Unique Home Design Ideas: The Fire Pole

I’ve been a fan of “Ghostbusters” almost my entire life. I loved the premise, the characters, the gadgets and toys; the list goes on and on. One of the coolest things, though, was that the team operated out of an abandoned firehouse, this meant that they had the customary pole that firefighters use to get to the ground floor much quicker than they would have had they used the stairs.

For years, I’ve wanted a fire pole in my house. I even pestered my parents about it, saying that it would increase the value of the house (which I truly believe it would). More than that, it has so many perks.

For one thing, it’s just fun. There’s an inexplicable joy that comes with sliding down a pole. It’s why Ray Stantz was so excited to see the pole when the not yet formed Ghostbusters were looking for a place to station themselves. Even Pee Wee Herman had a pole built into his house in “Pee Wee’s Big Adventure”.

Ah, but you may be thinking that those two are really just kids trapped in an adult’s body. This may be true, but let’s not forget that even the erudite Dr. Frasier Crane admitted that sliding down a fire pole was fun in a third season episode of his eponymous series when he was attempting to diagnose an eccentric billionaire who also happened to have a pole built into his house.

Let’s get real, though. The fact of the matter is that having a fire pole in your house has several benefits. For one thing, it’s a time saver. If you find that you’ve overslept and need to hurry, you can forego the stairs and shave valuable seconds off of your morning rush.

As high as home renovation costs can get, installing a fire pole is pretty inexpensive. It’s a pretty simple job as one needs only to measure the distance from ground floor to the ceiling of the second floor, and secure the pole at both ends to make sure it’s steady. Of course, safety is a high priority so some sort of gate will need to be put in (especially if you have children or pets in the house), but even taking that into account, its small potatoes compared to some of the things people add on to their houses.

I mentioned before that a pole will increase the home’s value. Some have scoffed at this idea when I bring it up, but I believe it to be true. Why? Because having a fire pole in a house is unique. You never see it and it is the sort of thing that will make a house stand out over others which offer the same amenities.

More than that, fire poles are just fun. With so much going on in the world and everyone stressed out over a myriad of things, it’s nice to get a few seconds of joy in to help negate all of that stress.

I’ve known for some time that, when I buy a house, I would make it a point to install a fire pole. However, with all of the benefits, it would behoove any homeowner to consider the idea of installing one of their own.