[adrianparsons]

> can you give me examples where fire codes are over-zealous?

There's a small movement to eradicate the requirement for midrise buildings to have 2 stairways. Advocates point to European regulations and claim that a single stairway is just as safe as 2.

Double stairways, they say, makes construction more expensive and results in awkward, undesirable apartment layouts.

https://slate.com/business/2021/12/staircases-floor-plan-twi...

[flavius29663]

This to me sounds like another case of out of context "Europeans do this, so it must be better". From personal experience, the UK takes fire safety much more serious than the US: fire alarm tested every week, fire drills are made often and *for real*, fire doors everywhere, every kitchen has a fire blanket (not just an extinguisher), every building has 2 doors, every appliance has a plug with a fuse in the plug itself (btw, American plugs are a joke) etc.

Are you proposing to get rid of the second stairway alone, or are you going to bring all the other regulations too?

[mcguire]

This the same UK that had a scandal a while back about a high-rise fire caused by idiotic external cladding materials? :-)

[Symbiote]

If breaking the regulations leads to prison for those responsible, it's working as best as it can.

(Legal cases, inquests etc continue.)

[fragmede]

Prison time won't bring back any of the 72 people that died.

[Symbiote]

It never does, but what more could have been done?

The regulations existed and were illegally broken.

[the_mitsuhiko]

Many European regulations on fire safety are pretty stringent in other areas too that equally run up costs. Also certain buildings require two staircases but scissor staircases are permitted.

[itronitron]

US apartment buildings are much more likely to involve wood frame construction than EU apartment buildings.

[mjevans]

I remember a commentator in a previous thread mentioned something like...

'In NY "Fire-Proof" buildings can be built like that', when they're built out of materials that do not burn and in ways where the fire cannot spread. Effectively the safer place in a fire, in theory, would be to shelter in place as it cannot spread.

I'm all for using as many non-burning materials as possible in building construction.

[LouisSayers]

Maybe they could just put a fire pole or a rope on the other end.

It may not be as ideal as stairs, but if it's a backup option you'd think that'd be much less costly while still allowing at least a majority of people to escape.

[cm2012]

Yes, I suspect this rule will be removed more and more as the housing crisis continues across first world metros.