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# Emergency exit on pier down the tube
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/emergency-exit-on-pier-down-the-tube/
- Published: 2006-02-24T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T17:18:00.000Z
- Author: Kevin Herrera
- Tags: local, Pier, #archive-import

*Safety chute is first-ever utilized at an ocean pier*

SM PIER — This has often been a place of refuge for those looking to escape the stresses of life by soaking in breath-taking sunsets or listening to the therapeutic sounds of crashing waves.

Now the Santa Monica Pier offers another way to escape — literally — with the installation of an emergency escape chute, which public safety officials feel will help evacuate pier visitors quickly, orderly and safely in the event of an emergency.

The first-ever installed on a pier, the chute, designed by Eric Hooper of Escape Chute Systems in Australia, is roughly 20 feet long and is located on the southwest end of the pier, marked by a bright orange and fire-red hatch.

Public safety officials, including the Santa Monica Police and Fire departments, as well as the Santa Monica Harbor Patrol, recommended installing the chute after a hostage situation here highlighted weaknesses in the pier evacuation plan, which did not have an adequate way to evacuate people rapidly and safely from the ocean end of the pier.

Oswaldo Amezcua, 25, was arrested on July 4, 2000 after he took 15 people hostage at the pier’s Playland Arcade. He was wanted in connection with the murders of three people in San Bernardino, as well as the attempted murder of four people, including three police officers whom he shot during the standoff.

Jose Flores, an accomplice, was also arrested. The two were tried, convicted and sentenced to death in March 2005.

MATERIALS The escape chute, which cost roughly $16,000 and can last for up to 10 years, consists of three layers, Hooper said.

The outside layer is made of fiberglass and is fire proof, withstanding constant temperatures of up to 398 degrees. The middle layer is made of a series of stainless steel coiled springs sewn into nylon that helps the user control their speed as they slide down to an awaiting rescue boat. The springs have a small diameter that will exert pressure. Pushing on the springs will speed up the rate of descent. The inner layer is made of kevlar on the larger models and can withstand the dead weight load of 1.5 tons.

According to Hooper, one chute the size of the one installed at the pier can move 25 people per minute and 350 in 15 minutes. Hooper said the chute can accommodate people of all sizes, ages and disabilities. However, infants will need to be accompanied by an adult.

“If you can fit through the opening, than you can make it down the chute,” Hooper said.

> “If you can fit through the opening, than you can make it down the chute.” — ERIC HOOPER Escape Chute Systems

A spokesman with the fire department said they will “put the chute to work,” but it will only be used in case of an emergency and when no other escape route is available.

If such an emergency does occur, people will be able to slide down the chute, where they will land on the deck of an awaiting boat or rubber raft that will transport evacuees to a Coast Guard cutter stationed a short distance from the pier.

The highest chute operating today is 50 stories high and is installed in a high-rise in Malaysia. Hooper has installed chutes in private businesses, as well as on space ship launch pads in China, among other locations. This is the first time a chute has been used to evacuate the general public over water, Hooper said.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/022406-01_01.jpg)

Santa Monica Police Sgt. (Photo: Fabian Lewkowicz/Daily Press)

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 24, 2006.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/022406.pdf?ref=smdp.com)