Safety in high rise buildings

buildings should have proper fire fighting and fire detection systems.

Abiding with the safety rules & regulations during the construction and occupancy should be certified by the consultants and if any lackunas are found then occupancy should not be allowed. At the same time high penalty should be imposed on the builders for not following the regulations.

Fire safety plan should be apporoved by the concerend department and then only buildings should be allowed to build.

Occupants of the building need to be educated on the safety aspects, precautions and how to react in case of an emergency or what kind of corrective actions they can take to avert disasters.

During our safety training we were shown a video of the London Underground fire which started due a source of fire on an escalator (grease which was used to lubricate the chains of the escalator caught fire). The people in charge moved the people to a location they were trained to evacuate the people in case of an emergency, but they were not trained to use fire extinguishers. Fire extinguishers were available at the bottom of the stairs but they did not pick up one and extinguish the fire. If they would have been trained to use the fire extinguishers they would have saved a lot of lives and saved millions of pounds in damage.

The best building materials for modern buildings are materials that will bend, won't burn so easily and will not break or shatter. Wood bends  and burns more than masonry or concrete. If masonry is used, heavy concrete supports with adequate re-bar to allow for flexing during a sudden fire or earthquakes is critical. Supports must have enough re-bar to prevent the concrete supports from burning, shattering or collapsing.

I think safety in high rise buildings can be raised to high level by abiding fire fighting safety rules and regulations. The buildings should have external fire escape steel staircase from ground floor to top floor having access from all floors. The buildings should have fire cabinet on every floor with hose reel for water for fire fighting and dry and wet fire extinguishers on every floor and the maintenance people and residents should be adequately trained for fire fighting emergencies. The building should have extra capacity fire tank to hold sufficient water at all times for fire fighting emergencies. The exit signs should have enough battery power to run in fire time emergencies for people to see and leave the building safely. 

Right to live safely in high rise buildings must be recognized.Fire fighting equipments and firefighters can rescue the occupants but at their own risk.Generally there are reasons for panics,fear of death  due to suffocation.So the victims find a short cut at their peril.The only possible solution to me is to develop decongestant  which keep the occupants clear of inhaling smokes so at least they can not die of suffocation.

The National Fire Protection Association

states that there should be appropriate exits,

alarms, emergency lighting, communication

systems, and sprinkler systems are critical for

employee safety. When designing and maintaining

exits, it is essential to ensure that routes leading

to the exits, as well as the areas beyond the

exits, are accessible and free from materials

or items that would impede individuals from

easily and effectively evacuating. State and local

building code officials can help employers ensure

that the design and safety systems are adequate.

When there is an emergency, getting workers

out of high-rise buildings poses special challenges.

Preparing in advance to safely evacuate the

building is critical to the safety of employees

who work there.