Why people are concerned about single staircase apartments 

I'm pro-burning-stuff and I endorse this message.

not the apology ukalalle

😂😂

better than the casting one

If it's a larger bulding, it would be a connected point access block where there are multiple staircases with a more significant fire break wall between each section. There would be just as many, or even more, staircases overall but each unit would only have access to one (that's only shared with a few units per floor). Like the European city block example, just all built at once; or a scaled up version of a townhome/rowhome block. IIRC, the current proposal in BC is to allow single stair up to 8 stories (max 4 units per stair/floor). Some other places have much higher limits, but usually tied to additional safety measures. With the tradeoff in costs for single / double stair though (additional fire safety infrastructure, possibly more elevators, limit on height, acheiving largest lot coverage), larger blocks may continue to build as double stair while smaller lots will be opened up for midrise development with single stair.

Very much agreed, was so surprised to see a second upload 😍

as it was said in the prophecy!

i saw it in the thumbnail, and was like.. is he really doing this?

Is the ukelele thing in reference to a prior video or comment? I am derping out here

See Colleen Ballinger ukulele apology. You’ll have to find a reuploaded version because the original was taken down after it went viral in an unintended way

@@MightyEumendies ahaha. Ok so that’s some internet lore I missed first time round. Thanks for the context 🤘

Usually when they resort to name calling and hostility it's because they can't think of a logical argument.

@@frederickclause2694 Tone policing is a logical fallacy. And the way you said it, ironically an ad hominem too. If they didn't have a valid argument independent of their anger, there wouldn't have been anything to make a nuanced 10 minute video about, addressing those valid arguments with equally valid ones. An equal if not greater part of the problem in these situations is that most people don't respond to potentially justified anger with a sigh and research, and a genuine attempt to educate

Germany straight up doesn't require a second staircase in apartment buildings up to 60m (18ish stories), and doesn't require that they be pressurized in buildings up to 22m (~7 stories)

Yeah but they're Europoors so that doesn't count #NorthAmericaUbermensch

The age of American recidentual buildings are way older than any country in Europe. And we build with wood mostly. This the single biggest difference that makes us different from any other country in the world. When you have concrete/brick blocks to build buildings, you never worry about wind, water damage, etc. the only thing that kills most people is just the smoke, which is much easier to deal with than fire burning through everything. The only people actually travel the world know how stupid you are to only judge matters by the surface.

Only because our buildings are built with 80% of wood, even for high raise buildings. Sure, let's change the code to require all concrete and brick, we will see the numbers go down 90%. But at what cost? Most part of Europe can afford to use wood because they simply don't have enough forest to cut. But I agree that wood is probably the worst material to build buildings in terms of material properties.

@@aliciafaulkner416 fire-resistant wood is a thing

and your ladder trucks will actually reach the upper floors.

And properly built building and doors can Contain a fire and stop it(Or significantly slow it) from spreading to other rooms. which is significantly better

@worawatli8952 bro stop, you’re applying logic and reason. People are only supposed to comment on RU-vid videos if they have absolutely no idea what they are talking about. You should know… brick good, wood bad 🦧

But they aren't smaller and denser. They're just the same area (and approximate height) of building divided up into more lots. He actually says the large buildings were MORE suited to only small (ie, dense) apartments. We could put some extra walls through the large apartment and paint each section a different color -- but this would not make anything denser. You're attributing social differences to a mainly cosmetic difference in construction style.

@derp3044 read urbankchoze

Lol I was thinking the same, it felt awfully familiar....

just one more lane...

That's why I would never live stacked like a rat in a building with stairs 😂

Just like "one more lane" will fix traffic congestion in roads. Utter clownery

Except in practice corners will be cut. The stairwell pressurization system in my building hasn't worked since the building was built. Multiple complaints to fire department, they don't care.

@@TheCatherineCC Agree. Can't rely on active systems - even if it "works," the power source that runs the fan may fail in the emergency, causing the system to not work. @owd200 Regarding the fire safety experts, they aren't always looking at a holistic approach, either. Here in Chicago/Illinois, they have been trying to require older high-rises to install fire sprinkler systems for years at great expense (if even feasible); however, the rate of deaths and injuries in high rise fires is very low (one document I found that from HUD that is dated averages just over 10 per year nationwide). I'm not trying to minimize the number of deaths, but that money could be spent on many other things that are much more likely to cause death. Further, Chicago has gotten much more strict with maintenance, which, as was pointed out, is an essential factor of any scheme to minimize injury and loss from fire.

As a bonus, this is likely to result in better sound insulation between units.

@@PaulFisher Fire and noise protection? I would LOVE that. My neighbors are nice, and not even particularly noisy, but I can hear them like I'm in the room with them, and I'm sure they can hear me 😩

And these problems are made worse because most American buildings with double loaded corridors have more residents per staircase. The existing paradigm exaggerates all the problems it is supposed to protect us from.

