Police Life Saving Unit building, Pasikudah Bay, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, Asia

Old fire station, Syktyvkar, Komi Republic, Russia

The RNLI lifeboat launching station on Roa Island, Barrow in Furness, Cumbria England, United Kingdom, Europe

Emergency call character on a U-Bahnhof station, Berlin, Germany, Europe

Close-up of a surfing board on the sand at the beach. Black and white photography

Emergency switch to stop the escalator at Potsdamer Platz station, Berlin, Germany, Europe

Emergency switch to stop the escalator at Potsdamer Platz station, Berlin, Germany, Europe

Student with visual impairment and her service dog using Emergency station at school

A technician at the foot of the station holds a large evacuation sock into which a person is lowered. Once a month, all the staff carry out an emergency evacuation of the station using a ?sock?. The idea is to let yourself slide down a tube of fabric that slows your fall to such an extent that you can even stop yourself by spreading your arms and legs. A technician is waiting for us at the bottom to assist with the last metre of the descent. Concordia Antarctic Research Station, Dome C plateau, East Antarctica.

The two towers of the Concordia station, with the French, Italian and European flags flying in the wind, under a blue sky veiled with cirrus clouds aligned in the direction of the wind. The two towers are linked by a tunnel. They are permanently heated to 20°C by the diesel engine that generates the station's electricity. The left tower is the "quiet tower", housing the hospital, bedrooms;34 beds) and offices. The right tower is the "noisy tower": it houses a small workshop, the emergency generator, the waste room, the technical office, the video room, the living room, the kitchens and the refectory. The two towers are about ten meters apart to prevent the risk of fire spreading. Fire is an Antarctic expeditionary's worst nightmare; the French have a very bad experience of it. Concordia Antarctic Research Station, Dome C plateau, East Antarctica.