Evacu-Blimp

In the case of a large-scale fire in a skyscraper, there have been many incidents of entire floors of people being trapped above the fire, with their only escape route (down) blocked. Evacuating to the roof of the building is not always a terribly-useful option as helicopter rescue vehicles cannot usually approach and land because of the enormous updraught caused by the fire below.

One answer could lie in the use of "Evacu-Blimps": these several-person rescue balloons are installed securely on the roof of skyscrapers and are primed and auto-inflated in the event of a large-scale fire in the building below. In the event of such a fire, any people trapped above the burning section of the building simply make their way to the roof where the ready-inflated Evacu-Blimps will be waiting for them. When each Evacu-Blimp's gondola has taken on board the required number of people it is simply launched from the roof, where the hot air and updraught from the fire below will ensure that it is taken well away from the burning building. Obviously, control in the air and subsequent landing will not be straightforward but in such a situation, pretty much ANYTHING is better than either remaining trapped in the burning building, or attempting to somehow leave the building in the manner of Fred Astaire in "The Towering Inferno".

Now, if THEY had Evacu-Blimps installed, that film would have had a MUCH happier ending - Fred Astaire would be alive today and Steve McQueen would have been a lot less peturbed.