In some of beijing's old sub-districts, window-proofing is a “show” for many residents' families. However, it is not clear that a window of protection can also be a “kill window” for stopping escape routes。
Statistics show that more than 80 per cent of the major casualties in the country were caused by the blockage of the “pass to life”, many of which were due to the installation of completely closed windows and the closure of an important escape route。
A survey of journalists found that there was a legal gap in the improvement of windows in residential areas compared to densely populated public places. How can the population be guided and encouraged to overcome the risks and open the way to escape? Journalists conducted a visit to investigate the incident。
Site: seal-covered windows outside the building
"it's been more than 20 years since my window was installed." in a small settlement built in 1993 in the tondai district, there are dozens of six-storey residential buildings, with almost all homes equipped with burglary windows in different formats. The resident, mr. Li, pointed to his home's window to protect the press from theft, saying, “although it looks rusty, it's still strong, growing grass and drying.”
In some high-rise towers, burglary windows are also common. From tondai
“our neighbourhood was built in 2007 with two-limit and low-rent buildings, many of which were equipped with burglary windows on the floors, as well as on the high floors
“in fact, property in a number of small settlements does not allow owners to install anti-piracy windows, and most of our clients come from old and old neighbourhoods, and some from villages in urban and rural areas build their own rental houses.” mr. Wang, the owner of a window-processing factory, has been in the business for eight years. “the windows were installed earlier to prevent theft and are therefore completely closed. Some residents have not been repaired for decades and many are now unsettled, and it is likely that if they are forced to stand on an old, unrepaired window when they flee their lives, they will fall along with the fence.”
Danger: hinders both flight and rescue
Journalists combed and found that in some fire incidents, windows were often “unhelpful” when people fled. According to publicly reported data, from 2015 to the present, there have been 31 incidents of dead persons at the national level, and 171 people have been buried in the sea of fire。
In the early morning hours of 17 april 2023, a fire broke out on the 7th floor of a residential building in fukuzhou, fujian province. The fire was heavy, and two women were trapped on the balcony, unable to open their windows, and were attacked in despair。
On 9 february this year, on the eve of the new year, a fire broke out in the village of longfeng, a residential building on the one or four floors of the town of yongfeng, in the city of yongchang, sichuan. The windows of the rooms on the ground floor to the third floor of the firehouse were completely closed, as a result of the cold weather, most of the doors and windows were closed and a large amount of smoke from the fire on the first floor was gathered in the stairs, causing four people to die from inhalation of toxic gases during their escape。
Journalists observed that a number of residents were used to stack combustible miscellaneous items such as boxes and plastic bottles on burglary windows, which could be set on fire if there were smokes falling on the floor or in the vicinity。
A completely closed window of protection not only affects flight but also hinders rescue. One firefighter wrote a “time bill” to the journalist: “from the time of taking the police, it took about 5 to 10 minutes to get to the scene, while the average time to break the window was 1 to 3 minutes, and in the case of a high-rise, the time to build the ladder could exceed 10 minutes, the time to break the window was not short, and every minute of the fire was valuable.”
