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 one supportive community member played chants from a speaker in his apartment window, an officer scaled the building’s fire escape to tell him to stop, video of the incident shows.

From Seattle Times ● May 22, 2024

We filled glasses with the snow clumping on the fire escape then poured tamarind syrup on it to make piraguas Brooklyn-style.

From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago