Pennsylvania Firearm Owners Association
Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 12
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2014
    Location
    Middle of PA, Pennsylvania
    Posts
    7,554
    Rep Power
    21474853

    Default Family fire drills

    Been doing some escape routes with the kids in case of fire and I want to get some emergency drop ladders for the kids' rooms.

    Anyone have a good source? The ones on Amazon look like crap. I'm picturing one made of ropes with a bracket/hook for the top to hook in the window sill. Nothing complicated like the folding aluminum ones I'm seeing.

    The drop isn't big, they could easily survive a jump into the mulch below and I'm teaching them a locked-arms lowering to get the little one down, but a ladder would be good to have too.


    Most on Amazon have carabiners on the top...what do you hook it to? Install eye-bolts?


    example of aluminum junker:
    https://www.amazon.com/First-Alert-E...6119286&sr=8-7
    Galations 6:9...And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
    Ashli Babbitt - Patriot

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Lebanon, Tennessee
    Posts
    4,941
    Rep Power
    21474854

    Default Re: Family fire drills

    Quote Originally Posted by alpacaheat View Post
    Been doing some escape routes with the kids in case of fire and I want to get some emergency drop ladders for the kids' rooms.

    Anyone have a good source? The ones on Amazon look like crap. I'm picturing one made of ropes with a bracket/hook for the top to hook in the window sill. Nothing complicated like the folding aluminum ones I'm seeing.

    The drop isn't big, they could easily survive a jump into the mulch below and I'm teaching them a locked-arms lowering to get the little one down, but a ladder would be good to have too.


    Most on Amazon have carabiners on the top...what do you hook it to? Install eye-bolts?


    example of aluminum junker:
    https://www.amazon.com/First-Alert-E...6119286&sr=8-7
    This is the one I would get based on having it on my "to get" list when I was house shopping. It kept coming up in the various reviews and recommendations I read when doing similar searches.

    https://www.amazon.com/Story-Emergen...6119593&sr=8-3
    Life has a melody. Not great, not terrible.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Eastern PA, Pennsylvania
    (Delaware County)
    Posts
    1,354
    Rep Power
    21474851

    Default Re: Family fire drills

    When I bought my house 30 years ago I was intrigued why there were two large eye bolts under a couple windows on the third floor...it wasn't until I cleaned out this small crawl space in the third floor did I find a steel rung ladder. Not only was it heavy, but difficult to carry and unwrap...it was all twisted. Not sure what I did with it...think it got trashed during the last house purge.

    We do fire drills and other drills too. If anything should happen the decision making aspect is already there and its a matter of making sure everyone is out and accounted for.

    Why not keep one of those folding ladders in a closet?

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jun 2014
    Location
    Middle of PA, Pennsylvania
    Posts
    7,554
    Rep Power
    21474853

    Default Re: Family fire drills

    We did some drills last night, mainly to keep the youngest daughter fresh on what to do.

    I made sure the kids knew how to open the newly-installed windows and screens and to toss their bedding down to soften the landing if they have to go out the window.

    I still plan on getting a ladder and I'll make my son the Boy Scout in charge of it and to help his sister out first. He's trustworthy for this role and has been working on his Emergency Preparedness merit badge anyways. I showed them a forearm grip to lower the other out the window and make it into a short drop to the ground.

    Also taught him how to set up a triage and how to prioritize mass casualties by severity and urgency.
    Galations 6:9...And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
    Ashli Babbitt - Patriot

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
    Location
    Douglassville, Pennsylvania
    (Berks County)
    Posts
    11,765
    Rep Power
    21474859

    Default Re: Family fire drills

    Why don't yous make one or some as part of a Boy Scout project? It shouldn't be too costly to buy strong materials and make quality ladder(s).
    Gender confusion is a mental illness

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
    (Philadelphia County)
    Posts
    3,733
    Rep Power
    21474851

    Default Re: Family fire drills

    690A2A7F-1506-48C7-9BF4-4C27D5E05A20.jpgCan the kids support their own weight climbing down a thick rope?

    I have seen a setup similar to a firefighter bailout bag, consisting of a thick piece of rope with an eyelet on one end, stored under a bed. It would attach to a hook mounted securely near a window. Easy to deploy and store, but one has to actually climb down the rope. Knots tied every foot or so helps if the rope isn*t thick enough.
    Last edited by Carson; July 16th, 2021 at 04:53 PM.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Quakertown, Pennsylvania
    (Bucks County)
    Posts
    5,878
    Rep Power
    21474856

    Default Re: Family fire drills

    Quote Originally Posted by Carson View Post
    Knots tied every foot or so helps if the rope isn’t thick enough.
    Accuse your enemy of what you are doing as you are doing it to create confusion -Karl Marx

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jun 2014
    Location
    Middle of PA, Pennsylvania
    Posts
    7,554
    Rep Power
    21474853

    Default Re: Family fire drills

    Quote Originally Posted by Walleye Hunter View Post
    Why don't yous make one or some as part of a Boy Scout project? It shouldn't be too costly to buy strong materials and make quality ladder(s).
    Love that idea, embarrassed I didn't think of that myself.

    Tying knots is what they do.
    Galations 6:9...And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
    Ashli Babbitt - Patriot

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jun 2014
    Location
    Middle of PA, Pennsylvania
    Posts
    7,554
    Rep Power
    21474853

    Default Re: Family fire drills

    Quote Originally Posted by Carson View Post
    690A2A7F-1506-48C7-9BF4-4C27D5E05A20.jpgCan the kids support their own weight climbing down a thick rope?

    I have seen a setup similar to a firefighter bailout bag, consisting of a thick piece of rope with an eyelet on one end, stored under a bed. It would attach to a hook mounted securely near a window. Easy to deploy and store, but one has to actually climb down the rope. Knots tied every foot or so helps if the rope isn*t thick enough.
    Single rope sounds much easier than a ladder and it's not that far for them to go. Another fine idea.

    Kids are both athletes...I'm the crippled one.
    Galations 6:9...And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
    Ashli Babbitt - Patriot

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Aug 2019
    Location
    Erie, Pennsylvania
    (Beaver County)
    Posts
    165
    Rep Power
    428328

    Default Re: Family fire drills

    One story house now so the fire plan is much simpler than the 2 story we lived in.

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Similar Threads

  1. Replies: 0
    Last Post: April 24th, 2013, 09:35 AM
  2. Replies: 0
    Last Post: April 24th, 2013, 09:29 AM
  3. AAR forTACTICAL MEDICINE FOR SHOOTERS. ( With Live fire Shooting Drills)
    By jsmith278 in forum Training, Tactics & Competition
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: April 24th, 2013, 09:16 AM
  4. Replies: 6
    Last Post: April 3rd, 2013, 01:47 PM
  5. Dry Fire Drills? How Often?
    By d90king in forum General
    Replies: 55
    Last Post: January 24th, 2010, 05:02 PM

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •