How to escape from MH bedroom in case of fire

ALL,

Because it is somewhat awkward and it could be a long fall (7 to 8 feet down) I decided to set up a method of escape from the MH bedroom window in case of a fire.

First I bought about 20 feet of 3/4 inch "cotton" 3-strand rope.  I chose cotton because it is both softer than nylon and not as slippery as nylon.  Also cotton is easier on a persons hands.  Furthermore, the escape rope will not be subjected to the rigors of the outside weather. 

I then installed a snap hook on one end of the rope.  Next I installed a connector inside both the passenger side and the drivers side rear bedroom cabinets so escape could be made from either side of the bedroom.

Finally I tied a knot every 12 inches so if someone was using the rope to descend down from the bedroom window to the ground their hands would slide down the rope from one knot to the next knot.  In other words, they would not rapidly slid down the rope and have a "hard fall" on the ground.

See the attached photos.

JerryF

Great idea, Jerry.  The trick is to make sure the anchors are solidly placed and won't pull out under load.

Neat idea, Jerry -- thanks.

In our case I would never attach the rope there as that is thin plywood.  I would attach the point to the structure framing, aluminum frame, and probably run the rope across the bed as we have side escape windows as opposed to your rear one, probably need an extra 8 or 10 feet of rope.

Good solution though!

To follow up on Jim's remark, in our motorhome I would anchor the ropes to an eyebolt through the bed base on the curb side.  It's heavy enough plywood to support the load, I think.  Run the rope up and over the bed to the escape window on the driver's side.

Trust me..... if you have a fire in your M/H.... you're not going to take the time to mess with something like that. If it were permanently installed and immediately accessible.... maybe...... chances are, you will open that window and throw yourself out. 15 seconds of breathing highly toxic fumes could be the last thing you ever do. A broken leg or a few broken ribs are of little consequence if you survive a M/H fire. It's not the flames that will get you.... 90% of the time, it's the smoke and it doesn't take but a few seconds to make the difference in surviving or not.

A more positive approach might be to have a couple of large fire extinguishers by your bed. If there is a fire that is manageable and you have 30 seconds to spare, that time might be best spent extinguishing the fire if the smoke is not unbearable..

Sorry if I seem to be poo-pooing your great idea. It appears that maybe you have never been in toxic smoke before. I have and the only thing on your mind is getting out because you KNOW that death is imminent. There is VERY LITTLE chance that you would have the ability or presence of mind to find and/or attach such an apparatus. Hitting the ground from 7' up will be the sweetest feeling that you could imagine at that time.

When an RV is on fire, you do not stop to grab a fire extinguisher. You get the hell out. And if having a knotted rope handy that you can toss out the window helps you get out, I say get one ! Like others suggested, I would anchor it to our bed frame.

Now if you could just figure out a way for me to get Gordon out !

Wendy

Wendy said:

When an RV is on fire, you do not stop to grab a fire extinguisher. You get the hell out. And if having a knotted rope handy that you can toss out the window helps you get out, I say get one ! Like others suggested, I would anchor it to our bed frame.

Now if you could just figure out a way for me to get Gordon out !

Wendy

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You are exactly right........ if you don't have the time or breathable air to fight the fire (and you probably wouldn't) you won't have time to do anything but open that window and throw yourself out.

Wavery said:

You are exactly right........ if you don't have the time or breathable air to fight the fire (and you probably wouldn't) you won't have time to do anything but open that window and throw yourself out.

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I guess it is a good thing that most motorhome fires do not happen while people are asleep (at least I have not read about many). DW and I have a rope ladder thing (permanently anchored and ready), and a net type thing to quickly lower the dog. Our practice runs do not leave us very hopeful, though, that we could react and exit fast enough to escape. The window is too small and not easily accessible, the drop too severe, many times water/electric pedestal is right at drop point. We have a large fire extinguisher next to the bed and a fire axe that maybe could be used to help, but, frankly we have pretty much concluded that a night time fire while we are sleeping will probably mean the jig is up for at least one of us. Our efforts have concentrated on fire prevention/supression.

Not buying it, and quit tying up the DW  ;D

One of the most important things you can do is make sure those smoke detectors in your coach are in working condition. A test once in a while is the best way to make sure you are protected. An early warning could make the difference of survival or not. Just a few good gulps of smoke are enough to bring a person to their knees.

Bill

For those of us with fifth wheels, this is a great thing...http://www.morryde.com/aftermarket/other-products/morsafe-escape-ladder-72.html

ruthandken CDN said:

For those of us with fifth wheels, this is a great thing...http://www.morryde.com/aftermarket/other-products/morsafe-escape-ladder-72.html

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Great idea if it is deployed everytime you park the rig. I doubt anyone could deploy it from the bedroom window or even have time to do so. Fires in an RV spread instantly. There are precious few seconds for escaping.

