In the event of an emergency, every second counts.
With this in mind, Chinese inventor Zhou Miaorong came up with the idea for a stainless steel slide to help evacuate people from high-rise buildings as quickly as possible.
These pictures reveal his prototype being tested out in Shanghai.
Slide away: Two volunteers try out the stainless steel chute at a building in Shanghai
Convenient: When the slide is not in use it remains strapped to the bannister
The chute, modelled on a children's slide, remains strapped to the stairwell when not in use.
But when required, residents can press a button and the slide will self-deploy.
According to Mr Miaorong, a could escape from a five-storey building in just 14 seconds.
He has submitted a patent for 'High Rise Rapid Evacuation Slide' to the World Intellectual Property Organization which describes it as 'safe, rapid, simply constructed, easy to use, and economical in cost, and suitable for use in newly constructed buildings as well as existing buildings.'
Inventor Zhou Miaorong describes the slide as 'safe, rapid and easy to use' in his patent submission
Rapid: The slide is quickly deployed at the push of a button when required