3 ms·
The worst threats aren't deliberate attacks: when you get thousands of people living somewhere, there will be screw-ups, misunderstandings, and just plain reckl
by cstross 12y ago
The worst threats aren't deliberate attacks: when you get thousands of people living somewhere, there will be screw-ups, misunderstandings, and just plain reckless behaviour.
We're used to living in a (relatively) fault-tolerant environment, where if I damage my home's plumbing it will, at worst, damage my neighbours apartments -- it won't kill them instantly by letting all the air out!
- jacquesm 12y agoApartment buildings have a pretty bad failure mode when someone leaves the gas stove lit and they go for a holiday or if there is a leak and bad ventilation. All it takes is for the gas to be temporarily shut down or for the owners to be gone long enough not to notice before a sizable amount of gas has pooled and a few days later boom. In Romania they make this extra easy by exporting the interface to shut down the gas to just outside of the apartment door. (This is not the fire-crew shut-off valve, simply one that the gas company can seal off if you don't pay your bills without opening the door to your apartment.) Fortunately most gas gear has a shut-off for that scenario but stoves do not and a couple of explosions per year due to gas leaks and left open gas taps result. https://www.google.com/search?q=gas+explosion+apartment https://www.google.com/search?q=gas+explosion+apartment