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If it is any consulation about how much weight a fire escape can hold, go to you tube and type in Grand Street Fire. watch some of the videos. It is a old tenement on fire, (very sad for all the people), but some of the videos show 8 or 9 firemen on the fire escape leading tenants out of the top floor apartments into the lower floor apartments to get out, so there is a lot of weight going on there, and they did not fail. This is what the fire escapes are meant for, and they work. These videos are really horrible as to how a fire can spread so fast and ultimetely make these buildings have to be torn down.
Most people opt for folding gates that can be locked inside but they are pricey...keep the key nearby.
Its paid for by the LL.
Quote:
The window guard law, Health Code Section 131.15, requires owners of multiple dwellings (buildings of 3 or more apartments) to provide and properly install approved window guards on all windows - this includes, first floor bathroom and windows leading onto a balcony or terrace in an apartment where a child (or children) 10 years of age or younger reside and in each hallway window, if any, in such buildings.
No children under 10 = No window guards required.
Quote:
The exceptions to this law are: windows that open onto fire escapes
Your comment is .... intense. Our landlord told us it was no problem. The window is large enough and has two panels to it, so you can open the one side while the AC is in the other side. In other words, you can get out of the window with the AC on the other side if needed without a problem.
Also two of my uncles work for the FDNY (Bronx and Manhattan) as well and when I asked them about it they also said not to worry. So I don't expect an issue after ten years of this.
I think it really depends on your window.
Edit:
Here is a picture of the window from Google Maps:
You can see the AC on the left part of the window, and the other part of the window which can still be opened to get out. It is also not a deep AC so it doesn't protrude into the escape in a way that would be dangerous.
Illegal possibly but like I said the building and others said it was okay.
@ mc, are those buildings the ones I believe are on woodbine st. between myrtle/cypress and wyckoff in Ridgewood... from the picture the outside looks very similar to a friend of mine's apartment in one of those buildings...
I have yet to find any rule spelling out that it's illegal to sit or stand quietly, without leaving anything that might block egress. Dangerous, possibly. But if anyone can find a specific regulation, instead of saying "it's illegal", I'd appreciate it.
I have yet to find any rule spelling out that it's illegal to sit or stand quietly, without leaving anything that might block egress. Dangerous, possibly. But if anyone can find a specific regulation, instead of saying "it's illegal", I'd appreciate it.
Check the fire code
Fire escapes are an outdated means of egress anyway, no new buildings are built with them
__________________
"The man who sleeps on the floor, can never fall out of bed." -Martin Lawrence
Like it or hate it the following is only my opinion:
It is not uncommon that many people do not fully understand.
A fire escape as 30STM mentions is a fire escape for a reason.
The lure is the fact that fires, as rare as they are, do happen.
This creates a false feeling of heck "the fire escape is not being
used so why not use it" ......
The same goes for apartment building hallways.
How many tenants utilize the hallway as their personal
storage unit. They store bicycles,carriages......you name it.
Big No! No! ................Hefty fines from Fire Department if reported
as it , just like a fire escape may present an obstruction in the event of fire ....................
Fire escapes are an outdated means of egress anyway, no new buildings are built with them
Used to sit out on a hot summer night with wine and some wilting plants. Good times
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