Escape staircase and method for allowing occupants of a building to escape safely during an emergency

Abstract

A multistory emergency stairwell structure for escape and rescue in different emergency situations adapted for building proximate to a pre-existing multistory building, and being built as a separate construction from the pre-existing building for facilitating passage of occupants between the pre-existing building and the stairwell structure by means of a passageway that is attached at one end only to either the pre-existing building or to the stairwell structure and is free to move at its opposite end.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION[0001]This application claims the benefit of priority of Israel Patent Application No. 222887 filed on Nov. 5, 2012 hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]This invention relates to external emergency multi-story staircases for allowing escape from a building in different emergency situations.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Different types of emergency staircases are known that allow for the escape of residents from a building in the case of fire. Emergency staircases may be located either inside an existing building or external thereto such as external stairs that are attached to the building.[0004]From experience, there frequently arises the need to add an emergency staircase outside existing buildings in order to improve the safety level. Such staircases are implemented by being directly connected to the building.[0005]In the event that occupants need to escape via the staircase during an earthquak...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The invention provides a multi-story emergency stairwell structure that is separate from a pre-existing building and can be constructed quickly in case of an emergency. This structure allows occupants to easily escape the pre-existing building, even in the event of an earthquake or other emergency situation. The method involves simply installing a passage that is attached at one end and free to move at the other end, making it a simple and effective solution for ensuring safety in multi-story buildings.

Problems solved by technology

In other words, the staircase will not meet seismic safety standards if they are attached to a building that does not itself meet these standards.

The collapse of the building, or a part of the building next to such emergency staircases, will give rise to the emergency staircase collapsing in an earthquake.

Existing emergency staircases will not give rise to a higher safety level than that of the complete building itself.

Based on experience in many cases, the staircases are the first thing to be affected in an earthquake and thus do not provide a safe escape for the building's occupants.

After the staircase has been hit by an earthquake or an explosion, the occupants are liable to remain trapped in the building and to suffer from explosion waves of the earthquake, additional explosions, or fires.

In general, apart from fire escapes, use of emergency staircases is not known for other emergency situations such as earthquakes and war on the home front, for use with buildings that do not meet the relevant seismic standards or with buildings whose enclosures are not protected.

This need arises due to historical defaults in the design of buildings against earthquakes and due to the paucity of shelter solutions.

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