ANAHEIM : Fire Escape Chute Is Put to the Test

Dangling from the seventh floor of the Grand Hotel in Anaheim, the Dyna-Chute looked more like a shiny silver sock than a new, emergency-evacuation device for high-rises.

And the parade of kids, dogs and firefighters that shot through the chute Wednesday looked more like a bunch of water-slide riders who forgot to turn on the sprinklers than a serious group conducting a professional demonstration of a product that may replace the firefighter’s ladder.

One latecomer, Fullerton resident Eddie J. Gage Jr., was disappointed that he missed the sliding parade and the chance to sail through the chute himself.

“I’ve been bungee jumping. I’ve sky-dived. I just wanted to try it,” Gage said.

But amid the carnival-like atmosphere, fire chiefs from throughout Orange County, as well as from Long Beach and Los Angeles, were studying the gadget and discussing its effectiveness.

“There’s no guarantee” that it is 100% successful, said Anaheim Battalion Chief Benito Ramirez. But he added that the chute can quickly evacuate people, even those who are unconscious or immobile, which is helpful during emergencies.

Creators of the chute claim it can bring one person down from 100 feet every 10 seconds, more than double the evacuation rate using the traditional ladder.

Because of its interior of combined spandex and nylon, the evacuee controls the speed of descent by pushing against the walls, to expand the chute and slow down, or by curling inward, to contract the interior walls and speed up. This makes it less scary to those fearful of heights and more manageable to those unable to quickly climb down a ladder.

For those who are injured or unconscious, the descent speed can be controlled by a firefighter on the ground who twists the chute, then unfurls it to slowly ease the person down.

Typically, the chute hangs vertically from the building, but when a fire is burning the sides of the building, the chute can be pulled into a diagonal position to allow evacuees to slide down to the ground.

Chutes can be of various lengths, ranging up to 125 feet for use at a 12-story high-rise. They clamp onto the side of a building.

The exterior is made of a fire-resistant fiberglass that is said to withstand temperatures of 1,300 degrees Fahrenheit--the temperature of a coal fire at a coal-generated electrical plant--for up to 30 minutes, said K. Michael Farris, vice president of E-VAC Systems Inc., the Florida-based company that makes the Dyna-Chute.

Firefighters agreed that being able to evacuate people from a building with just one firefighter on either end of the chute would be helpful, because it would free others to fight the blaze.

“To take . . . people down the ladder, it can take three or four firefighters,” said Jay Bressler, a consultant helping to market the product.

So far, no fire departments in Orange County use the chute.

The one drawback some chiefs noted Wednesday was the price tag: $30,000 for a 100-foot chute that can reach up to 10 stories.

Many said that in in a time when most cities are slashing budgets, it would be difficult to ask city managers for extra funding to update emergency services.

Anaheim’s Ramirez said that if the department wanted to buy the chute, it would probably request just one for the station that serves the Disneyland area, where there are many high-rise buildings.

Sensing budgetary constraints, Bressler said the company hopes to win the firefighters’ endorsement of the product and then market the chute directly to hotel and high-rise owners to install in their buildings.

10 Tallest Buildings in O.C. *

Occupancy Rank & Building Floors Fire Safety Measures Rate 1 CENTER TOWER 21 Sprinklers, alarms, 89% 650 Town Center Drive fire/smoke detectors Costa Mesa 2 PLAZA TOWER 21 Sprinklers, alarms 36% 600 Anton Blvd. fire/smoke detectors Costa Mesa 3 THE CITY TOWER 20 Sprinklers, alarms, 86% 333 The City Blvd. West fire/smoke detectors Orange 4 JAMBOREE CENTER 20 Sprinklers 67% (PacTel Cellular building) fire alarm system 3 Park Plaza fire drills, Irvine evacuation plan 5 JAMBOREE CENTER 20 same as above 72% 4 Park Plaza Irvine 6 JAMBOREE CENTER 20 same as above 91% (Geneva Building) 5 Park Plaza Irvine 7 LAKESHORE TOWERS 18 sprinklers, fire/smoke 31% 18101 Von Karman Ave. detectors, fire alarms Irvine 8 610 NEWPORT CENTER BUILDING 18 sprinklers, fire/smoke 81% 610 Newport Center Drive detectors, fire alarms Newport Beach 9 BANK OF AMERICA TOWER 18 ** 59% 1 The City Blvd. West Orange 10 TOWER 17 17 Sprinklers, fire/smoke 82% 18881 Von Karman Ave. detectors, automatic Irvine fire doors

* Completed office buildings only.

** Currently installing fire safety system, including sprinklers, alarms, fire panels, automatic fire doors, fire/smoke alarms and emergency announcement.

Source: Burke Commercial Real Estate Inc. Researched by APRIL JACKSON / Los Angeles Times