Fire Escape Devices
Twenty years of CPSC NEISS emergency-room records for this consumer product category, combined with demographic breakdowns, multi-year injury trends, and matching recall notices.
Home Heating & Cooling Equipment · CPSC Code 711
Down 28% over 5 years
The verdict
Fire Escape Devices carry a danger score of 48/100 (moderate risk), driven by roughly 931 ER-treated injuries a year that are declining by about 28% over the last five years.
- 48/100
- danger score (moderate risk)
- 931
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 22.5%
- end in hospital admission
- 15-24
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 711 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 48/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for fire escape devices - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume931 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)22.5%
- Fatality rate1.14%
- 5-year trend-28%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Fire Escape Devices (CPSC product code 711, in the Home Heating & Cooling Equipment category) generate an estimated 931 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 18,619 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 48/100 for this category (moderate risk), combining raw injury volume, demographic reach, severity of outcome, and multi-year trend. The five-year trajectory shows that injury counts are declining by about 28% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2012 (1,581 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2008 (310 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for fire escape devices is fracture to the lower trunk, accounting for approximately 1,372 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by internal injury to the head (1,238 cases). The 15-24 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 4,759 cases over the NEISS window, and males appear slightly more often than the opposite sex in that cohort. Severity outcomes from the NEISS disposition field show that 22.5% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer, and a small fraction (1.14%) result in fatality.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 1 consumer incident report filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how fire escape devices fail in real households. Every figure on this page comes from CPSC-published data: NEISS projects national estimates from a probability sample of about 100 U.S. hospital emergency departments, while SaferProducts.gov collects voluntary reports from consumers, manufacturers, and clinicians. The danger score, trend indicators, and demographic breakdowns update automatically when CPSC releases a new yearly NEISS file, which is why this page is dated 2024-12-31. For regulatory context, consult CPSC recall notices and the SaferProducts.gov public database linked below.
Annual Injury Estimates (2005–2024)
Source: CPSC NEISS national estimates CPSC NEISS national estimates Injuries represent ER-treated cases only
Who Gets Injured?
| Age Group | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-4 | 226 | 108 | |
| 5-14 | 669 | 652 | |
| 15-24 | 2,812 | 1,947 | |
| 25-34 | 3,003 | 1,595 | |
| 35-44 | 2,168 | 1,079 | |
| 45-54 | 1,186 | 1,028 | |
| 55-64 | 1,148 | 485 | |
| 65-74 | 317 | 58 | |
| 75+ | 55 | 80 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Lower Trunk | Fracture | |
| Head | Internal Injury | |
| Ankle | Fracture | |
| Lower Trunk | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Ankle | Strain, Sprain | |
| Foot | Fracture | |
| Head | Laceration | |
| Upper Trunk | Fracture | |
| Lower Trunk | Other | |
| Lower Leg | Fracture | |
| Lower Arm | Laceration | |
| Finger | Laceration | |
| Face | Laceration | |
| Face | Fracture | |
| Lower Leg | Laceration |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
22YOM IN MVA, RUNNING OVER FIRE HYDRANT. BRUISE TO LOWER ABDOMEN. INTOXICATED, BAL 296 DX: MVA, ALCOHOL INTOXICATION
19YOF PRESENTS TO ED FOR CONCERNS OF ALCOHOL INTOXICATION. EMS REPORTS PTS FRIENDS BECAME CONCERNED THAT TOO INTOXICATED SO THEY CALLED EMS. TRIED TO CLIMB FIRE ESCAPE TODAY BEFORE STOPPING DOING THIS AND MAY HAVE HURT HER LEG. ETOH: 2291 DX: ALCOHOL INTOXICATION W/O COMPLICATION
