Fire escape

When a person needs to get away from a fire, inside a building or a tunnel, they need to do this quickly. For this reasons, fire escapes are installed, and signaled. Very often fire escapes are separate stairways, often outside the building. The first fire escape was invented in England by Daniel Maseres, in 1784.

A fire escape, outside a building (the iron stairs)

An traditional American fire escape in Manhattan, New York City.

Fire exits are signalled with signs similar to the one shown

Such installations are most common in the United States, particularly in metropolitan areas.