High-Rise Buildings, Essay Example

Generally, a high-rise structure is one that is taller than 75 feet. Most of the time, this kind of structure is found in urban areas. The reason for this is that in urban areas, there is increased demand for land, and that which is available is hardly enough. One of the main disadvantages of high-rise buildings is that they pose a lot of challenge when it comes to fire fighting.

In the image presented, there are a number of challenges that firefighters are likely to face. For starts, the building has several floors. This already is difficult in the event that there is a fire and the building needs to be evacuated. Although in many cases, there are instructions on how a person should behave in the event of a fire, people seldom stick to them. Most people will go into panic mode and think only about how they can get themselves out of the building.

The tall buildings will also often have elevators. These are used for ease of movement within the floors in the building. When there is a fire, the likelihood of there being electrical faults is quite high. This in turn means that the use of elevators is not safe. One may easily get stuck inside the elevators.

Measures need to be taken to make sure that people are safe in the event of an emergency. First of all, there should be instructions on every floor regarding the proper use of the building. Fire extinguishers and alarms should be installed in each of the floors, with instructions on how they can be used. Finally, it would be advisable to have a trained person to man each of the elevators so as to assist the other people when an emergency occurs.