I am reminded of the fire escape in the west wing of Bawdsey Manor back in 1975. It was one of those cable winch and harness systems with a rotor in top to slow your descent and was regularly tested during Friday happy hours.
The bar was in the lower east wing and the game was to see how quickly someone could race out if the bar, up the main stairs and across the building, out the window and down to the ground using the winch and then along the front and back through the front door into the bar.
Needless to say speed meant that care was not taken to fasten the harness, rather drunken officers hurled themselves out the window at high speed grabbing the harness as they passed.....
Strangely I can’t remember anyone every missing and getting hurt or killed.
The first and most salubrious mess in which I ever resided.