Improvements in Fire Escapes.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 30th Apr., 1889-Accepted, 27th July, 1889
UUMI LEIE DI BUITION
Improvements in Fire Escapes.
I, RICHARD BELCHES a subject of the Queen of Great Britain residing at Haymarket
in the County of Prince William and State of Virginia, United States of America,
gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of my invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE
ESCAPES, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
My present invention relates generally speaking to improvements in that class of
fire escapes in which the escape is effected through trap doors arranged in the several
floors of a building by means of ladders concealed in the floors which drop into position
for, descent or ascent when the trap doors are opened.
:
In said former contrivances the ladder was of rope and when folded up in the
compartment between the floors its lower end was connected to a batten which extended
longitudinally of the laths at the bottom of the compartment and a bolt passed up
through the ceiling below was made fast to said batten, so that, when the bolt was
pulled upon it would cause the batten to pull out the lath or laths upon which it rested
and thus start an opening in the ceiling below which could be enlarged and completed
by grasping the protruding batten and swinging the ladder laterally.
1
While under ordinary circumstances a rope ladder is found to answer admirably, I
have now in order to meet some: objections that might possibly be urged against the
employment of rope devised a ladder composed entirely of metal parts so jointed and
arranged as that the ladder may be folded up into small compass and stowed away in
the compartment as before and yet be perfectly safe from injury by fire, and I have as
a substitute for the batten arrangement above aliuded to, provided within each com-
partment a stout stripping frame or bar, preferably bail shaped, and of metal, extending
transversely across all the laths at the bottom of the compartment and pivoted or
hinged at the inner portions to the joist or other permanent object at one end of the
compartment, said frame being formed of two bars one at each side of the compartment
adjacent the joists, united at the outer or free ends by a cross piece, to the center of
which is connected the eye bolt, so that when the eye bolt is pulled upon by a person
in the room below the said frame will operate forcibly to strip off, one after the other
the several laths at the bottom of the compartment and thus, with great expedition,
provide an opening through which the ladder may drop down into the lower room.
In order that a neat clean cut opening may be formed in the ceiling when the ladder
is pulled through it, I preferably form the laths employed in forming the bottom of the
compartment of such a length as to span the distance between the joists and lap over
just enough on the joists, to enable them to be lightly nailed thereto, and when the
plastering is applied I cause a trowel to be run through each coat save the last or
finishing coat, on a line just beyond the ends of the laths so that I may insert in the
groove or crack thus formed a strip of paper or other material for the purpose of
preventing the edges of the cut portions from reuniting. The last or finishing coat of
With the ceiling
plastering is applied over this joint and renders it unobservable.
thus prepared a section of plastering with well defined edges is detached whenever the
ladder is pulled through.
By preference I locate the ladder compartment in the floor of each room at a point
remote from the ladder compartment of the room next above and next below, so that
no two compartments in adjoining floors will come opposite each other. Accidents in
passing from floor to floor are thus avoided. I also preferably locate each ladder
compartiment near one of the walls of the room, in order that when the compartment
is opened and the ladder is let down the latter will hang close to the wall of the room
below, and for the purpose of preventing the ladder hanging so close to the wall as, to
prevent the user from getting a proper foothold on the rounds or foot rests. I provide
÷

page_text: the ladder at intervals with braces which bear against the wall and keep the ladder off
a suitable distance. These braces are preferably hinged to the ladder so that they may
be folded up when desired suitable stops being provided to keep them horizontal.
Another feature of my improvement relates to devices for closing the trap door that
forms the top or floor piece of a ladder compartment. I provide each trap door with
a hinge that permits the door to swing open only slightly beyond the center using
preferably the hinge of my own invention to be presently described and I connect said
trap door below by means of a chain or other suitable connection to the lower portion
of the ladder in such manuer that when the ladder is let down said connecting chain
will prevent its lower portion from dropping to its full extent, so that when a person
has passed safely down through the opening into the room below he will, when his foot
bears upon the lower portion of the ladder, below the point at which the chain is
connected to it straighten out or fully extend the ladder and thereby pull upon the
chain and automatically close the trap door above him. This closure of the trap doors
is of service in preventing, in case of fire the draft of air from passing up through
the opening and thus feeding the flames.
When the ascent is made from one room to the next above the closed trap door
will respond to pressure upon it from below and in opening it the lower portion of
the ladder will be slightly lifted, as will be readily understood. The chain connection
is preferably so contrived that it may be thrown off and dispensed with when
desired.
