Tokyo Fire Deparment Earthquake Advice

[Mulboyne]

Yomiuri: Don't rush to put out flames during quake
If you live in an apartment on a high floor, it's safer to first take cover during a strong earthquake than to immediately extinguish a gas stove or kerosene heater, according to a survey by the Tokyo Fire Department. The survey found that furniture and electrical appliances fell over in nearly half of the Tokyo apartments located 11 floors up or higher during the Great East Japan Earthquake. The department believes this was the result of the "long-period earthquake ground motion" during the March 11 quake, which heightened the swaying of buildings' higher floors. If residents on higher floors rush to extinguish flames in such a case, they could be trapped under falling furniture, it said. The fire department is calling on people who live on higher floors to first get to safer places, such as under desks, and put out flames later....In 2007, the department revised its safety rules for residents during earthquakes. Previously it encouraged residents to extinguish flames quickly, but the revised version calls for people to wait until a quake has stopped...However, the 2007 revisions by the department are not widely known among the public. According to a different survey conducted by the department in April among Tokyo residents, 74 percent of respondents said they put out flames in their kitchens as soon as they felt the Great East Japan Earthquake. Only 12 percent said they extinguished flames after the quake stopped...more...

[Coligny]

Usually when every advice and their opposite have been given, the only conclusion to draw is that they don't have a fracking clue...

They assume that your furnitures have not been properly tied. So in case of a quake now you can get stuck behing fallen shelves while the kitchen is burning... instead of being stuck under the shelves after putting out the fire... make sense... TIJ after all...

[matsuki]

Usually when every advice and their opposite have been given, the only conclusion to draw is that they don't have a fracking clue...

They assume that your furnitures have not been properly tied. So in case of a quake now you can get stuck behing fallen shelves while the kitchen is burning... instead of being stuck under the shelves after putting out the fire... make sense... TIJ after all...

Exactly what I was thinking...growing up in SoCal we were constantly pushed to secure furniture and such. Here, I see home after home with Don Quixote inspired home storage. Typical, shoganai attitude and band-aid solution.

[omae mona]

I suppose a lot more people in the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake died from fire than falling furniture, so maybe that's stuck in people's consciousness. Back then there were not quite as many 11+ story high rises (i.e. none), automatic gas shut-off valves, or sprinkler systems, but it's hard to change people's way of thinking.

Still, I don't think there is any shortage of government efforts to remind people to secure their furniture. Heck, where I live, they have a pretty generous program to provide residents hardware for free (link). Took a few minutes to fill out the form, and a few weeks later a big box full of stuff arrived. I think the main problem is that people just don't bother, even though they know they should.

[Coligny]

If they rent it's not allowed to drill the wallz... complete opposition with what's needed... The little pushy ceiling things don't look like they can't stop much...

[matsuki]

think the main problem is that people just don't bother, even though they know they should.

Yep, and when you combine it with hoarding in confined spaces...well, one should keep a fireproof parachute handy. Coligny's right about renters (like me) not being able to drill...and has anyone ever seen if those ceiling compression poles even work?

[TennoChinko]

Here's a pretty useful piece of advice on putting out kitchen fires:

Never throw water onto a kitchen fire; instead, turn off the heat source and throw a damp towel over it. Or, use a chemical fire extinguisher which you ought to have anyways.

A good 30-second demonstration:
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[Coligny]

They sell special blankets to cover the fire, fit in small box that you hang to the wall in the kitchen. Also sand works quite good... I always keep a buckit of cat litter around...

[matsuki]

That must have been some sort of Habanero curry they were cooking! Fire! Fire! Boom!

[Coligny]

That must have been some sort of Habanero curry they were cooking! Fire! Fire! Boom!

Let me guess... You never tried to make your own napalm as a kid...

[matsuki]

Let me guess... You never tried to make your own napalm as a kid...

Napalm? No....Thermite? Oh yeah!!

[IparryU]

Let me guess... You never tried to make your own napalm as a kid...

good times...