57b depend downward as shown in fig1 but when the escape device 17 is extended outward the struts 57a 57b pivot to their working positions as shown in fig2 ordinarily the ladder 31 does not have the pairs of struts 57a 57b and such ladder 31 extends downward in a straight sloping manner as shown in fig2 the lower ends of the side rails of the ladder 31 have flat plate feet 61 that engage the ground 63 or other surface the ladder extends to when in use referring to fig5 and 6 a modified form of escape device in accordance with the present invention includes a conventional extension ladder 65 that is pivotally mounted as at 67 to supports within an escape opening 69 similar to the escape opening 11 the ladder 65 is provided with a pair of arms 71 that are pivotally mounted as at 73 to the one section 75 of the extension ladder 65 the arms 71 are connected at one end to cables 77 that are fixed to supports 79 on the inside walls of the escape opening 69 the other ends of the arms 71 engage the outside wall of the building to keep the extension ladder 65 away from the wall at a proper angle to enable persons using the ladder to descend the other section 81 of the extension ladder 65 is extendable on the one section 75 and engages the ground or other surface adjacent the building a plurality of conventional rungs or steps 83 are connected between the side rails.