Close friends of ours had their refer catch fire in the middle of the night. The wife awoke and smelled something. Woke her husband and, after a short wiff, he said "get out of here, we're on fire". He managed to control the fire from outside until the fire department arrived but the whole interior was gone. I had to take the photos for the insurance company. It was hard to breath even after 24 hours.

ruthandken CDN said:

For those of us with fifth wheels, this is a great thing...http://www.morryde.com/aftermarket/other-products/morsafe-escape-ladder-72.html

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At 1st glance, this seems a bit silly.. After thinking about it for a minute, I think that the concept is a really good one. Chances are, only one person will be able to exit successfully and this gives the survivor the opportunity to "Possibly" assist a 2nd person out. Chances would be far greater if there were an emergency breathing apparatus at hand. Something similar to this:
http://www.amazon.com/Spare-Air-Emergency-Supply-Diving/dp/B0062D03HY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1362081571&sr=8-2&keywords=diver+emergency+air+supply

If you get one wiff of toxic fumes coming out that window, your body may not be able to overcome the gagging, coughing and puking to effectively help someone out that window. Getting enough air required to provide the air to survive the exertion of extricating another person...... impossible if that person is already overcome by smoke..

Going back to the "Rope ladder" idea....... The rope would have to be attached higher than the window to be usable. The rope is only effect if it can support one's weight from above the persons head. The OP has the right idea with the geometry. However, it would have to be out and securely attached to be useable. Attaching it down low would require climbing out the window before one could even use it. By that time, the person would be close enough to the ground to drop.

I put the connector to which the rope's snap hook attach's up high overhead so when you would slide-out out the window you already have both hands gripping the rope and your hands are firmly against one of the knots.  It's just that I did not want the rope coming from below the window frame.  BTW, I did test it on both sides by throwing the rope out and then hanging on the rope.  So far so good!

Also, this is my third fire safety feature.  Take a look at what I already have done regarding fire safety using an automatic fire extinguisher system that fires off at 160 degrees F and a  new fire/smoke detector BOTH of which are behind and next to our Norcold 1210 refer.

http://www.rvforum.net/SMF_forum/index.php?topic=40919.msg378908#msg378908

Maybe a smoke Mask like this would give you a few extra minutes to get out the window.  I remember back in the 1980s they were selling smoke masks like this for airline travelers to put on in case of a HARD/CRASH landing as they wait to jump out one of the evacuation chutes.

http://contagionsurvival.com/smokeescapehood.htm

JerryF

JerArdra said:

I put the connector to which the rope's snap hook attach's up high overhead so when you would slide-out out the window you already have both hands gripping the rope and your hands are firmly against one of the knots.  It's just that I did not want the rope coming from below the window frame.  BTW, I did test it on both sides by throwing the rope out and then hanging on the rope.  So far so good!

Also, this is my third fire safety feature.  Take a look at what I already have done regarding fire safety using an automatic fire extinguisher system that fires off at 160 degrees F and a  new fire/smoke detector BOTH of which are behind and next to our Norcold 1210 refer.

http://www.rvforum.net/SMF_forum/index.php?topic=40919.msg378908#msg378908

JerryF

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Jerry....... your idea is a good one and it could be useful if there is time or you have the presence of mind. I would merely suggest that it be permanently attached and rolled up in that cabinet. I'd put a 2x4 backing plate on the other side of the cabinet wall and use a 2-bolt pad-eye.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31ihgwjajsL._SX385_.jpg

I had an electrical fire on my sailboat, out at sea one time. We were out in the cockpit and smoke started pouring out the engine room porthole and the companion way (front door to landlubbers  ;D). It was immediately apparent that it was electrical and I knew that had to shut-off the battery switch. I took a deep breathe of fresh air, dashed below with my eyes closed, shut off the batteries and barely made it topside before passing out. I puked for hours afterword. You don't have to breathe the fumes to become overwhelmed. The toxicity penetrates every pore in your body.

I can't even begin to describe how hard those 15 seconds were. I could only manage it because I knew that sure death would have resulted from having that short become a fire and there was no other choice.

The emergency exit in my MH is the back window which is above the head of the bed.  I'm sure I could manage to get out, but not sure my DW could.  Your post has got me to thinking and now I'm considering other options.  One thing that comes to mind would be to enlarge the bedroom side window on the passenger side so it runs from basically the floor level up to the top of the existing window.  I don't think there is any wiring or anything like that under the existing window.  The window is the jalousie type and I'm thinking, with a bit of engineering, the window could be made to pop out and the section of wall below it made to hinge out and down so one could essentially pop the latches and roll out.  It wouldn't be near as far to the ground.  Just thinkin'...

JerArdra said:

I put the connector to which the rope's snap hook attach's up high overhead so when you would slide-out out the window you already have both hands gripping the rope and your hands are firmly against one of the knots.  It's just that I did not want the rope coming from below the window frame.  BTW, I did test it on both sides by throwing the rope out and then hanging on the rope.  So far so good!

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Good thought, I can hook to an overhead rafter and achieve the same thing.

I have another thing I did for another reason but, my outside shower hose is no terminated in a quick disconnect that will take any of my freshwater or cleanout hoses so I have water available for fire IF it is not diesel or electrical.  I do have the foam for diesel and ABC fire extinguishers too.

Which reminds me, it is near time for a steam cleaning of the engine compartment.  Spring is coming! 

The "Slip Quit" is an interesting device for all kinds of quick exit. Person with the device jump belly flop and the rest is history. This is how a kamikaze pilot lived to tell the tale. 

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_6B8tPuW7TwQ/THeBllIrJXI/AAAAAAAASII/7IQr3vVmPcY/s1600/jbslipx.jpg

Just a thought, Try the escape windows now and besure they work and might even try and get out. They are not very big so now would be a good time to see if you can accompolish the escape. Just a dry run may pay off down the road...All the Ideas mentioned are good, try and do the dry run...