@ConeMan1212 they don't have to be that way with hallways. You simply build an exterior staircase on the back of the unit. Extremely common in Chicago - your front door opens to the front stairs, your back door (usually in the kitchen) opens to the back stairs.

That's why in many counties, there is requirement to ensure smoke doesn't spread from one to another stair, through ventilation or pressurization

Yeah in addition to path towards those stairs is short and direct. They might even be used commonly instead of the elevator at least for buildings up to 5 floors.

I thought Scissor Stairs were no longer an option in the USA after 9/11. Regardless, since they use the same egress I am not sure how they would help against a "nefarious actor". fire suppression residential range hoods on the other hand are fantastic and I will be getting one (whenever I can afford that kitchen reno).

Oh boo hoo

Material use, maintenance, and sprinklers to prevent fires are an example of ways that actually prevent fires more than another staircase by a far margin.

@@JelliinaCupdon’t forget positively pressurizing the egress corridor so that it remains smoke free in the event of fire/evacuation.

My Japanese apartments were the same. The balconies had emergency fire exit hatches with rope ladders in them. Although I was in a small office building that had way out on the second and third floor and at night the earthquake shutter was pulled down and locked from the outside, so you could not even use the stairs at night.

The need for secondary egress is due to SF. Very few single family residences are more than 3000 SF per floor.

Tbh, I do kinda wish my house has sprinklers tho. Fire freaks me out and I would love sprinklers. I've even looked into installing one-off sprinklers not hooked into water in the ceiling for the kitchen and other areas, but because it's so uncommon in North America, you can't really get them anywhere?

Single-family homes have other regulations affecting them, like upper-story windows needing to be big enough for firefighters to get through, or basement rooms needing egress windows. So "this logic" is already in effect, just manifested in different ways.

​@Zalis116 except you're still ignoring the full picture to try and prove a point that just isn't supported by the facts. It's not as if apartment buildings only have two staircases for fire safety related codes! There's sprinklers, material considerations, and window access is still a thing with apartment buildings to top it all off.

@@Zalis116 We could also apply these design requirements on small apartment buildings and voila no need for a second stairway

Yes and no. Single staircase Greenfell Tower over 70 dead and pretty common in the UK. Double staircase mandatory in Germany for building beyond 21m highest occupied floor. Still very common for buildings beyond 5 stories. Very common to used calcium silicate bricks. Common issue for spread in larger building is insulation like those used at the greenfell tower or like in Valencia cladding.

​@@paxundpeace9970129 rooms with up to 600 people all using one staircase is not the idea he's proposing 😭 notice the buildings he is showing in the video are skinnier apartment blocks, each floor belonging to a single apartment and maximum of 5-6 stories...

Again, in both videos he's talking about no more than 5 or so stories. Beyond that the footprint typically and obviously can take another staircase. Pls listen to the nuance first if you wish to provide nuance.

​@@paxundpeace9970sorry I'm reading your comment again and you aren't arguing against the video, just giving examples of places in Europe where he is wrong 😭 my bad, but I'll leave my original comment up in case people want more facts about the horrific incident

@@paxundpeace9970 And yet the rate of fire deaths is almost 3x in the US. Weird

Where?

​@@tahasilat7394Beginning of video. Colleen Ballinger released a video where she played a ukulele and sang while denying accusations of abusing her stardom to take advantage of kids to use for free labour and grooming them. It's becomea major meme.

I think this is implied at at the end (9:50) when talking about the refusal by most states to adopt sprinkler requirements in single family homes (to keep house construction relatively cheaper). “We as a society are often willing to make tradeoffs in safety to pursue other priorities.”

The air pressure stairwell idea is quite smart, realky. It would disrupt tge whole fire convection patterns. With proper firewalls between apartments it could contain a fire well.

Okay, I'm pretty sure homelessness isn't caused by fire safety rules. In fact, in countries with poor building standards, it's poor people who have the higher risk of dying from those poor standards.

@@unvergebeneid No one here is talking about throwing out all fire safety rules, in fact the video is generally advocating for implementing much more effective modern fire safety rules such as sprinklers, fire/smoke rated doors, fan pressurized egress corridors to keep smoke out during evacuation, etc. The most important having building inspectors with actual teeth to enforce compliance. They’re talking about changing double stair reqs. to all residential buildings above 2-3 stories to 5-6 stories (which is much more in line with the rest of the wealthy world. They’re advocating this because 1) It’s a relatively antiquated law from ~100 years ago when buildings/furniture were much more flammable and technology like sprinklers were very rare, and 2) because you have a huge tradeoff in not being able to build ~20 unit small footprint apartments in more places. Obviously there’s a large bucket of reasons why there’s a housing crisis (primarily exclusionary zoning then parking minimums, IMO) but inefficiencies like double stair requirements that don’t seem to actually have a meaningful boon to public safety also contribute to fewer units being built than needed. Remember that the housing crisis isn’t just about homelessness, it’s about working people having to spend upwards of 2/3rds of their income to just keep a roof over their families head. If you want a short written out argument on the subject, I’ll recommend this from Archiectural Record, it has a really great graphic at the end showing how the US/Canada (outside Seattle and NYC) are such an extreme outlier on this regulation: www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/16880-exit-strategy-the-case-for-single-stair-egress

