Hardly a week goes by without news of a mass shooting or hostage situation happening in America, so we weren't surprised to hear about the incident in Los Angeles where a man shot and killed an employee in Trader Joes, then held staff and customers hostage until the police were able to gain access and arrest him two hours later.  It transpired that shortly before the hostage incident Gene Atkins, the suspect, had shot his grandmother and injured another woman during a carjacking.

What did really make us notice this incident, was the fact that one employee enabled several colleagues to escape the building with some quick thinking and an escape ladder.  Sean Gerace had been working in the storeroom when he heard shots and realised something was afoot.  Grabbing several colleagues and an escape ladder, he ran upstairs and barricaded them into a room with a window, where he deployed the escape ladder and got the attention of a police officer who helped receive the employees and take them to safety.

Without Gerace's quick thinking the outcome could have been a lot different and more lives could have been lost, but the vital ingredient in this scenario was the escape ladder.  That handy piece of equipment was the key to making it out of that building alive.  Escape ladders can mean the difference between life and death and not just in hostage scenarios – these are thankfully not too common.  Escape ladders also provide an emergency exit in the event of a fire, or the danger of smoke inhalation.  They allow people to get out before the emergency services arrive, which frees up the fire brigade to fight the fire and get it under control quickly.

Midland Ladders sell a fantastic escape ladder just like the one Gerace used to escape the hostage situation.  For £60 including VAT you have complete peace of mind that you, your family or your colleagues will be safe in the event of a fire or another reason why an escape needs to be enacted.  The escape ladder is 15 feet long, which is long enough to let people escape from the first floor of a building, making them ideal for home use.  Business can also have one or two escape ladders in an office to provide an extra escape route during a fire, and some fire regulations may stipulate that escape ladders must be present if there is no adequate fire escape – for example on listed or historic buildings.

Three people can be on the ladder at the same time as it will take up to 70 stone in weight.  There are also stand offs which keep the ladder away from the wall or windows as you descend, and this also helps keep it stable.  The ladders, which can be kept near a window or under a bed, deploy without tangling and hook easily over a windowsill.  If you don't have normal windowsills then you can install an anchor bar to act as the placement point for the escape ladder.

It's unlikely you'll need to escape a hostage situation, but a fire can break out anywhere, so keep safety in mind and get one or two escape ladders for your home and business.  If you don't need to use them that's great, but if you do you'll be very glad you bought them.