I’m in favor of greater freedoms, and the freedom to choose a single stair MFH if I want.
But I don’t want.
Same reason I'm extremely skeptical that our fire trucks need to be so grotesquely large, despite what the fire departments claim. If there were no countries with a good fire safety record outside North America, like sure, okay, maybe. But they're just as good or better at fighting fires in Europe, and manage to go this with human sized trucks that don't require extremely wide streets, wide turn radiuses, and aren't nearly as deadly for pedestrians as a result. Thanks for existing, Europe, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan etc! One day we'll accept that you to cities, building and engineering better and just copy you.
Not everyone is young and in shape to push couches or jump over them.
The real problem here is expecting people to be able bodied enough to deal with a lack of alternative exits when someone in the same building inevitably is careless enough to start a fire.
I suppose you also think it’s silly for flight crew to confirm people sitting in the exit row are able and willing to help in an emergency.
Couldn’t you just push them out of the way or jump over them?
You’re 85.
That is an extremely specific situation!
> How is double stair MFH overzealous?
There is a cost to every regulation. The cost to this one is that housing is more expensive for all Americans. Stress, poverty, and homelessness all lead to negative health outcomes. Taken as a whole, those negative outcomes may very well outweigh the fire safety benefits of double-stair (which have never been proven to exist).
> I’m in favor of greater freedoms, and the freedom to choose a single stair MFH if I want. > But I don’t want.
Right, so it sounds like you are in favor of removing the double-stair regulation?
It’s an example. Can you generalize it or should I?
We can avoid this dangerous scenario with a three-stairwell minimum requirement.
Happy to hear evidence-based arguments.
We should design for situations to a level that is appopriate given their frequency and severity. Show me evidence that MANDATING the extra stairwell justifies the huge increase in national housing cost, and I'll concede.
I suggest reading the article, which is intended to answer this question in depth. It provides concrete examples!
The elderly and disabled will also need to get furniture up stairs. Not to mention that the housing shortage forces more people to share a house with strangers.
Or, you could just build more housing... And stop insisting on so much living space while you're at it. Here in Tokyo, no one lives with strangers, even if they get minimum wage. They can still afford an apartment by themselves, though it'll be a very small apartment that's certainly illegal to build in America.