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Only familiar with US building codes but stairway shafts in taller buildings are supposed to be built from thicker concrete, with fire-rated doors, so theoretic

Only familiar with US building codes but stairway shafts in taller buildings are supposed to be built from thicker concrete, with fire-rated doors, so theoretically they should remain usable for some time (minutes) even if the floors they pass are engulfed. For larger buildings there must be two or more stairway shafts in case one is compromised. All is negated if doors are propped open, locks defeated, structure altered, building is wrapped in solidified napalm cladding, etc. So I’m with you, I’d also GTFO.

bigbubba 6y ago
Exactly. These buildings are specifically designed to be escapable, at least before the fire becomes horrendously bad, so I'll choose to take advantage of that as quick as I can.
jcranmer 6y ago
Generally speaking, US fire-safety regulations tend to be more stringent than in other countries. In particular, there is generally a requirement for two independent exit routes whereas many European regulations may permit only one, and the US tends to require wider fire stairwells. Evacuation in US fire-safety stairwells is likely to be quicker and less likely to interfere with firemen access (who have to move in the opposite direction from evacuating residents) to afflicted floors.
- baybal2 6y ago
  Yet, US still allows to build single family houses, and even lowrise condos from wood...
  - iguy 6y ago
    There are new wooden buildings in Europe too. I wonder if these are built to stricter codes, I mean to withstand fires for longer? I agree the US focus seems to be on fast exit, multiple options (from buildings that seem to be made of matchsticks).
  - throwaway201103 6y ago
    Much lower potential loss of life, much shorter path to exit the building.
    - bigbubba 6y ago
      And windows low enough to jump from and (probably) not die.
  - guerby 6y ago
    There's many different way to build with wood, some wood buildings will likely be safer than steel and concrete https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63HHsbFtDBo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63HHsbFtDBo "Fire Safety and Protection: Why Wood Construction Comes Out on Top"
toast0 6y ago
> Only familiar with US building codes but stairway shafts in taller buildings are supposed to be built from thicker concrete, with fire-rated doors, so theoretically they should remain usable for some time (minutes) even if the floors they pass are engulfed. It should be more than minutes. I'm not at all familiar with residential codes, but have passing awareness of office codes in buildings with a few floors, and those (generally) require a two-hour rating for the materials of a stairwell. Of course, as you mention, if the doors are propped open, locked or blocked shut, or the walls are improperly built or modified, or covered in napalm, the rating doesn't mean much. If a high rise building collapses, you're pretty much SOL too, although a smaller building would likely have the stairwells stay up. Shelter in place makes sense if the unit is properly fire resistant for long enough for the fire to be controlled or if the exits are unsafe. However, if you're going to exit, you probably want to exit sooner than later. It's one of those things that you can't know the right answer without more information than you probably have. If people panic on the exits, that's a recipie for disaster as well.

bigbubba 6y ago

Exactly. These buildings are specifically designed to be escapable, at least before the fire becomes horrendously bad, so I'll choose to take advantage of that as quick as I can.

jcranmer 6y ago

Generally speaking, US fire-safety regulations tend to be more stringent than in other countries. In particular, there is generally a requirement for two independent exit routes whereas many European regulations may permit only one, and the US tends to require wider fire stairwells. Evacuation in US fire-safety stairwells is likely to be quicker and less likely to interfere with firemen access (who have to move in the opposite direction from evacuating residents) to afflicted floors.

baybal2 6y ago
Yet, US still allows to build single family houses, and even lowrise condos from wood...
- iguy 6y ago
  There are new wooden buildings in Europe too. I wonder if these are built to stricter codes, I mean to withstand fires for longer? I agree the US focus seems to be on fast exit, multiple options (from buildings that seem to be made of matchsticks).
- throwaway201103 6y ago
  Much lower potential loss of life, much shorter path to exit the building.
  - bigbubba 6y ago
    And windows low enough to jump from and (probably) not die.
- guerby 6y ago
  There's many different way to build with wood, some wood buildings will likely be safer than steel and concrete https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63HHsbFtDBo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63HHsbFtDBo "Fire Safety and Protection: Why Wood Construction Comes Out on Top"

toast0 6y ago

> Only familiar with US building codes but stairway shafts in taller buildings are supposed to be built from thicker concrete, with fire-rated doors, so theoretically they should remain usable for some time (minutes) even if the floors they pass are engulfed. It should be more than minutes. I'm not at all familiar with residential codes, but have passing awareness of office codes in buildings with a few floors, and those (generally) require a two-hour rating for the materials of a stairwell. Of course, as you mention, if the doors are propped open, locked or blocked shut, or the walls are improperly built or modified, or covered in napalm, the rating doesn't mean much. If a high rise building collapses, you're pretty much SOL too, although a smaller building would likely have the stairwells stay up. Shelter in place makes sense if the unit is properly fire resistant for long enough for the fire to be controlled or if the exits are unsafe. However, if you're going to exit, you probably want to exit sooner than later. It's one of those things that you can't know the right answer without more information than you probably have. If people panic on the exits, that's a recipie for disaster as well.