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Quick DipsDangerous High Rises"The general public are largely unaware of the potential dangers of the buildings in which they work," says Kelvin Walls, a senior building engineer with C.B. Coleman & Associates. His comment came after evaluating the problems posed by the large number of high rise buildings which have only a single fire escape route from them. In an informal survey of buildings in the greater Auckland area, Walls noted widespread breaches of requirements regarding building safety. In particular he found that smoke stop doors are often wedged open or have their automatic closure mechanisms removed, and rubbish and merchandise are often piled up in the escape route. "It should be obvious...that items stored in the escape route area are potential fuel for a fire," Walls says. "It takes only one negligent action along these lines to put at risk the lives of all the occupants of the building." Walls cites the example of the New Empire Hotel fire in Hamilton in 1995, where six people died. The New Zealand Fire Service report concluded that the main reason for the loss of life was because fire doors were left open, allowing the fire to spread much more quickly and preventing the chance to escape. While the hotel in general largely complied with the legal requirements for the age and use of the building, open fire doors proved a killer. This has also been identified as a problem with other buildings and, in some cases, the actual building design is at fault. "There are a large number of buildings that have been constructed, including in the last 15 years, with their lifts opening directly into the main floor of the building without the provision of a smoke-stop lobby," Walls says. While the Building Code does permit this when sprinklers and automatic smoke detection systems are in place, many buildings do not comply with this requirement, he adds. "The fact that many have been approved by territorial authorities indicates a deficiency in knowledge of many of those officers involved in the approval and inspections processes," Walls concludes. "Defects in buildings leading to potentially dangerous situations are relatively common. The law is clear and the courts are willing to enforce appropriate safety standards if cases are brought to their attention." "It is not necessary to wait for a disaster to happen." |
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