With the whirlwind of development in the urban areas, the land resource is becoming tenser year by year and high-rise buildings are booming as a time-transcending product. In the past few decades, tall buildings of 20 to 50 stories are common in modern cities around the world. The question that arises is, are high rise buildings safe? Generally, high rise apartment buildings are considered safer in comparison to the other types of housing schemes.
The number of high-rise buildings is increasing exceptionally nowadays. However, the safety features have to pass through intense scrutiny. Long before the arrival of the “Skyscrapers” people were already concerned about the unrealized dangers of high-rise living with legitimate cause.
In the late 19th century when High risers were started to escalate, poor air circulation and lack of light gave rise to considerable health risks to high-rise dwellers. Although, modern technologies and building designs have improved life above the sixth floor over the past century.
To be clear, there are no inherent risks associated with living in a high-rise building, but there is a body of research suggesting that under some circumstances; Floods, Earthquakes, Fire breakouts or medical issues to social isolation the people could face risks.
High-risers are designed to prevent the spread of fire and smoke. It is having safer routes for escaping in an emergency. The walls, doors and floors are designed to resist fire and stop the spread of smoke. The skyscrapers are constructed with materials that have fire resistance and are not easily inflammable. In terms of safety, protection equipment is always installed, such as automatic extinguishing equipment, fire detector equipment, fire alarm, smoke detector and automatic sprinkler etc.
There is an unblocked emergency exit door on every floor. Earthquake drills, fire drills and safety procedures are given to the tenants on regular basis. In order to maintain the safety of high-rise buildings, the elevators are separated into different banks, this helps in lessening the number of accidents that can take place in the elevator system.
