fire escape

American  

noun

fire escapes plural

1. an apparatus or structure used to escape from a burning building, as a metal stairway down an outside wall.

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fire escape British  

noun

1. a means of evacuating people from a building in the event of fire, esp a metal staircase outside the building

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• fire escapes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of fire escape

First recorded in 1670–80

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fire escape

It was blamed in part on the building’s highly flammable cladding and lack of alarms, sprinklers and a fire escape.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

Bryant entered the building containing the recording studio and opened a locked fire escape exit door to allow others to slip in without being seen by Mizell.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 27, 2026

Ms Galt, from Folkestone in Kent, said she had feared she was going to die inside the property as it lacked fire alarms and fire doors, while her bedroom did not have a fire escape.

From BBC ● Dec. 13, 2024

"When I got down on the fire escape, they were all going ‘I saw the way to threw that burger at me Ness, it was lush’."

From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2024

She looked across the yards and saw that Florry was still staring at her through the bars of the fire escape.

From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith