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SINGAPORE: It would be a terrifying decision to make — jumping out of a burning building or perishing in the flames.
Now, one company has come up with a device to help you make that leap to safety, even if you were 50 storeys above the ground.
It's a relatively simple device — a harness through which you slip your legs and arms into, and which is attached to a steel reel that will be secured to an anchoring point in the building.
Designed to bear the weight of a person up to 135kg, the device, aptly called Lifeline, allows descent at a controlled speed of about two metres per second.
So, a person coming down from a height of 50 storeys — about 200 metres — can reach the ground in under two minutes.
But, would a person trapped in a burning building feel up to the task of strapping herself into the contraption and leap out of the window?
Not surprisingly, perhaps, 10 out of 10 people TODAY spoke to said that they would not hesitate to use it when they are trapped in a fire. Said Ms Jeanne Marie Lee: "Between dying and trying out something to save my life, I will surely go for the latter."
She added: "I strongly suggest that offices buy it. Office stairways may not be wide enough to allow for quick evacuation. Look at what happened during the Sept 11 attacks on the World Trade Centre (WTC) building in New York," the 22-year-old homemaker said.
Thousands in the WTC took hours to get out of the building as they walked down from the upper floors.
Ms Jenny Koh, 24, marketing and communications executive, agreed that the device would save lives but wondered if the US$800 (S$1104) cost would put off prospective buyers.
Speaking at the launch of the product held here on Wednesday, Mr Patrick Brazil, chief executive of Lifeline Descent Systems, said no training is needed to use the device.
Singapore was being used as a springboard from which sales of the device would spread across Asia and into Europe and Americas.
There are similar products already in the market, but Mr Brazil said Lifeline was the world's first portable controlled descending device.
"No power is needed to operate the Lifeline and there is no need to control the speed of descent yourself, which makes it usable by people who are mobile-challenged as they can just be placed into the harness and brought down the building." - TODAY/ra
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