I heard an unverified apocryphal tale about the Chinese Long March rocket back in the '80s. The story was that, instead of an automated system, they put a person very near the rocket to activate something just seconds before T=0. Once activated, this person would run for their life, jumping into a tube/slide that would take them to an underground shelter where they would seal the hatch before the rocket flames came pouring out.
I worked with a company that did work on an installation where they made rocket / missile fuel, but beyond all the security checkpoints and terrifying NFPA Diamonds (4 4 4 Explosive) were a series of buildings where the actual production happened. Every building had huge earthen berms along side with escape slides for employees to use in case of emergency. No real point but I could completely see the Chinese military making similar use of theirs.
