Patent ID: 7556124

Claim:
A device for evacuating people from a building, the device comprising: a container adapted to be supported on an upper level of the building, the container including a plateau that can be extended from the building; a tube housed in a folded position in the container when in a non-functional position, wherein the tube can be moved from the non-functional position to a functional position to form a rescue channel leading from the upper level of the building to ground level; and a tensioning rope for determining the arrangement of the tube in the functional position, wherein the tube is folded together when in the non-functional position, and the tube extends in an essentially vertical manner with respect to a wall of the building when deployed to the functional position, wherein the tube is equipped with a number of transversal rings spaced from each other in a longitudinal direction of the tube, and each of the transversal rings is provided with at least one opening for permitting passage of the tensioning rope, wherein each transversal ring is provided with an annular air cushion which is inflatable in the manner of an airbag when the tube is moved to the functional position, and the air cushions function to provide for safe conveyance of people through the rescue channel to the ground level by braking transfer of the people through the rescue channel, the tensioning rope having one end attached to a fixed point in the container and another end attached to a fixed point at the ground level, a portion of the tensioning rope between the fixed points being stored within a groove along the building wall, and wherein, in the functional position of the tube, the plateau is extended, and the tensioning rope is ripped out of the groove provided along the building wall and brought into an approximately vertical position such that the tensioning rope is stretched between the fixed point in the container and the fixed point at the ground level.