Endoh’s Dungeon

The fire over the weekend has exposed a critical flaw in HDB flats, but I will isolate this problem to only buildings served by a single flight of stairs. Usually, these are the four-storeys block. I never really thought much of it, until I experienced first-hand how critical this flaw can be.

Under normal circumstances, you would have learnt not to use the lift in times of fire. We never really had a problem with that. The power in the entire block had been cut since the wires had been burnt to bits. What was left lighted up, were the emergency lights which I supposed were powered by a separate standby battery via an independent circuit. So the only reasonable escape routes is jumping out of your corridor/kitchen for those in the second level, or run down the only stairs as quickly as you can.

Now, what if… the fire is at the only stairs that is supposed to save your life?

Pic: Inferno beside the stairs

Pic: A look from the rear

Pic: Damaged wiring that were replaced at 4am the same day

The fire took place right beside the only stairs that we were supposed to use for evacuation. As we approached the stairs ready to make a run of it, those of us on the third and fourth storey realized to our shock, we can’t. The smoke was just too thick and naturally rising upwards. The heat was unbearable too. It’s not that bad in an open space, but in a confined space like a stairs column, everything intensify.

We’re thinking of all the lift upgrading, shelters and comfort we can add to our HDB estates, but who’s thinking of improving the safety of residents? The usual tall buildings are served with two flights of staircases so there are always options. For us? We realized, we have no options. Or perhaps the only option is to leap from where we are. The 3rd storey… and oh well, the fourth storey as well.

Pic: Railings on the second storey

Pic: The 3rd storey where I am, didn’t look any better

Why can’t four-storeys HDB buildings be equipped with two staircases as a precautionary measure? Something that we figured unlikely to happen, well it just did. And trust the authorities to believe high-rise bomb shelters in new estates can remain standing when we’re talking about ground-penetrating high-tech bombs these days.

We can’t even run down the simplest escape route - a flight of stairs. Go figure.