Some great work by Burnaby firefighters this week isn’t enough to assuage my fear of living in a highrise.
The Burnaby Fire Department was called out to fight a fire on the 32nd floor of an apartment building at Metrotown’s Station Square community.
The fire was on the unit’s balcony and the photo above shows the smoke coming out of the building.
Firefighters made short work of the fire, but that doesn’t make me feel any better.
I once lived on the 30th floor of an apartment building in Burnaby and I never felt comfortable there. Something about being that high up made me feel too vulnerable in case of an emergency. Yes, I know these buildings have built-in sprinkler systems, but when you’re that high up and something goes wrong, it’s a loooooong way down to get to safety.
Perhaps it’s because I grew up in the 1970s and had to watch the Towering Inferno that I’m so skittish about emergencies in highrises.
That’s why I’ve drawn the line at living in a garden apartment, where I could literally jump to safety if I needed to.
I appreciate all of the hard work by our local fire department. Great work by them this week.
Follow Chris Campbell on Twitter @shinebox44.
