High Rise Apartment Fires - Chinese Study

High-rise fires are among the deadliest urban disasters, with tragedies like London’s Grenfell Tower and Shanghai’s 2010 apartment fire revealing devastating weaknesses in design, management, and response. This podcast explores new research from China — “Analysis of Fire Hazard and Comprehensive Management Strategy of High-Rise Buildings”— which identifies three core risks: evacuation inefficiency, faulty fire protection systems, and poor daily maintenance.
We discuss how the PSR model (Pressure–State–Response) explains these hazards, and how digital twin systems (数字孪生 shùzì luánshēng) using IoT, BIM, and AI could transform prevention and rescue.
Drawing comparisons with Grenfell, Dubai’s Torch Tower fires, and São Paulo’s building collapse, we ask: What can cities learn from past tragedies? And how can we retrofit older towers to protect residents today?
This is essential listening for urban planners, architects, policy makers, and anyone living in a high-rise.

Journal of Security and Safety Technology 安防技术, 2025, 13(3), 78-84
Published Online September 2025 in Hans. https://www.hanspub.org/journal/jsst
https://doi.org/10.12677/jsst.2025.133009
高层建筑火灾隐患分析与综合治理策略研究
Analysis of fire hazards in high-rise buildings and research on comprehensive control strategies
叶 兰1*，覃宝兰2，覃婉茗3#，黄耀莹1，徐 昭1

Time Codes
00:00 - Chinese Study
02:44 - Segment 1: The Rise of the Skyscraper
04:51 - Segment 2: The PSR
07:18 - Segment 3: Case Study: Grenfell Tower, UK
09:24 - Segment 4: Case Study: Shanghai Apartment Fire,
10:46 - Segment 5: Other Global Disasters
13:02 - Segment 6: The Digital Twin Solution
14:43 - Segment 7: From Theory to Practice - Global
15:52 - Conclusion

Linking Strategies to Global Lessons
- Grenfell (UK, 2017): Combustible exterior + lack of sprinklers. → Solutions: Strict material standards + digital monitoring of cladding temps.
- Shanghai Fire (China, 2010): Construction sparks + rapid vertical fire. → Solutions: Dual monitoring for hot works, compartmentalized escape routes.
- Dubai Torch Tower (UAE, 2015/2017): Exterior panels ignited twice. → Solutions: Retrofit façades with A-class non-combustible materials.
- São Paulo Wilton Paes Building Collapse (Brazil, 2018): Poor maintenance. → Solutions: Routine inspections + community evacuation drills.

High-rise fire safety
Grenfell Tower fire
Shanghai apartment fire 2010
Torch Tower fire Dubai
Fire hazard prevention (火灾隐患防控)
Evacuation systems (疏散系统 shūsàn xìtǒng)
Digital twin (数字孪生 shùzì luánshēng)
Fire safety management (消防安全管理 xiāofáng ānquán guǎnlǐ)
BIM fire modeling
IoT fire prevention
Fire tragedies worldwide
Skyscraper safety
Urban disaster prevention (城市灾害防控)

Vertical evacuation challenges (垂直疏散难度, chuízhí shūsàn nándù).
The “chimney effect” (烟囱效应, yāncōng xiàoyìng), where smoke races upward through shafts and stairwells.
Glass curtain wall failures (玻璃幕墙风险, bōlí mùqiáng fēngxiǎn).

The researchers use the PSR model (压力–状态–响应, yālì–zhuàngtài–xiǎngyìng) to frame risks.
Pressure (压力层 yālì céng): Structural Complexity
Example: Shanghai’s Jin Mao Tower and Shenzhen’s Ping An Finance Centre face difficulties in vertical evacuation and complex power systems.
Each additional functional zone in a building increases rescue decision-making time by 27%.
State (状态层 zhuàngtài céng): Evacuation System Weakness
Taller = slower. For example, evacuation from Shenzhen’s 118-floor Ping An Centre may take 2–3 hours.
The world’s tallest fire ladders reach only 101 meters, leaving most skyscraper occupants dependent on internal systems.
Response (响应层 xiǎngyìng céng): Equipment & Management Defects
Aging equipment (设备老化 shèbèi lǎohuà) accounts for over 50% of failures.
Poor training and cluttered evacuation corridors worsen risks.

#openaccess #firesafety #China #disaster #highrise #highrisefires

File:20191114 - incendie Mairie Annecy.webm
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File:2010 Shanghai fire video.ogv
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2010_Shanghai_fire_video.ogv


File:GRENFELL.webm
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