Rope Ladder for Fire Safety

Travis and I built this rope ladder to escape the second story of our apartment in case of a fire on the first floor. Travis had a great time helping (he was very excited about the whole thing). It cost me $20 in supplies. I got two 8 foot 2x4's and cut them into 16 inch steps. Then I threaded the two 25 foot lengths of rope through holes drilled through each end of the steps and tied knots at 16 inch intervals for the steps to rest on. I'd be happy to give more detailed instructions if you wish to make one for your house. The major tricky part is tying knots as you thread the rope, while also tying the knots at even intervals. Note that some steps in the photo are not yet resting on their corresponding knots. I did this with my dad as a boy scout for I think the emergency preparedness merit badge. This one took me a couple hours to built.