Having been horrified to witness a friend burning to death at the age of 14 and then being a fire officer at sea with the Merchant Navy, Frank Banks has always been aware of the deadly effects of fire.

“In fact , when my children were just 9 and 6 I was so concerned that I purchased a well known form of fire escape . Unfortunately, when put to the test, this proved to be a total waste of time, when after 20 minutes the whole family including  the adults were still struggling to put it together.”

In April 1998 the Down and Out fire escape ladder was designed.

In January 2000 the US patent was granted.

In March 2000 the British patent was granted.

On the 11 September 2000 Down and Out fire escape ladder was formed.

In June 2001 our escape ladder was featured at the Tomorrows World Innovate 2001 live event.

In March 2004 Down and Out fire escape ladders were awarded the Thames & London Today, BA Award for Innovation Product Of The Year.

In August 2004 our ladder was the In Industry UK Innovative Safety  Product Of The Month.