BAKER SAFETY EQUIPMENT

Baker Life Chute Rapid, Mass Evacuation from High Rise Structures during Life Threatening Emergencies

The Life Chute is designed to permit escape where exisiting fire equipment or building code fire exit measures are incapable of providing safe method of escape due to inherent limitations in design, construction, mobility or availability.

The device consists of a nylon mesh tube mounted on two metal rings. The top, or entry ring supports the Life Chute from within or on top of the building. The bottom or exit ring supports the lower end after the Life Chute has been deployed from the structure. The Life Chute is a self-contained unit that can be stored inside or on top of a structure and can be moved by hand to the safest exit locations, including windows, balconies, or roofs. Escape is accomplished by sliding down the Chute, slowing as appropriate by outward pressure of feet and with hands, over the head.

Ralph Baker's invention of the Life Chute was inspired by the M.G.M. Grand Hotel fire in Las Vegas, Nevada. The 1980 blaze claimed 84 lives and left hundreds of guests helplessly trapped on the hotel's upper floors. When Baker saw this tragedy, he vowed to do something about it.

"A lot of people wait for bad things to happen, then try to figure out what to do, " says Baker. "Not me. When I see a problem in the making, I try to head it off before it can occur." This philosophy led to Baker's invention of the Baker Life Chute.