Thread

Apple's "Clean Design" Is Stupidity When It Comes to Hiding Fire Extinguishers

79 points · 32 comments · josephcsible

usef- · 1791079130 · focus · HN ↗
Maybe I'm misremembering, but do most luxury stores have fire extinguishers visible to customers (as opposed to staff)? I don't remember seeing them
1. jldugger · 1791080589 · focus · HN ↗
  I don't recall Coach bags catching fire[1] though.
  [1]: <a href="https://appleinsider.com/articles/18/01/09/iphone-battery-fire-forces-brief-evacuation-of-zurich-apple-store" rel="nofollow">https://appleinsider.com/articles/18/01/09/iphone-battery-fi...
  1. walrus01 · 1791080745 · focus · HN ↗
    I wonder if fire safety code (either in NYC, NY State, or nationally) has caught up with some sort of specific regulation for additional fire safety when you have N amount of watt-hours of lithium ion battery storage contained in X amount of square feet of retail space with Y type of fire suppression/detection systems. The same general concept as why you can't take above a 99Wh battery on an airplane as an individual unit, but extended to something like the Apple Store or the laptop display section in a Best Buy.
    The closest thing I've seen is a big push from the NYC government to get people to stop charging their sketchy ebike/scooter battery packs indoors in hallways and apartments, which has caused more than a few fires.
    <a href="https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=nyc+ebikes+charging+fire+apartments" rel="nofollow">https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=nyc+ebike...
  2. usef- · 1791082304 · focus · HN ↗
    They don't use fire extinguishers for lithium battery fires though (as the article mentioned: submerging it in special sand).
    I wonder if it would actually be a negative if a member of the public grabbed a visible extinguisher during a battery fire?
2. dannyw · 1791083014 · focus · HN ↗
  Usually luxury stores have sprinkler protection, availability of fire hose reels, etc.
  In Australia this would not comply with our fire code. Putting it behind a cabinet is fine; but it must have visible signs that can be seen from 20m away with a 20/20 eyesight (assuming no obstruction etc).
  This applies to all portable extinguishers; even if it’s additional ones you’ve added beyond what’s required. The idea and intent is simple: train people and first responders to locate portable fire extinguishers by the sign.

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