"Our new telescoping fire escape pole for 2-story houses allows both adults and kids to escape quickly and with little effort," says Brad Moore, SafEscape, Inc., Centralia, Wash.

Made from powder-coated aluminum, the 17-ft. long telescoping pole collapses to 44 in. and is designed to be stored horizontally on a bracket under the roof outside a second story window. A trip cable attaches to the bracket. When you need to use the pole you open the window and pull on the cable, which trips the pole out of the bracket and allows it to swing down and telescope out to its full length. Then you climb onto the window sill, wrap your arms and legs around the pole, and slide down to the ground.

"It takes less than 2 lbs. of pull to drop the pole down so even kids can use it," says Moore. "The pole is positioned about 12 in. from the window so you don't have to worry that you'll miss it and fall. The larger, heavier end section is at the bottom of the pole so it drops fast. Grabbing the small end first allows even a child to get a firm grip on it. As you descend, the pole gets larger which naturally slows you down. It works much better than rope and chain ladders which are cumbersome and have to be stored under a bed or in-side a closet where they can be hard to find.

"The pole is secured to the header by four lag bolts."