30 YOF SLIPPED DOWN TWO STEPS ON THE FIRE ESCAPE OF HER BUILDING. DX: SPRAIN OF RIGHT ANKLE.
60YOF - PATIENT PRESENT FOR FALL AND BACK PAIN. PT STATES SHE WAS ON THE FIRE ESCAPE OF THE 3RD FLOOR AND FELL FROM THE SECOND FLOOR TO THE GROUND BECAUSE IT WAS WET, PT C/O BACK PAIN, ABRASIONS TO B/L ELBOWS, PER REPORT THE POLICE CAME TO THE DOOR. DX: PELVIC FRACTURE AND MULTIPLE RIB FRACTURES
36YOM PRESENTS TO ED AS TRAUMA ALERT AFTER FALLING FROM 2ND STORY FIRE ESCAPE. PATIENT STATES HE WAS SITTING ON THE ESCAPE PLATFORM HAVING A BEER AND SLIPPED OFF, LANDING ON HIS FEET. EXPERIENCED ACUTE FOOT AND KNEE PAIN BILATERALLY, AND LOW LEG PAIN BAL UNKNOWN DX; FALL FROM HEIGHT GREATER THAN 3 FEET, KNEE INJURY
63YOM P/W ARM PAIN. PATIENT REPORTS 4 MONTHS AGO, WAS GOING DOWN FIRE ESCAPE AND THE PLATFORM WHICH WAS LOOSE AND PREVENTED HIMSELF FROM FALLING BY HOLDING ONTO THE RAILING WITH HIS L ARM. DX: CHRONIC LEFT SHOULDER PAIN
29YOM X PRESENTING TO THE ED AFTER BEING FOUND DOWN. PT WAS FOUND AT THE BOTTOM OF A FIRE ESCAPE, THOUGHT TO HAVE FALLEN OR JUMPED FROM 3 STORIES. PT HAS HEAD LAC, SHOULDER AND HIP ABRASION AND WRIST SWELLING DX: CRITICAL POLYTRAUMA
21 YOM FELL OFF FIREESCAPE DX CLOSED NON-DISPLACED FX C2 VERTEBRA
28YOF BIBEMS AS A TRAUMA ALERT AFTER THEY REPORTED SHE JUMPED FROM 3RD STORY FIRE ESCAPE. PT REPORTS SHE HAS CONFLICT WITH HER BROTHER, SO WHEN HE CAME TO HER DOOR, SHE LEFT HER APARTMENT OUT THE WINDOW, CLIMBED DOWN TO THE LOWEST LEVEL OF THE FIRE ESCAPE AND THEN JUMPED THE REST OF THE WAY TO THE GROUND. HAS LOW BACK PAIN AND ENDORSES ETOH USE BAL 117, NOT INTOX DX: LOW BACK PAIN
46YOM BIBEMS FOR A REPORTED FALL FROM A HEIGHT OF 25 FT. HE STATES THAT THE FALL OCCURRED LAST NIGHT. HE STATES THAT HE DROPPED HIS PHONE OFF THE FIRE ESCAPE AND WAS TRYING TO RETRIEVE IT WHEN HE FELL. PT HAS LOWER EXTREMITY PAIN AND LOW BACK PAIN. DX: CLOSED DISPLACED FX OF ANTERIOR PROCESS OF RIGHT CALCANEUS , NONDISPLACED FRACTURE OF POSTERIOR PROCESS OF RIGHT TALUS
59YOM PT PRESENTED WITH COMPLAINTS OF RIGHT LOWER EXTREMITY PAIN S/P FALL. PT REPORTS BEING ON HIS FIRE ESCAPE WHEN HE TRIPPED AND FELL WHICH RESULTED IN RIGHT LEG PAIN, DX: PERIPROSTHETIC FRACTURE OF SHAFT OF FEMUR
42 YOF WAS WALKING UP HER FIRE ESCAPE STEPS CARRYING GROCERIES ABOUT 10 DAYS AGO WHEN SHE ROLLED HER RIGHT ANKLE AND HAS BEEN HAVING SIGNIFICANT PAIN AND SWELLING SINCE. DX RIGHT ANKLE SPRAIN
Consumer Incident Reports
Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.
WHEN I TESTED THE BABY RESCUE FIRE BAG for babies and children (which is for lowering a child down during a fire), IT BROKE AND FELL 3 STORIES. IT WILL KILL YOUR CHILD! I just tested my Baby Rescue Emergency Rapid Evacuation Device and IT SNAPPED IMMEDIATELY. If my child had been inside it would have killed him! Two hours later, Im still shaking. Here is what happened: I wanted to test the bag before an emergency so I filled it with 22 pounds of heavy material. I wrapped the rope around my wrist about 5 feet up from the bag, braced myself, then pushed the 22 pound bag out out window. It free-fell a few feet then snapped immediately and the baby bag dropped 3 stories to the ground. Thankfully no one was walking by or it probably would have killed them. It definitely would have killed my baby inside. Note, I wanted to let it free-fall for about 5 feet as I figured this is would would happen in a true emergency. My son is 45 pounds (5 years old) and the window is on the higher side. I was trying to simulate how I would get him out of the window. I am not tall enough to lower him slowly at the beginning (even though I'm 5 foot 9 in) so I figured I'd have to put the bag on the sill, brace myself, then push him in the bag out the window while holding the rope or securing it around a piece of heavy furniture. Anyway, when I checked out what happened, the thread broke (which was sewn from the bag to the rope). Ill attach pictures. Looking now, I see that the thread doesnt look reinforced or thick at all. The rope is unimpressive, but the thread is worse. In fact, all the strings look cheaply sewn up and down the line on the loops too. These loops would be what you would naturally hold onto or loop around something to secure the line. Likely these threads would spit at many points. There are hundreds of weak points all over this product. No rock climber would dare use this. It also wouldnt take a fireman much to look at the line and see how flimsy it is.
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to fire escape devices on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are fire escape devices?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, fire escape devices have a danger score of 48/100 (moderate risk). An estimated 931 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from fire escape devices?
The most common injury is fracture to the lower trunk, accounting for approximately 1,372 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from fire escape devices increasing or decreasing?
Down 28% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for fire escape devices injuries?
The 15-24 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 4,759 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by fire escape devices?
Of all ER visits involving fire escape devices, approximately 22.5% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (77.5%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with fire escape devices?
You can file a consumer incident report at SaferProducts.gov, the official CPSC reporting portal. Reports help the CPSC identify emerging hazards and trigger investigations or recalls. You can also call the CPSC hotline at 1-800-638-2772.
Related Products in Home Heating & Cooling Equipment
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 48/100 score as relative risk between products, not your personal odds of injury.
- See where this category ranks against every other tracked product. Full rankings
- Injuries cluster in the 15-24 age group, take extra care if that describes your household.
- Check for active recalls on this product before you assume it is safe. CPSC recalls
NEISS estimates ER-treated injuries from a national probability sample of hospitals; they do not capture injuries treated elsewhere or not treated at all.
Data: CPSC National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) 2005–2024 and SaferProducts.gov consumer incident reports. Injury estimates are based on a nationally representative probability sample of U.S. hospital emergency departments. This page is for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with the CPSC.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, scored, and verified.
