"Our rescue ladders reach up to 72 meters": how are fires extinguished in high-rise buildings?

"Our tallest aerial ladders reach up to 72 meters"

According to the Deputy Minister of Emergency Situations Khurshid Satiyev Tolqinboyevich, construction of buildings with 50 floors and higher continues in Tashkent, and special attention is being paid to ensuring fire safety in such structures.

"Our tallest aerial ladders reach up to 72 meters. To deploy equipment designed for greater heights, for example 100 meters, a very large area would be required. Therefore, when constructing high-rise buildings, the fire safety regulatory documents of leading foreign countries are studied, and our proposals are submitted at the design stage," said Khurshid Satiyev.

According to him, tall buildings must have smoke-protected staircases and fire-fighting elevators. In addition, automatic fire extinguishing systems such as sprinklers and drenchers are also of great importance. In a sprinkler system, water is sprayed automatically when the temperature reaches a set level, while a drencher system activates several water sprayers simultaneously in the area where the fire occurs.

"It takes a certain amount of time for our rescuers to reach that floor. In a fire, every minute counts. Internal fire hydrants and primary fire extinguishing means, that is, fire extinguishers — all of these are systems that work until the units of the Ministry of Emergency Situations arrive," said the deputy minister.

Satiyev also emphasized that compliance with safety requirements in such buildings is important for both residents and the organizations managing the buildings. According to him, it is not permitted to arbitrarily alter a building's design or interfere with installed engineering systems. Restrictions on the use of gas systems in tall buildings are also considered one of the measures to ensure fire safety.

How are fires extinguished in tall buildings?

According to Aziz Abduazizov, chief specialist of the Prevention Department in the field of urban planning, foreign experience in ensuring fire safety in tall buildings is being studied, and measures are being taken to apply it in our country. In particular, the experience of the United Arab Emirates, China and South Korea in extinguishing fires in tall buildings and protecting the population is being examined.

"Today, in high-rise buildings such as Nest One and Pyramid Tower, fire and rescue vehicles, that is, fire-fighting aerial ladders, are capable of rescuing citizens from a maximum height of 72 meters. The issue of creating a safe environment in a specific part of the building — that is, designating an entire floor as a safe zone and evacuating citizens to that area in case of emergencies — has been considered, and this practice is currently being applied," said Aziz Abduazizov.

According to Abduazizov, attention is also being paid to the widespread introduction of automatic fire extinguishing systems in tall buildings and to monitoring their condition in real time through digital means. In this process, signals from automatic devices installed at various points in the building are transmitted simultaneously to the fire and rescue situational centers and to the building's dispatch centers.

"This serves, first of all, to fully cover the building and monitor what is happening at each of its points. Secondly, it makes it possible to quickly detect a fire or emergency occurring at any point in the building and to ensure the safety of citizens in that area," said the specialist.