new buildings - they are required to have fire sprinklers in the common areas, which detects and starts to extinguish any fire, tripping the fire alarm bell at the same time. Heat/smoke detectors are required in certain types of rooms, such as switchrooms, lift machine rooms, fuel storage room, garbage rooms, etc.
old buildings - after the garley building fire the code was changed to include old commercial buildings, but residential buildings are different, many old buildings dont have the space or sufficent floor loading, where the owners have no excuses they should be under going upgrading to provide basic Fire services installations, i.e. fire alarm and hose reels
read more: http://www.buildingmgt.gov.hk/file_m...cuments/26.pdf
If this were the case, as in smoke detectors are mandatory to be installed in every flat or house, villa, whatever in HK, then the noise would be much much worse thanks to the amount of construction going on.
Ha ha, in 1982, I was holidaying with ( although it hardly seemed as such) my parents at the Flamingo Hilton in Las Vegas, a brand new hotel at the time and still undergoing construction work. Every night we were woken by the fire alarms screaming, so for every one of the three nights we stayed there, we found ourselves running down 15 flights of floors to the basement. Turned out there was fire but builders setting off the alarms as they worked through the night. At least one consolation was that we knew the alarms worked.
So far, I haven't seen a fire detector , bar a sprinkler in a HK rental apartment, yet. BYO ?
Last edited by Natfixit; 10-05-2012 at 07:59 PM.
And a fire blanket. We have one in the kitchen. Our fire alarms , which were bought in the UAE, are kept in the living room and bedroom - even though we do not smoke, let alone in bed.
Before we moved into our apartment , we checked all escape routes and would not move in unless these were all clear and accessible.
A fire extinguisher in the kitchen ...the correct types is ideal.
Last edited by Natfixit; 10-05-2012 at 08:04 PM.
I remember living in the UK whe the alarm in the kitchen or nearby would always go off when cooking, regardless of there was smoke or not. They are the cheapest that LLs prefer...we bought two that have worked pretty well so far. Not cheap but reliable.
If I had smoke detectors they be permanently going off. Its not uncommon for me to return home to find my apartment engulfed in smoke. The lady next door likes to have a bonfire outside her front door every now and then.
At first I tried to reason with her that this was dangerous and slightly unpleasant for those living around her. She shrugged her shoulders and walked off. Needless to say she was back out having another bonfire a few weeks later.
I got more or less the same reaction from the building management when I complained (we are in a large well known modern development).
Now I just call the fire brigade when I see or smell the smoke. I've done it twice now - I'm hoping they start to get pi**** off soon and that will put an end to it.
Seriously, where else in the world does someone start a fire, on purpose, half way up a massive skyscraper where thousands of people live. It's all well and good being polite and respecting people beliefs (even if it is ridiculous hocus-pocus) but not when its putting everyone's life at risk.
Last edited by Alan Partridge; 10-05-2012 at 10:37 PM.
Alan, do you know what she burns? How old is she? Is the burning something like the following?
Last edited by ClueMinus; 11-05-2012 at 12:34 AM. Reason: Added picture