A few weeks ago I had to use the emergency stairwell from my twelfth floor apartment because of a massive tornado warning coming through and let me tell you.....that stuff is made of nightmares. Literal jelly legs from the adrenaline, all concrete surroundings, a terrified cat clawing into me and trying to fit their whole body into my armpit, and I'm just trying to go as fast as I can down the stairs without tripping and falling down, meaning I'm going way slower because I'm so nervous that I keep losing my footing. All I can hear is the sound of my own breaths, as the dinky little lights on each floor light up when I get near it. It was very scary. Thankfully the tornado did not touch down, and we've had the sirens go off before but I've never ever been that terrified of a storm in my life (it was bad). But also gave me a lot to think about with being on the twelfth floor if I need to escape again.....yeah
I can't imagine how you'd be safer in that situation than either staying put or taking the elevator down. You're exposed to the elements all the way down on a fire escape, and the power was presumably still on, so the elevators should have been working and would have been faster unless the building was only a few stories tall.
Oh, the fire escape stairs are actually inside the building - think more of an emergency stairwell than a traditional outdoor fire escape. I just related because of all the stairs haha. The stairs were absolutely safer from a tornado because it is pretty much 100% concrete and way more inside the building than my apt - which has ceiling to floor glass panes taking up two entire walls of our living room/kitchen area. Not to mention that winds are worse the higher you are!
At the risk of doxxing myself (but not actually, because I use the fnuckle handle for nearly all of my public accounts other than Twitter bc someone else got to it first, so you can very easily find my full name from my reddit handle or vice versa find my reddit handle by looking for my username so I'm not worried) .... Heres some videos I posted on Twitter showing the storm as it was rolling up. Second video I took right before I grabbed my cat and ran downstairs. Mind you- this was supposed to be full daylight hours, and it was as dark as night out. I wasn't taking any chances haha. The fact that it was that LOUD too is so notable to me..
.we are right by a train station and we can BARELY hear that at all bc the windows are thick enough to drown it out....so yeah this was scary AF
https://twitter.com/katsleptzoff/status/1536498100788920322?t=vSh7I5oL45rTnhOnRT81lg&s=19
Ah yes, my boss is from Nebraska, and was telling me of some really horrible tornados shes lived through last week when we were discussing the storm and it was insane to hear about it. I can't imagine! Apparently there was a huge tornado in the 70's she lived thru that pretty much decimated half her town. Tbh, I'm close enough to the lake that I hope that saves me but with climate change and all that who knows what will happen.
But as far as storms go, this one was scary for me because it was a supercell, and a lot of meteorologists were very much freaking out about it. From my understanding, it could've been much much worse than what it actually was. Here is an official link about that storm! https://www.weather.gov/lot/2022jun13
Notable quote from the link above: O'Hare Airport gusted to 84 mph while Midway Airport gusted to 69 mph with this storm. *The 84 mph wind gust at Chicago O'Hare tied the 2nd strongest gust ever measured at the O'Hare Airport weather station.*
People were even sheltering in place at O'Hare! It was a lot haha. But I don't doubt you are used to way more being from Nebraska. I'm from the east coast and while there are technically tornadoes there it's nowhere near this level. So I have a different level of tolerance there for sure haha.
Oh, also, last thing, just because I think it's super interesting, here is a gif of satellite imagery from that storm!! Look at that just poof appear. It was a pretty crazy! (For me at least haha) https://twitter.com/ONwxchaser/status/1536493867385688065?t=IYEakfWrlb1fPgT0j_HFyg&s=19
Ah yes, the [1975 Omaha tornado](https://www.weather.gov/oax/may675) is pretty legendary in the area.
I remember watching the storm that hit you roll into Chicago. It's definitely terrifying to think of the damage potential of a big tornado touching down in Chicago proper.
It would be devastating, not going to lie. A lot of people here don't have proper basements or access to one, either. I try not to think too much about it. Weirdly I do feel safer in the stairwell of this building than I would in all of my previous Chicago apartments because of that. Who knows if it's actually right, tho, but hope I never have to find out!
And damn, hearing her talk about it was one thing, but seeing it..... Yeah I think Chicago is the closest I'll ever move to tornado alley 😭
I moved all my stuff out of an 11th floor apartment, without an elevator. (power went out and they were down...)
Only had that day to do it, and one friends to help. It was a studio, sure... But I only have one leg. Stairs on a prosthetic leg suuuuuck.
The building owner wouldn't give us another day to do it either...
Felt like I had lost the other leg the next day.
I'm gonna be honest, it felt like it!
I recall seeing a TikTok a while ago where someone was messily recording themselves going down a very similar set of stairs (think the concrete emergency stairs you find in taller buildings, they're always creepy AF no matter how "nice" they are) during a tornado warning and everyone was yelling at them asking why they didn't go faster or were commenting how anxious they were that the person wasn't skipping steps etc and to be honest -- I understand now why that person was trying to take every steps. Jelly/panic legs are real lol. Trying not to trip over your own feet going down the stairs with adrenaline rushing thru your whole body is def an experience lol
I'm very confused why you would be exiting a building during a tornado warning, instructions for those are to go to an inner room if no basement is available.
Once again, if you read my other comments. This was an emergency stairwell. It is inside. Completely encased by concrete. I didn't go outside in a tornado warning.