Why should we assume that these two outcomes are exclusive? Are multiple staircases by and large the most affordable fire mitigation strategy?

until they fall off the wall

The metal kind that are only deployed in an emergency are literal trash. They rust, they aren't maintained, and the drop-down ladders may fail. When most were installed, firefighters did not wear Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus, so the passages are often too small and firefighters' gear gets snagged on them. It is simpler, easier, and cheaper to build exterior stairs that residents can use all of the time, as is common on older Chicago apartment buildings. They're great for taking the trash out, walking the dog, moving furniture, and most have at least a small porch to hang out on or do container gardening on.

In Vancouver though, our deep lots make this hard, as buildings will almost always be deep enough that the front unit would not have access to that stair in back. So it's a geometry issue due to property and not just building code.

@@ianwilliamrobertson Yeah, the buildings I'm talking about, the units are the full depth of the building, so they each have both front & back windows and balconies. There are not front and back units. What you describe sounds like the "how many units per staircase" type of analysis described in the video - in addition to overall fire resistance of the building's construction - to determine if it's ok or not.

And because such storages are offen reason of fire and worst kind of fire (lot of nasty flamables there) is nice to place them outside of apartment and on the roof above evryone and everythink.

My building in Chicago from the 1960s (21 stories) does have scissor stairs. They have fallen out of favor and I'm not sure if they are allowed by current codes.

What I wondered about this is do those statistics separate out Multi family apartments and single family homes? Because I have to assume the death rates are much more weighted towards single family homes and the US/Canada have much higher proportion of SFH compared to Europe (exceptions being the Dutch and Swiss I guess).

Consider reallocating from real estate to other reliable investments like stock, crypto or precious metals . Severe recessions offer market buying opportunities with caution, as volatility can yield short-term trading prospects. Not financial advice, but it may be wise to invest, as cash isn't ideal in this period.

It's often true that people underestimate the importance of financial advisors until they feel the negative effects of emotional decision-making. I remember a few summers ago, after a tough divorce, when I needed a boost for my struggling business. I researched and found a licensed advisor who diligently helped grow my reserves despite inflation. Consequently, my reserves increased from $275k to around $750k.

Recently, I've been considering the possibility of speaking with consultants. I need guidance because I'm an adult, but I'm not sure if their services would be all that helpful.

Finding financial advisors like Jessica Lee Horst who can assist you shape your portfolio would be a very creative option. There will be difficult times ahead, and prudent personal money management will be essential to navigating them.

Thank you for this tip. It was easy to find your coach. Did my due diligence on her before scheduling a phone call with her. She seems proficient considering her resume.

One reason is they're never used except in emergencies, so they tend to fall into disrepair.

I'm curious how you test a sprinkler system.

@@Maranville inspectors are able to run tests where the sprinkler won't release any water. Basically just a test of the components. As long as the building has working access to the city's water they should be good to go.

He discussed this point exactly

He did mention limits on units/bedrooms per floor and height limits, but I would like people to show a comparable connected point access block to a double loaded building of the same size to show that there's actually more staircases. The BC report had basic graphics of single stair buildings allowed in different regions, but they did a poor job of showing the actual (small) scale of them.

Brought up around 5:30, but a good point none the less.

@@geoff5623 Exactly. I should have said "wasn't discussed enough." Explicitly demonstrating how single stair/point access actually results in more stairs and less corridor on a given plot of land is invaluable.

good idea, I am a fan of cross-laminated timber (CLT) because it keeps a nice wood look.

@@joeym612 Seen nome and they do look nice

The problem is not structural failure due to combustion. It’s the suffocation from smoke.

@@alexanderchan750 If everything is either fore proof or near fire proof is what I am getting at

I live in a concrete building. I generally can't hear my neighbours. But I can still hear the little kid thumping overhead. I can hear all sorts of impact noises that travel much farther though a concrete building. And, when it's quiet, I can even hear the Canada Line trains deep under the building. I doubt I'd hear them in a wood building. Nothing is soundproof, but mass timber buildings can actually be quieter and just as fire resistant as concrete.

Thx for the input!

You’ll never be safer when you rely on arbitrary rules rather than having knowledge and doing things for good reasons.

They're triggered by heat, not smoke. It goes off if it feels a heat about about 57°C (which is hotter than the hottest weather temperature ever recorded on earth), so it's unlikely you'd set it off accidentally.

Unless you're torching your creme brulee two inches from a sprinkler, you're never going to accidentally set one off. If it goes off on its own, you really want it to go off. The only time it could accidentally "go off" is if you break the sprinkler head. But modern recessed heads solve that problem.