As the ordinary acceptation of the term trap door is apt to cause objection to
the employment of the device in a finely finished room I desire to explain the
method by which it is in this case formed;-when the workman who is laying the
floor reaches the proper distance from the wall at which to begin preparing for
the escape he simply saws through each successive plank following a line through
the center of each of the joists selected to form the side of the opening, taking
the precaution, of course, to remove the tongue of the plank which forms the edge
of the opening and to which the removable part of the floor is to be attached by the
hinge. As he proceeds with his work, the ends of each plank thus separated are
driven together so as to close the joint that is made by the saw.
The result,
practically, is, that the separation is barely discernable when the laying of the floor
is completed, battens hugging the joists are secured to the removable portion,
preferably without raising the same, by a workman in the room beneath. The door
thus formed is attached to the floor by the hinge before alluded to and the result
is that we have what is in reality, a trap door but of such a character that the
fact of its existence would pass unnoticed except upon close examination.
As in former constructions the ladders of several compartments are susceptible
of being removed and joined together when escape on the outside of the building
is required or desired, the braces on the ladder in this event serving to keep the
ladders sufficiently far off from the wall to enable a secure foothold to be obtained
on the rounds in descending.
:-
In the accompanying drawings which show one embodiment of my improvement :-
Figure 1 represents a sectional elevation of parts of three floors of a house
equipped in accordance with my invention.
Figure 2 is a detail sectional view of a portion of one of the ladders illustrating
the manner of making the joint.
Figure 3 is a perspective view of the trap door for covering one of the ladder
compartments and the hinge and alarm apparatus connected therewith.
Figure 4 is a sectional elevation of the same, showing in dotted lines the position of
the trap door when raised.
Figure 5 is a sectional view taken through one of the compartments showing the
folded ladder and the lath stripping bar arranged therein.
Figure 6 is a top plan view of the hinge.
Figure 7 is a bottom plan view of the same.
.: Figure 8 is a view showing the eyebolt and cord arrangement for drawing, the
ladder from an upper compartiment to the room below.

page_text: Figure 9 is a sectional elevation showing the position of the parts in the act of
pulling the ladder from an upper compartment.
Figure 10 is a plan view of the open compartment with the stripping bar within.
Figures 11 and 12 views showing the different ways of arranging a carpet to cover
the trap door and yet admit of the opening of the latter when desired.
Similar letters of reference in the several figures indicate the same parts.
The letters A and B represent respectively the ceiling and floor of an upper room
and C and D the ceiling and floor respectively of the room in the next lower story.
E represents the trap doors of the several ladder compartments; F the ladders;
G the joists or boams having screw eyes or staples H to which the upper ends of the
ladders are adapted to be hooked.
Each ladder F is composed of side bars ƒ (fig. 2) preferably of strap iron, and
rounds or foot rests of iron piping jointed together by means of headed pivot bolts
passing through orifices in the lapped ends of the side pieces and driven into the
piping as shown clearly in figure 2. This mode of connection enables the ladder to
be readily folded up into small compass within the compartment when not required
for use.
At intervals on the ladder, say at every second or third joint, additional pieces f³ of
strap iron are hung upon the connecting bolts and these in turn are connected to
cross pieces which may be tubing like the rounds f, the whole being held down by
means of suitable gravitating pawls f f which swing down over the pieces when
the ladder is extended, stops of course being provided to prevent the pieces passing
the horizontal line, the whole constituting the braces herein before alluded to for
keeping the rounds of the ladder away from the surface of the wall.
The sections of the ladder are provided with extensions that project beyond their
point of connection with the cross pieces 1, and collars slipping down over these
extensions prevent the joints bending in either direction. This provision gives lateral
stiffness to the upper portion of the ladder and enables a person in the room below by
grasping said upper portion to detach the ladder from the upper fastening in the
compartment when desired.
The letter I designates the base of the preferred form of hinge herein before alluded
to having the two guides i cast or formed integral therewith, through which the bolt
slides. This bolt is composed of two parts, the one K somewhat longer than the other
works in the guide i at the rear end of the base; the other K' is united to the end of
section K at k by a hinge joint and works in guide i, its forward end being hinged
at k¹ to the hinge plate 1', the latter being secured to the trap door by screws or
otherwise.
At the rear end of the long section of the bolt is a standard or guide L for a rod M
secured in the lug m on the bolt guide . The rod passes loosely through this
guide L and is provided with a long spiral spring N abutting against the guide
and lug m respectively for holding the bolt normally retracted as shown in figures
3 and 6.
Beside the guides i i¹ there is a stud or projection N' secured to or formed integral
with the base and adapted to support the lever for operating the bell hammer as.will
now be explained.
This lever O is pivoted on the end of the projection N₁ and engages a slot or
depression o in the top of the long section K of the bolt, the slot being so located as
that the end of the lever will enter the same only when the bolt is in normal position,
but when said bolt is drawn out will ride up out of the slot and cause a sweeping
movement of the long arm of the lever which bears the spring pressed catch or pawl P,
the latter engaging the bell hammer as will be readily understood. A stop such as Q
is provided for preventing the too great movement of the lever and a projection Qi
is located on the bolt for ensuring the return of the hammer to normal position.
