Living on a high floor

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Hi everyone
We are moving to HK at the end of the month, we found a great apartment in Tai Tam (The Manhattan) but the apartment is on the 31st floor. We have a 3 year old and a 6 month old and I am worried about being up so high in case of a fire or power cut.
Does anyone else live up that high?
Do I have a reason to be worried?
We have to decide this weekend so any help would be appreciated!
Thanks
 
We live on the 49th floor(Bel air) and although I have never thought of fire or power cut, the thought of my 3 year old trying to climb over has definitely crossed my mind.As a result we have very firm rules about the balcony door being locked at all times unless an adult is present. Also I haven't been able to bring myself to buy any outdoor furniture yet. I figure without anything to climb on to outside, that it would be impossible for him to get over the balcony as the sides are very high. Good luck with your decision.
 
We live on a higher floor and I guess it would be a problem if a fire broke out. Not sure what the problem would be if the electricity went out as there are stairs. Might be a problem if the power went out for weeks, I guess.
If I were you I wouldn't live so high up, since you are already scared of possibilities.
PS. If you search this site and GeoExpat, you will find a thread about the pros and cons of living on a higher floor. I think it is a Geoexpat thread, though.
 
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i used to live on the 36th floor. in hk, there have never been a powerblack out (knock-on-wood). the high rises always have back up electricity for the elevators. the 20 yrs i
ve lived on 36th floor, there was only 2 occasions when the power had to be cut of during 10am to 4pm for regular maintenace of the elevators. but they usually try to resume it as soon as possible.

i think safety regarding the kids climbing up the windows or balcony are more a concern.
 
I live on the 46th floor (Belcher's) and the thought of power cut/fire never really occured to me. We don't have a balcony and all of the windows have safety bars so there is no way my son could climb out.
 
Window safety bars

I have a question: do you put safety bars on all windows or only the windows that open? We have some glass windows that don't open and I am concerned that the baby might punch through the glass. The management of the building assured me that the glass is shatter-proof but I still worry
 
The only windows in our flat with bars are the ones that open. I am sure that the glass is v tough - can't imagine that an adult is strong enough to break it, mind a baby!
 
When I moved into my present flat, my kids were toddlers. I had window bars installed on all the windows that opened, because I wanted to have peace of mind. It was not very expensive.

It's only been in the last year that we removed the bars (the kids are now 9 and 11).
 
If you have young toddlers at home, MUST install bars on windows that open. A two-year old fell off a window just a few weeks ago. For fixed windows that don't open, they are thick and sturdy enough to withstand typhoons, so there is no need to worry about kids breaking them.

We installed bars just a month ago when our baby started to cruise... [sigh] the bars totally ruin our once beautiful view...
 
Do all the buildings allow you to do install bars? How do you organise it?

There is also a balconey off the living room. Obviously I would never let my kids out there (even supervised) on 31st floor. Any ideas how to secure the sliding doors???
 
Hello there.

I used to live on the 43rd floor (The Waterfront). At that time, my toddler was only a baby. The biggest problem I had was the heat. Every summertime, the heat in higher floors is unbearable. Also during strong typhoons, the building shakes so you would really feel it the higher you go. Right now, I live on the 20th floor (Bel-Air). My son is 3.5 yrs old. Our balcony railings are taller than him and he is aware that it is dangerous to bend over it. I don't put bars as it destroys the views and I don't like the feeling of being trapped by bars. Yes my biggest fear is a fire or a false fire alarm. Blackouts are another fear. But then these two instances rarely happen in Hong Kong.
 
A question about the bars, are the bars fixed, or can they be opened in case of fire and you need to escape through the window?
 
i installed bars that can be opened, but with a screwdriver. i didn't install the ones with locks cos once my 2 yr old have seen me unlock it, she'd have learnt how to do it herself.
 
The buildings usually require you to follow a certain standard when installing the bars. You can ask your management office for the specifications.

Agree with joannek, the bars with locks are just going to attract the toddlers to play with them. In fact the guy who installed the bars for us also warned us about that so we installed fixed ones.

The last time i recall an electricity blackout was like 30 years ago. If your building is less than 15 years old, chances of a blackout is slim.
 
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