NorthernLad

Who would have guessed?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22346184

britexpat76

And the sole reason I would never ever live in a high rise in the ME.

Boomhauer

They are talking about Aluminium panels like below right?
http://www.alucobond.com/alucobond-start.html

What is the problem, no firestops / cavity barriers between each floor's panelling ?

mentalist

The lack of proper forensic investigative skills is particularly worrying. I have seen so-called Civil Defence reports describing the cause of a warehouse fire as being due to something getting hot and igniting, very little more. Warehouse fires here are particularly common, especially as most workers are not properly trained to use the sophisticated fire fighting systems often available

The Dean

It's a BBC article, so it must be true...............

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22346184

[This thread is supplied by your 45th floor correspondent]

kittycat1

Out of curiosity how many people here actually evacuate when their fire alarm goes off? My building has it go off at least 3 times a week and that's just when I'm at home and I'm out for the best part of the day. Not once have I evacuated or seen anyone from my building do do.

kittycat1

Just out of curiousity how many of you evacuate the building when the fire alarm goes off? Mine goes off on average about 3 times a week- Breakfast time, dinner time and getting home from the pub drunk time seem popular times for this and every so often just randomly. I have never evacuated, I have never seen anyone else evacuate. I sometimes look out my window and look if I can see flames licking the floors below me, I've even felt the floor to see if its warm, but never actually left the building. I'm guessingbythe lackof people fleeing my building that I am not the only one that ignores this- anyone else?

What would it take for you to actually evacuate?

OriginalSunshine

kittycat - you should make sure you know the route to your fire escape, and that the fire escape door works, is not locked, and you are able to exit the fire escape at the bottom

kittycat1

Original sunshine, I know where the stairwell is as I use it every now and again when I'm trying to be good or kidding myself that I can walk 8 flights of stairs without dieing, as long as the reception area isnt engulfed it should be fine. Inshallah. My apartment is almost opposite it. We just had our fire extinguisher tested- first time in 4 years - not sure how they tested it as it doesn't appear to have had anything done to it but it has an approved sticker on it now so it must be fine....

Boomhauer

Leaving aside the fire safety issue, would most if not all of you prefer a house/villa to a highrise apartment if given the choice?

NorthernLad

If our alarm goes off, we leave the building (and that's from the ninth floor, a royal pain in the arse). It never fails to amuse me as we wait for the all clear watching people on balconies in our building staring down.

I'd rather have the inconvenience of leaving for a false alarm than burning to death, dying from smoke inhalation or having to jump from the balcony.

If you see the flames or the floor is hot, chances are it is too late and you're going to die (and not very quickly).

OriginalSunshine

I used to live in a student block of flats on the 16th floor. I still went out at every fire alarm, even during Fresher's week (hahaha, yeah very funny, not). Only pain was the lifts were turned off so we all had to walk back UP the stairs.

Nowadays, at the very least, I would put some ear plugs in (as the bells are often inside the stairwells as well and they hurt) and go straight to the fire escape stairwell.

But given a choice, I would not choose to live high up in a tower block, particularly in countries with close to zero enforced building codes & regulations.

kittycat1

Ok so perhaps I should be leaving the building. How long do you guys let the alarm ring for before you decide to go? As soon as it goes or give it burning toast setting off the alarm takes about 2 minutes to stop see if it carries on typs scenario?

jackthehat

As I have mentioned countless times before - It will happen, and many of Dubai's population are totally unprepared! - If you live in a High Rise Development, do you know whether Fire Insurance is in place; or whether it might have been removed? - Major Insurers are now removing cover, where they find problems. However, Landlords seem remiss in passing on this advice!

NorthernLad

Pretty much straight away, if it stops then you can go back. To me it's a no-brainer