By this construction of alarm operating mechanism it will be seen that the bell
hammer is operated at once by the movement of the bolt and the operating lever is
held out of engagement therewith while the bolt is drawn out or the door opened;
but it is obvious that other well known means of operating the bell hammer or other

page_text: alarm operated by tho sliding bolt may be employed without departing from the spirit
of my invention.
In the practical application and operation of this hinge the base I is secured by
screw bolts or other suitable means to the rear surface of the wall or under side of
the floor with its front edge in proximity to the division line or door opening; the
door is then placed in position and the hinge plate 1' secured thereto in the ordinary
manner. Now, when the door is opened, it will pivot on the edge of the wall or
floor drawing the bolt straight out thus actuating the alarm, until the draw on the
shorter section K' of the bolt begins to be in an upward direction, when it will
be drawn up as shown in figure 4 such movement being permitted when the section
is longer than the thickness of the door and floor by the slot R formed in the bottom
of the base, as shown in figure 7, which extends as far as the inner edges of the
guides, to permit either or both sections of the bolt to have a slight tilting
movement.
The door in this position is slightly back of the center and will remain until
moved slightly forward into a position where the spring begins to assert itself by
drawing against the end of the shorter section of the bolt when the door will be
closed.
For the purpose of making the ladder compartments as thoroughly fire proof as
any other part of the floor structure of the building, I propose to line said compart-
ments with sheet metal throughout, including a sheet metal lining to the trap door
and a lining to the bottom of the compartment.
The lining on the bottom of the compartment is placed just above the laths and
when the stripping frame or bar is pulled to open the compartment this lining assists
in deflecting the falling plaster against the side wall of the room as shown in figure 9;
Qrepresenting the lining and R³ the detached plastering.
Most if not all of the fire escape contrivances that have up to this time been put
into practical use to any extent present a more or less unsightly and cumbersome
appearance whether applied interiorally or exteriorally of a building, but my
appliances are so thoroughly hidden away from view in the compartments between the
floors that only the pendent cord R and pulling hook w in the ceiling on the one
side (figure 9) and the ring T (figure 1) for raising the trap door on the other, are at
all visible.
I should perhaps add that where the floor in which the trap door is located is to be
carpeted, the carpet is preferably laid, if practicable, with breadths running parallel
to the length of the door as indicated in figure 11 in which case the end of the
breadth 2 which covers the trap door is lightly tacked along the edges a b and c d,
instead of being sewed to the adjacent breadths 1 and 3 and is also lightly tacked at
the end from to c, so that when the trap door is raised the flap of carpet will readily
be detached and lifted with it.
Where it is necessary or desirable to run the breadths of carpet the other way
across the room as shown in figure 12 it is only necessary that the portion 4 of the
breadth covering the trap door be cut and that the resulting raw edges be turned or
bound so as to make a neat smooth joint.
To descend from a higher to a lower room it is only necessary to raise the trap
door in the floor by means of the hand ring resting on the carpet, the carpet
disengaging itself from the floor at the same time, and push it as far back as the hinge
will permit it to go, press sharply, with the foot upon the rung of the ladder that now
comes into view so as to break out the bottom of the compartment and permit the
ladder to unfold and drop down into the room below. Descent through the compart-
ment opening is then easy.
In ascending from a lower to a higher room, the ladder in the compartment above
is liberated and caused to drop down by pulling upon the cord R³ attached to the
eye bolt w that connects with the piece W uniting the side pieces W¹ and forming
the stripping frame or bar.
Where a descent is to be made from the outside, through a window, two or more
ladders may be hooked together and dropped out of the window, the uppermost one

page_text: being made fast by means of short chains such as V and hooks U provided beneath
or upon the window frame, as shown at the right of figure 1.
It will thus be seen that I have provided a means, simple reliable and practical,
devoid of all risk to those using it and with almost a total absence of any objectionable
features. It places at the command of any individual no matter what may be his
location at the moment, who suddenly finds himself confronted by the dangers of fire,
a method whereby ascent or descent as the occasion may demand, these being the
factors indispensible to his safety, immediately available and this primarily within the
building. Should, however, escape be alone possible by the exterior, which would in
fact be but rarely the case, my escape provides for the necessity in a manner fairly
comparable in point of efficiency with that of any of the exclusively outside appliances
now in existence.
