This week the pod takes a deep dive into the murky waters of fire safety, how we ignore it at our considerable peril and how this essential part of our strata lives is ripe for exploitation by unscrupulous contractors.This discussion was prompted partly by the terrible fire in New York a couple of weeks ago when, it seems, doors left open during a relatively small fire allowed smoke to spread through the building, killing 17 people by asphyxiation.And we were also drawn to a Forum discussion about how buildings can pass fire inspections for years, then suddenly find that a new company has discovered a raft of flaws.And guess who’s ready to fix them (often at considerable expense).On the topic of fires, we get a sneak preview of Sue’s upcoming biography of Dr Fiona Wood, who invented spray-on skin which is extensively used on burns victims.We also look at conflicting advice between Fair Trading and the Department of Planning on who is allowed to let their apartments on Airbnb and Stayz etc, and when.And we try to get to the bottom of how some properties are exempt from having to put a short-term letting registration number on their listings.All that, and more on the Flat Chat Wrap. Jimmy 00:00We're going back a couple of weeks today on the podcast, because there's a story that we hadn't really addressed, in full. I mentioned it in passing in last week's forum on the website. It's about the fire on January 9 or 10th, in the Bronx, in New York.Sue 00:20Oh yes, that was horrible.Jimmy 00:23So, we're going to talk about that and, we're going to talk about fire safety (in general), in Australian apartments. And, we're going to have a look at some confusing stuff about Airbnb, so that's a lot to talk about... We better get on with it. I'm Jimmy Thomson, I write the Flat Chat column for the Australian Financial Review.Sue 00:46And I'm Sue Williams and I write about property for Domain.Jimmy 00:48And this is the Flat Chat Wrap.[MUSIC]JimmyOkay, that terrible fire in the Bronx... I think the latest figure is 17 deaths, including 8 children.Sue 01:13Oh, how horrible!Jimmy 01:14The terrible thing about it is that it seems like most of the people died from smoke inhalation. This is an old building; 19 stories. All the fire escapes are internal. You know, in a lot of these New York apartment blocks (the older ones), you see the fire escape is on the outside and that's the city regulations, but apparently, this was a federal building, so they didn't have to abide by city ordinances and so, all the fire escapes are internal. It sounds like smoke from a fire on the second floor, just went straight up into the fire escapes and...Sue 01:57Oh, how horrible! So, people had no way of getting out?Jimmy 01:59No, I mean, some were rescued by getting out the windows with fire trucks with ladders, but even the firemen (and women), who were going into the building; it was so bad, they were running out of oxygen, as they went in to try and rescue peopleSue 02:15Because it kind of sealed all the smoke inside.Jimmy 02:18It kind of just acted like big chimneys and there's been some accusations of victim -blaming, but it sounds like the fire started in the bedroom with a space heater
____________________________________________________
Flat Chat is all about apartment living, especially in Australia.
Find us on Facebook and Twitter and the Flat Chat website.
Send comments and questions to mail@flatchat.com.au.
Register to ask and answer questions about apartment living anonymously on the website.
Recorded by Jimmy Thomson & Sue Williams; Transcribed by Otter.ai.
Find out more about Sue Williams and Jimmy Thomson on their websites.
