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Filed well before 11 September—but published only two days
later—here’s another idea for evacuating people from tall buildings in an
emergency (WO 01/66192). Lodewijk Vanluffelen of Belgium suggests firefighters
could deploy a balloon inflated with a lighter-than-air gas, with a flattened
side so it can get close to the building. The balloon, with guide cables held by
firefighters on the ground, would rise up to a high window or a roof where
people are trapped. A firefighter on a gondola slung beneath the balloon would
allow just enough people to climb in to make the balloon descend slowly under
gravity down a main guide cable. When these people get out, the balloon would
rise again for the next rescue.