishable skill, anyone who says otherwise is deluded.
 
Sharp Steel said:
Unless there is a heavy duty eye bolt or something similar screwed into a beam, rope may not be an option. Most bedroom objects will move if you lash a heavily weighted rope around it. The dresser will tip over, the bed will slide, etc.
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What about placing a nice thick board across the inside of the door frame? That should hold. You can tie a rope to the center of it and have it ready to go in case of an emergency. You can stash it out of the way somewhere in the meantime, like under the bed or in the closet. You just need to make sure the board is long enough in case it wants to slide from side to side.
 
Guy McVer said:
What about placing a nice thick board across the inside of the door frame? That should hold. You can tie a rope to the center of it and have it ready to go in case of an emergency. You can stash it out of the way somewhere in the meantime, like under the bed or in the closet. You just need to make sure the board is long enough in case it wants to slide from side to side.
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Another anchor option is to thread the end of your rope through the crack between the door and the door jamb and tie a massive stopper knot in the end of the rope. The knot gets pulled against the crack and jams. The only caveat is that the door and hinges have to be strong enough to take the load.
 
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