Escape Plan
When I was about 8 years old, one of the highlights of the school year was the fire brigade coming to visit.
They set up a smoke tent that we had to crawl around so we'd be able to escape, handed out batteries for our smoke alarms at home, taught us what to do if there were a fire, etc.

The thing they impressed upon us the most is that we needed a contingency fire plan in case we were upstairs and some how the stairs were too dangerous to use.
I don't know why it seemed a good idea to tell a load of eight years olds that it was very possible that they'd burn to death, but they did.

As a consequence I ran home to tell my parents that we were ALL GOING TO DIE.
Sensing my very real terror, my Dad went straight down to B&Q and bought a rope ladder, and I made my very own fire escape suitcase with some clothes, a couple of books, some bottled water and biscuits in, that sort of thing.

When I last visited the parents, I looked on top of my wardrobe and it was still there. I had to throw the 12 year old biscuits away, but everything else seemed fine.
I was quite impressed at my childhood ingenuity and asked my Dad where the rope ladder that I'd made him buy all those years ago was.

He blushed a bit, and then admitted that it was probably in another house seeing as he'd returned it the next day.
Bastard!
I really could have died a firey death then.

I'm glad I now live on the ground floor, although if there were a fire I'd grab the current bottle of vodka, my passport, my purse and my mobile.
Everything else would benefit from being replaced by insurers.
( Completely Underwhelmed, Tue 13 May 2008, 11:56, closed)

My daughter
got a similar idea in her head after the fire brigade visited her school. She wanted us to buy an escape ladder (1st floor flat) but her dad pointed out that we're so close to the local fire station they could practically hose the house without leaving the station. She forgot all about it after a day or so anyway. Attention span of a goldfish.
(TheWeeWitch avoiding DIY for safety's sake .., Tue 13 May 2008, 13:56, closed)

Really
I think all fireman have shares in a rope ladder company. They can have no other reason for terrifying small children so!
( Completely Underwhelmed, Tue 13 May 2008, 22:21, closed)