Are you living or working in a high rise building? Have You Checked Your Fire Escape?

Fire service saves houses in London, England. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Problem
A woman in London writes to her friend in Singapore, 'What's it like living in a skyscraper?' Some cities are full of skyscrapers. Is the balcony a means of escape from a fire, or an additional hazard? Does your holiday home or second home have sprinklers? Do you know which fire escape has roof access? Can you count the doors to the fire escape door in the dark? Is the internal fire escape secure?

Even on the fourth floor, you have trouble delivering a grand piano or four poster bed or even a double bed up the stairs unless the legs can be removed and stored inside. I don't trust delivery over a balcony. In London, England, a Polish worker was killed when a piano fell from a balcony which collapsed.

In the USA a group stood on a balcony at a party. I always wonder about overloading balconies. Too many people? Too many heavy plant pots?

I regularly visit offices. The signs on the lifts say Do not use lifts in case of fire. In the Singapore underground, MRT, an arrow points to your way of escape. But in many buildings you are told not to use the lifts but have no idea where to find the staircase.

What can you do if you work in health and safety or admin or an architects office? Consider how people would get out in a fire. I don't like buildings which have solid walls up one side, the side adjacent to the pavement - no way to shout for help, wave, signal, no way out, no way for a fire engine to park and get in.

This door won't shut. It seems to have warped of slipped out of alignment so the top half won't shut and this leaves a gap for smoke and heat and fire at the bottom.

No roof access. That's useful to know. No point running up - must run down.

The mechanism for shutting the door has detached. Exposed wires on the right of the door. 

It would also be interesting to check how long it takes you to descend the staircase. Have your phone with you at all times, even if just popping out to the shops for five minutes. Have the number of the management office and the lift emergency service in your phone. The numbers are inside the lift. If you are outside and somebody else is inside, you may want to phone on their behalf.

To end on some reassuring notes:
1 At ground level if you look inside the lift shaft you might see a large spring designed to cushion the landing if a lift falls.

2 You can buy signs saying Fire Door Keep Shut.
However, if you work in an admin department which has printing and laminating, it is probably quicker and cheaper to print your own signs. You can also translate them into other languages for those who live in or work in your building.

3 One of the fire service safety sites says that in London, England, there have been no fatalities (in the last year or ever?) in buildings with sprinkler systems.

Useful websites
https://www.redboxfire.co.uk/news/Why_Fire_Doors_Are_Labelled_Keep_Shut.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_safety

http://www.london-fire.gov.uk/FireSafety.asp 
(Section on fires in flats)

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/a-minute-later-we-wouldnt-have-made-it-grenfell-tower-blaze-survivor-relives-miraculous-escape-

Travel Websites

visitbritain.com

visittheusa.com

visitsingapore.com

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.