Whilst the value of the device to those in jeopardy in providing them with the
means of escape is thus great, it is as a means of enabling assistance to reach
them not less so. There will be no necessity for awaiting the arrival of trained
firemen with scaling and extension ladders before those below can hasten to the
succor of those above. Neither in the generality of cases will the firemen have
to depend, as at present, upon the above articles of their equipment for the proper
performance of their risky duties. Not only will the device materially reduce the
great personal risks they have to encounter but also will greatly facilitate them in
the execution of their work. Again, as a consequence of the automatic closing of
the apertures in the floors after use, as herein before described, it may fairly be
assumed that every section of the building will remain closed after its vacation by
the inmates thus impeding the advance of the flames and incidentally adding
greatly to the chances of their subjugation. It will also be readily perceived, that
from the ease of access it affords to all parts of the burning building, from this last
point of view it is again of great value to the firemen.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that. what
I claim is:
1st. The combination with the ladder composed of the strip iron side piece
jointed together at the rounds and the collars to keep them extended, of the
braces pivoted to the ladder and extending on one side; substantially as and for the
purpose set forth.
2nd. In a flexible ladder the combination with the strip iron side pieces, the tubular
rounds and the headed pivot bolts passing through the side pieces and into the
ends of the tubular rounds, of the braces for holding the ladder away from the wall
formed by the sections of strip iron hinged on the said pivot bolts and the pawls for
holding said braces in position; substantially as described.
3rd. The ladder composed of the strip iron side pieces, the tubular rounds or
foot rests and the headed pivot bolts passed through apertures in the side pieces
and driven into the ends of the tubular rounds; substantially as described.
4th. The combination with a flexible or jointed ladder, of hinged or pivoted
braces for holding the ladder off from a wall or other surface; substantially as
described.
5th. The combination with a flexible or jointed ladder of the hinged or pivoted
braces for holding the ladder off from a wall or other surface and the gravitating
pawls and stops for holding said braces in position; substantially as described.
6th. The combination with a trap door and a flexible ladder, of a connection
between said door and ladder whereby upon fully extending the ladder the door will
be automatically closed; substantially as described.
7th. The combination with a trap door and a flexible or jointed ladder, of a
connection between the ladder and door which raises a portion of the ladder when
the door is opened and automatically closes the door when the ladder is fully
extended; substantially as described.

page_text: +
8th. The combination with the trap door of the hinge for holding the door off the
center, the flexible ladder and the door closing connection between the door and
ladder; substantially as described for the purpose specified.
9th. The combination with the ladder compartment between adjacent upper and
lower rooms, of a stripping bar in said compartment extending transversely
across the laths and a device such as a bolt extending through the ceiling below
by which to operate the said stripping bar from the room below; substantially as
described.
10th. The combination with a ladder compartment and a ladder therein, of a
hinged stripping bar extending transversely across the laths at the bottom of said
compartment; substantially as described.
11th. The combination with a ladder compartment and a ladder therein of a bail
shaped stripping bar extending transversely across the laths at the bottom and at
each side of the compartment; substantially as described.
12th. In an improved hinge for fire escape apparatus the combination with the
base having the two guides thereon, of the bolt moving in such guides formed in
two parts hinged together, and the hinge plate hinged to one of said sections ;
substantially as described.
13th. In an improved hinge for fire escape apparatus the combination with the
base having the two guides thereon and the slots beneath such guides, of the bolt
moving in the guides formed in two sections hinged together and the hinge plate
hinged to one of said sections; substantially as described.
14th. In an improved hinge for fire escape apparatus the combination with the
base having the two guides thereon, the bolt formed in two sections hinged together
one section adapted to normally rost in each guide and the hinge plate united to
one section, of the spring engaging one of said sections and abutting against the
base for returning the bolt to normal position; substantially as described.
15th. In an improved hinge for fire escape apparatus the combination with the
base having the guides thereon, the two part bolt and the hinge plate united thereto,
of the rod connected to the base and working through a guide on the bolt and
the spring surrounding the rod and abutting against the base and guide for returning
the bolt to normal position.
16th. In an improved hinge for firo escape apparatus the combination with the
base having the two guides with slots beneath the same, of the bolt moving in said
guides formed in two sections hinged together, the hinge plate hinged to one of
said sections, the rod and its guide and the spring surrounding said rod for returning
the bolt to normal position; substantially as described.
17th. In combination with a hinge of the character described having the sliding
bolt, of the lever for actuating an alarm engaging the bolt to move said lever;
substantially as described.
18th. In a hinge for fire escape apparatus the combination with the base having
the guides and the bolt moving in said guides, of the alarm actuating lever
pivoted to the base and engaging a slot in the bolt when in normal position and
riding up onto the side of the bolt when the latter is moved; substantially as
described.
Dated this 30th day of April 1889
W. P. THOMPSON & BOULT,
Agents.