Abstract: An escape apparatus is designed for placement adjacent to an exterior entrance of a multi-story residence or other building. The escape apparatus includes an escape platform and cage which is attached to and supported by a sleeve which extends around the periphery of a vertically oriented stationary hollow column. The sleeve is movable upward and downward along the column exterior. A pair of cables are connected to the sleeve and extend from the sleeve upward and over a respective pair of sheaves positioned atop the vertical column and then into the column interior where they are connected to a speed control piston-counterweight. The column is preferably filled with liquid, such as a water and anti-freeze mixture, and the piston-counterweight has an aperture extending therethrough from top to bottom to allow liquid to flow from one side of the piston-counterweight to the other and a valve operating within the aperture to further regulate the rate of ascent of the piston-counterweight.