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gunesyourdaddy t1_ja1zm24 wrote

I wonder how many people tried to tackle fires before they put it on the sign.

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joeri1505 t1_ja1ztra wrote

Any context?

Is this perhaps a nursing home where most people can not be expected to get themselves out safely?

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theobanger t1_ja1zwa1 wrote

Lots of buildings do this to stop the stairs being clogged for when the fire brigade come.

There will be an alarm, and then instructions to leave will come through sections at a time.

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Fickle-Classroom t1_ja20yf2 wrote

Replying to PedanticPeasantry (#2,016,862)

And completely rational and scientific in a given building and context.

In modern buildings where these signs are located each apartment is a fire [proof] cell. It’s much safer to remain isolated from smoke, than be running into it.

Sprinklers, automatic fire suppression, and fire brigade can all deal with a fire before the fire rating of the individual apartment fire cells are breached.

This is for modern buildings in specific contexts. Older buildings not engineered with individual fire cell contained units do not have these messages.

This message is specific to the specific building.

https://youtu.be/RvnufWZIk_I

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kester76a t1_ja24ptf wrote

Replying to StopTheTrickle (#2,017,550)

From what I read they died because the government and the firm deemed the risk minimum. So a cheap dead was made on unsafe cladding. The risks were known on all sides but it was a cheaper option and wasn't banned at the time.

In a nutshell unsafe products gets sold off cheaply all the time as long as the sellers aren't liable for it they tend to give zero fucks unfortunately.

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RevengencerAlf t1_ja2d13c wrote

Replying to SchoolForSedition (#2,018,758)

Man if I had a nickel every some goob who watched a YouTube video on a single disaster thought they had all the answers.

Grenfell was a disaster because the tower was literally defective. Every other scenario where this sign exists it is in fact the safer alternative.

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juanito_f90 t1_ja2gbyq wrote

Common in concrete tower blocks when each flat/apartment is essentially a fireproof block.

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tarkinlarson t1_ja2sdg1 wrote

Lol... in the UK? We all know what developers think of fire safety and the consequences of staying put are.

Im pretty sure some insurance bean counter has deemed survivors are a liability to developers.

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SapientRaccoon t1_ja2ukf0 wrote

Fuck apartments and living like sardines altogether. Especially if they're towers. Fucking ant minds like that shit.

−6

xxxsur t1_ja32cig wrote

I don't see anything wrong. I'm from Hong Kong, and we are taught that if you do not have enough confidence, staying home and seal the door with wet towel is a valid way.

Most apartment buildings here have >1k people, taller than 40 stories. Having that many people running down the stairs is going to cause some problem, not to mention running down 40 floors do really need some stamina...

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Ocksu2 t1_ja38huh wrote

I bet Terry Tate: Office Linebacker could tackle the fire.

PAIN TRAIN COMING! WOO WOO!

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avalon68 t1_ja3hv0v wrote

Replying to RevengencerAlf (#2,019,169)

Well sadly thats not true - if it were there wouldnt be so many apartment blocks in the UK requiring re-cladding. In countries with good building regulations its fine, but I dont think you would find many people in the UK staying put after the Grenfell tragedy

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Apprehensive-Swim-29 t1_ja3j301 wrote

Replying to RyanfaeScotland (#2,019,984)

Many people agree with you and die of smoke inhalation. Which, funny enough, also increases the risk to others as you become an additional liability.

Opening your door (and the stairwells) can also help compromise the safety of others if those doors don't close behind you.

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HappyDaddy70 t1_ja3jaxp wrote

Replying to RyanfaeScotland (#2,019,984)

That's the thing, you are MORE LIKELY TO SURVIVE STAYING PUT. You think you are more likely to survive running down the stairs, until you run out of oxygen on the way down.

I was talking to a firefighter in Toronto once about this when my building had an alarm and I was like "look at all those idiots on the balcony!" The firefighter told me he has to find people dead in the hallways and stairwells trying to go down a fire.

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foiler64 t1_ja3jx86 wrote

Replying to RyanfaeScotland (#2,019,984)

The other reason is these buildings often have a thousand people. If they are all on the stairs, people are doomed to die because the fire department won’t be able to put out the fire if they can’t get to it.

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b98765 t1_ja3k4s6 wrote

In my apartment building in NYC they had a full explanation that the apartment was “non-combustible” so basically “if the fire is in another apartment, stay put and wait for the fire dept; if the fire is in your apartment, GTFO”. The logic being that if the fire is not on your unit, you’re more at risk trying to leave than you’d be staying in.

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user2021883 t1_ja3mzpv wrote

Replying to blahbleh112233 (#2,026,546)

I think you’re referring to the Grenfell Tower fire, a council owned block of apartments in which 71 people died. The building itself was concrete and hence relatively fire proof but it had been retrofitted with a an aluminium/foam external cladding to improve its thermal efficiency and appearance. The cladding was flammable and allowed the fire to rapidly spread between apartments and floors. It was a national scandal and is very much an open wound

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DeepPossession8916 OP t1_ja3qen4 wrote

So yes, the explanation is the Stay Put rule in the UK. But the building is an apartment-style hotel and literally no explanation or overview of procedures is given to people staying here. About a dozen of us saw this sign while we were standing outside at 4:30am for a fire alarm.

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OZeski t1_ja3z8nl wrote

Replying to juanito_f90 (#2,019,602)

I worked in a set of high rise buildings (group of four buildings 14+ stories with interconnected ground levels) and saw several instances where fires broke out. The alarms were designed to clear the floor with the fire, along with the floor above and below. Then shortly more floors above. Evacuation was staggered and usually did not require the entire building be disturbed.

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judasmachine t1_ja49561 wrote

That's how they get rid of fixed rent residents.

0

xxxsur t1_ja5cjde wrote

Replying to TheIllustrativeMan (#2,038,414)

Curious: Is the apartment doors rated for fire too?

Our(and I believe rest of the world too) fire stairs are protected, but honestly I am not running down so many floors if that's not a big fire... Our buildings are just too stupidly tall

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CommntForTheAlgo t1_ja5htyw wrote

sign: Go back to your apartment!!!
mitch headburg: no, I'm leaving "as long as im flammable im never blocking the fire exit"

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TheIllustrativeMan t1_ja5layj wrote

Replying to xxxsur (#2,038,655)

Other doors and walls are not rated, though the construction of most walls isn't terribly different from a rated wall - a gyp studwall. Where you lose the rating is penetrations aren't protected, so it's easy for fire to bypass the assembly.

It's not that you run down the stairs so much as a controlled shuffle. The whole point of the fire rating is to give people time, so no need to rush and potentially hurt yourself.

Yeah, it can be a pain when the fire alarm goes off at 3am and you're 40 stories up, but ultimately all of this stuff exists because people died. Take advantage of all the things that make modern buildings safer.

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ftr1317 t1_ja5zmen wrote

In my country, generally for apartments, when a fire alarm sounded, only the affected floor and the immediate above and lower floor will be sounded and beacons will flash but all elevators will be homing. The whole building will be in alarm when the evacuation button is pushed or if there no response from the control room when the prerequisites time has passed, usually 5 mins.

Only then, the rest of the building will be instructed (only when needed) to evacuate in phase starting with the level above the affected floor.

However, not all building practice this kind of system, especially old building. Most of new building started to have this kind of egress method. Some buildings have refuge area designed in some floors like how a hospitals are designed.

Other kind of commercial building has different strategy as per approved by the fire authority.

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