Best fire escape ladders for upstairs bedrooms

How to choose

Decide what the ladder is for

A ladder is a last resort, for when your main way out is blocked or unsafe.¹⁴ USFA, the U.S. Fire Administration, says to find two ways out of every room. Upstairs, that usually means the door and a window, and a ladder is what makes the window usable.¹⁵

Don't deploy a ladder into flames.¹ If the fire is below your window, stay behind a closed door, call 911 and say exactly where you are.¹⁶ The door matters more than most people think. UL's Fire Safety Research Institute says a room with an open door may reach 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit while a room with a closed door may reach only 100 degrees.¹⁶ Sleep with the door closed, and close it before you open the window, as Kidde and First Alert both tell you to.^{1 16 17}

Measure from the sill to the ground

Measure outside, at the window you'd use, and go by the number. Kidde says not to use the KL-2S from above 14 feet or the KL-3S from above 26 feet.¹

Measure the opening and the sill depth

Open the window as far as it goes and measure the clear gap. Kidde asks for at least 16 inches of width and at most 11 inches of thickness at the opening, and its store lists sills from 5.5 to 11 inches.^{1 2} Kidde advises against storm windows and any other window that doesn't open fully.¹

Don't assume a bedroom window will work because it passed inspection. The International Residential Code asks for a sleeping-room escape opening at least 24 inches high and 20 inches wide, with 5.7 square feet of area.¹⁸ That can pass Kidde's width and still fail First Alert's 32-inch height, so measure against the ladder you're buying.^{1 4}

Look at what's below the window

Go outside and check the path down. Kidde says to look for wires and fences and to take care not to use a window above another window. First Alert goes further and says its ladders aren't intended for a second-story window directly above a first-story window, because the rung stabilizers could break the glass and cause injury.^{1 12 17} If every upstairs window sits above another window, ask your fire department before you rely on a ladder there.

How many you need

Buy one for each upstairs bedroom that needs a second way out, and keep it next to that window. Don't share one ladder between rooms or store it on another floor, as First Alert's manual also warns.¹⁷ You won't have time to fetch it. USFA says you could have less than 2 minutes to escape once the smoke alarm sounds, and UL says three minutes or less once a fire starts.^{15 16}

Don't shop by the load number

A 1,000-pound figure and a 375-pound figure aren't the same kind of number. Kidde's 1,000 pounds is a cumulative limit spread over more than one rung, with 750 pounds on a single rung. First Alert rates its ladder at 375 pounds at a time and says it tested to 1,125 pounds.^{1 2 6}

SafeWise suggests buying a 1,000-pound ladder so several people can climb at once, but First Alert's manual says one person at a time, and Kidde's instructions have one parent go first to steady the ladder.^{1 17 19} Follow the makers. Plan on one person at a time, check that your heaviest household member is well under the rating, and don't treat a higher number as a safer ladder.

Look for the standard by name

ASTM F2175 is the US specification for home escape ladders. It covers load, rung strength, standoffs (the parts that hold rungs off the wall) and deployment.²⁰ First Alert's spec sheets say its ladders were tested to the 2007 edition, reapproved in 2015, and the current edition is from 2023.^{12 21} Kidde's manual and store pages don't name the standard at all.^{1 2} Treat any "tested to" line as a maker's claim, and look for the edition on the box if this matters to you.

Practice without pulling the strap

Kidde's ladders are for one use only. Kidde warns that repeat use may result in injury or death, and it says to discard the ladder after any use. Never pull the release strap in practice, at any window, including a ground-floor one.¹

You can still drill. Kidde strongly recommends practicing the first three steps, which end with the ladder hooked on the sill.¹ Make that part of your family's escape plan, along with closing the door. Family practice doesn't normally mean climbing out of an upstairs window.²² Kidde's instructions have a parent go first and steady the ladder for children and older adults.¹

Store it, and replace it on time

Keep it in the room, away from direct sunlight and heat. Kidde recommends replacing its ladder every 15 years and stamps the date on the bottom rung.¹ If the previous owners left a ladder behind, find the model and date, and throw it out if the strap has been pulled.¹

If someone can't climb down

A ladder won't help a person who can't manage a swinging descent. Give them a ground-floor bedroom if you can, and plan on the closed-door fallback: call 911, say where you are and stay by the window for fresh air.¹⁶