You might think that SkySaver’s only use is to escape a fire when there is no other way out. Fire safety is the focal point of our promotional video, as well as many of our blog posts (How to Create an Action Emergency Plan, Rollovers, Flashovers, and Backdrafts, Inflammable or Flammable, How Hot Can Fire Get?). This is due to fires being a relatively common occurrence. There were nearly 1.3 million fires responded to by US fire departments in 2014. Many people have either experienced a fire breaking out in their home or know someone who has. However, there are other situations in which a SkySaver can save your life; during an earthquake, during work related violence/active shooter situation, or during a terrorist attack. None of these are as common as fire, but it’s essential to know that SkySaver can be used to save your life during a variety of different emergencies.
The National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) estimates that 50 earthquakes happen per day, or about 20,000 per year. Most of them go undetected because of the minimal magnitude or lack of population in those areas. According to the NEIC, between 1900 and 2014 there were about 120 earthquakes in which 1,000 or more people were killed. During an earthquake, entrance and exit areas can easily be blocked by falling debris and elevators automatically shutdown. Your only way out might be the window. You might have read that if you are indoors during an earthquake, your best bet would be to stay where you are and duck for cover. You might have read that you should hide under a desk. This would be true, assuming you don’t have a SkySaver. You would run the risk of falling debris knocking you out cold as you’re trying to navigate your way to the exit. There is a risk when you stay put, however, of the building collapsing, especially if it was built before stricter regulations which were implemented in 1975. If you have a SkySaver, all you need to do is grab it, strap in, and within a couple of minutes you’ll be on the ground. After you reach the ground, unhook and run away from the building as quickly as possible.
Work-related violence happens a lot more often than you might think. FIFTEEN percent of all occupational fatalities are the result of assault and violent acts in the workplace. If a disgruntled worker shows up to your office carrying a weapon, your only way out might be the window. In a situation where an active shooter is in your building, and you have no idea whether or not he is standing in the hallway, SkySaver might be your only way out. Would you take the chance of sitting around, waiting for the shooter to reach you? Would you try to navigate your way to the building’s exit, where he might be waiting? Or, would you grab your SkySaver and drop down to safety in order to get help? In these situations, it’s better safe than sorry. When you hear gunshots and people screaming, you might not have any way to protect yourself. Your safest bet in this situation is SkySaver.
During the past couple of years, terror has been on the rise. With many terror groups throughout the world, such as ISIS, Boko Haram, Al Qaeda, and more, as well as terrorists unlinked to specific groups, who are just trying to further their own agenda, you never know when an attack might happen. You might just start to hear gunshots in your building, and before you know it, all the exits are blocked and you are a hostage. Just as with a disgruntled employee or an active shooter, if terrorists enter your home or workplace, SkySaver is probably your only safe exit. There’s no sense in risking your life by searching around for a way out that might have been left unguarded. It’s too risky. All you need to do is stay calm, strap on your SkySaver, and lower yourself to safety.
There is a reason they are called SkySaver Rescue Backpacks and not SkySaver Fire Safety and Backpacks (or something like that). That’s because SkySaver’s can be used for self-rescue in various life-threatening emergency situations when there is only one way out. SkySaver is the only device that allows you to safely take that exit.