Discovery: why do residents not want to remove windows
The purpose of protection from theft was, by definition, to prevent theft. However, as the security environment improves, particularly in recent years, the number of cases of burglary has declined and the anti-piracy function of windows has gradually weakened。
A community civilian police officer told journalists that burglary in his jurisdiction was dominated by door breaking, that there were few alarms for burglary through a drill window, and that thieves tended to “go through the door” rather than “drills” at risk of falling。
Why do many residents still not want to remove the window
In the interview, a number of low-floor residents told the journalist that there was a window to protect against theft, and that if the thief had missed it, there would be a window to protect us from theft
Mr. Wang, who runs the window-covering business, is now able to take over 78 businesses per month. According to mr. Wang, 40 per cent of the clients in each of the buildings for purposes of piracy and crash prevention were based on their own client orders, and another 20 per cent were intended to expand the use of houses for flowers, groceries, clothes, etc。
For some high-rise residents, especially families with children, the main purpose of the installation of window protection is to prevent children from falling into the building. “my house was on the 13th floor, when the child was over three years old, and i saw him step on the bench by the window of the balcony and look down in the head, even though i was scared. Ms. Wang。
Disturbing: changing the residents ' windows leaves a legal gap
On the one hand, there is a real need for windows, while on the other hand, there is no legislation prohibiting them。
Article 28 of our fire act clearly states that doors and windows in densely populated places shall not contain obstacles to escape and fire relief. There's a lot of people here, people
Schools, hospitals, homes for the elderly and places such as catering, recreation and recreation are frequently visited in daily life. This year, the beijing city fire and rescue authority developed hard-line measures, such as a city-wide programme for the management of fire safety and evacuation in densely populated premises, and a guide to the work of the school “window breaking network” and launched a major “wind breaking network” campaign. Between february and june of this year, the city-wide cumulatively overhauled 437 cases of obstacles such as security nets, fences, billboards and other obstacles affecting the life of people and fire relief。
However, there are currently no regulations prohibiting the installation of windows in small areas of the population, and the fire department's general joint street, residential council and property company staff encourage and direct the population, in a form of warning and publicity, to correct the hidden windows, although many of them are in conflict with them。
“some residents are reluctant to open it for the purpose of preventing theft and falling”. A community resident council worker told the journalist that “some residents have spent hundreds or even thousands of dollars on the installation of anti-fist windows, and that one or two square metres of extra space is available in the home without being removed”
Sample: government billing to address the concerns of residents
How do we stop the resistance? The visit of journalists revealed that the practice of two small settlements was worth drawing on。
In the moored neighbourhood of the sheep shop in the haydam district, journalists found that there was no window in the five high-rise residential buildings in the district, with the exception of a few houses that had been set up to guard against theft. Three years ago, 167 families in the sub-districts were equipped with windows to prevent theft。
How did these windows disappear
“in 2021, during the renovation of old and old neighbourhoods, 167 homes of residents had their windows removed.” according to the secretary-general of the moi lin community, “the house council has been in contact with the residents on several occasions before the demolition, organized meetings of representatives of the residents and the building chief, visited individual residents, and actively coordinated with the fire and rescue units of the sheep shop and the haydow district, and finally decided that each household would be covered by family property accident insurance from street funding”
The insurance covers 572 households in five high-rise dwellings in the mowood district, and the residents are entitled to compensation of up to $100,000 per household for damage to property caused by fire explosions; and up to $50,000 per household for damage to property caused by theft, robbery, malicious destruction. Li stated that there had been no incidents of fire or theft in the mo forest-dwelling area since the time of insurance coverage in 2021。
In 2023, the district of pear park in tunzhou was retrofitted into old sub-districts and, after the removal of the anti-piracy window, the residents were replaced with a net window free of charge. Because of the metal material, the web veil windows are solid and resistant to impact, locking them in a normal way prevents the child from falling by accident. Once there is a fire, it can be opened or dismantled through switches, hands, and it is very popular with the population。
Tips: rehabilitating windows to increase escape the door
What should be done to individuals who did not catch up with the old subdistricts and who were reluctant to remove or replace their windows
“during the past two years, more than 80 per cent of new customers who have installed a window-proofing system have requested an escape door, and even if some have not, we will be willing to warn that there will be no additional charges.” mr. Li, who had been working on a door shop in the tondai district, said that an escape door could be opened for residents who had installed closed windows earlier. Master li suggested using the brass lock at the escape door to prevent the rain from rusting and that the keys should be kept where family members knew. “it would be preferable to use a password lock, so that the numbers on the rolling lock can be opened, so as to avoid the need to find the key at the moment of emergency, and to find a situation where there is a risk that rust will not open.”
The deputy chief of the information and communication section of the fire and rescue division of tunzhou stated that the escape door should meet certain standards to meet the need for escape. Each room should have an escape door; not less than 1 m long and 0. 8 m clean size; it should be open externally and easily from the interior, if opened internally, and easily blocked by miscellaneous objects; and it should not be below the escape door at a distance greater than 1. 2 m below the interior floor。
In particular, kirsten stressed that the opening of the escape door had increased an important escape exit and saved relief workers valuable time, but that did not mean much. It is therefore recommended that residents on the 2nd floor and above install on the windowsills facilities to assist in the evacuation of the escape, such as fire escapers and escape ladders. “in the absence of such equipment, when trapped on two or three lower floors, curtains, sheets, and ropes can be used to escape while ensuring a strong leash, with the use of catchable fixtures, such as outdoor air conditioners, to assist in escape.”