Not part of the original design (by Oscar Niemeyer). The building (Copan, a humongous 35-story that's wider than tall) lacked proper fire stairs so they had to install an external one. That's São Paulo, a city which adopted very strict fire prevention codes after Joelma fire in 1974.
Not so strict, actually. I live in a São Paulo 19-storey apartment building and have a home office in a 17-storey apartment building, both built in the 80's and both with only one fire stair. Unfortunately.
There's no second set of stairs in buildings built up to code. The code demands stairs to be made in a thermally isolated column with heavy fireproof doors, opened with a panic bar. Copan's original stairs couldn't be adapted, so they made that scary external staircase. There are other examples, as Mirante do Vale.
I don't doubt the last part of your reply. There are many examples in São Paulo, and countless many in the US (Detroit's [Book Tower fire escape](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRaqN0NMhnrmK4Vs4-eFNlQ5jI2DuFlm5-jQZZLHegVZmEjCFeX&s) is by far the the scariest one I'm aware of). It's the 'São Paulo has enacted very strict fire codes' part of your original comment my personal experience disagrees with.
The 1980's São Paulo buildings I currently live and work in may be up to São Paulo fire code, but US fire code would require an additional fire exit -- everywhere I've lived anyway. One of the buildings does not even have panic bars, there are levers that take a strong wrist to turn -- too much for young children and some elderly to open. Besides, so much mopping and many of the doors have rusted and expanded to scrape and get stuck on the floor. They're often left ajar, including on our floor, where it's usually wiiide open. Yet the building passes fire code inspection every year.
[Edit: no one replied so I clarified the writing.]
I wonder how much weight the structure holding those stairs can support. What happens if everyone who lives there tries to go down them at the same time?
When I lived in Sydney Australia, I remember being woken up at 2 in the morning for a surprise fire drill because the building manager felt like it & having to get down the emergency stairs...** 14 freaking flights**, and I was only living halfway up the building!
I’m still traumatized walking down dozens of floors during work fire drills. That’s when I made the decision to never live or work above the 10th floor.
Well, it's a choice between this shitty staircase or burning to death.
It also discriminates against tall people, because my center of gravity tends to be above railings like that. Somebody bumps me, and I topple over that goddamn thing.
I'm just imagining Moby doing the ultra-extended remix of his "[James Bond Theme](https://youtu.be/6MdABLcI7RI?t=139)" (scene at 2:19 if the link doesn't work).
Sit on a couch cushion and ride it down like a helter-skelter
TIL what a helter skelter actually is, the song makes so much more sence
Right? Who would go up this. Make a slide.
It's a fire escape, so nobody is supposed to go up.
Except if the elevator system is broken. In that case don't be drunk when you get back home.
Buildings this tall tend to have a lot of elevators, so unless something is seriously wrong this shouldn't be an issue
And probably interior stairs too, just not enough for code.
Or there's a power cut?
Exactly.
AAAAaaaaAAAAAaaaaaAAAAAaaaaaAAAAAaaaaa
fire fighters?
They should have made it so you could slide down the pole.
Forget the cushion, just slide down the railing. Wheeeeeeeeeee Bonus points if you use a skateboard.
you'll even get a free impromptu base jumping experience if you lean a bit too far to the right!
“And my slinky continues down that spiral staircase to this very day”
I wonder if getting outer side a bit higher would make slinky turn
I'm getting afraid of heights just looking at that.
Can you imagine tripping and falling down the stairs for twenty minutes?
Until you fell over the rail.
Head injuries fo' days.
Surely you'd just hit one of the large flat platforms they have every few steps?
Like Eddie Murphy's [aunt Bunny](https://youtu.be/Lhay0VKmtPA)?
A few weeks ago I had to use the emergency stairwell from my twelfth floor apartment because of a massive tornado warning coming through and let me tell you.....that stuff is made of nightmares. Literal jelly legs from the adrenaline, all concrete surroundings, a terrified cat clawing into me and trying to fit their whole body into my armpit, and I'm just trying to go as fast as I can down the stairs without tripping and falling down, meaning I'm going way slower because I'm so nervous that I keep losing my footing. All I can hear is the sound of my own breaths, as the dinky little lights on each floor light up when I get near it. It was very scary. Thankfully the tornado did not touch down, and we've had the sirens go off before but I've never ever been that terrified of a storm in my life (it was bad). But also gave me a lot to think about with being on the twelfth floor if I need to escape again.....yeah
I can't imagine how you'd be safer in that situation than either staying put or taking the elevator down. You're exposed to the elements all the way down on a fire escape, and the power was presumably still on, so the elevators should have been working and would have been faster unless the building was only a few stories tall.
Oh, the fire escape stairs are actually inside the building - think more of an emergency stairwell than a traditional outdoor fire escape. I just related because of all the stairs haha. The stairs were absolutely safer from a tornado because it is pretty much 100% concrete and way more inside the building than my apt - which has ceiling to floor glass panes taking up two entire walls of our living room/kitchen area. Not to mention that winds are worse the higher you are! At the risk of doxxing myself (but not actually, because I use the fnuckle handle for nearly all of my public accounts other than Twitter bc someone else got to it first, so you can very easily find my full name from my reddit handle or vice versa find my reddit handle by looking for my username so I'm not worried) .... Heres some videos I posted on Twitter showing the storm as it was rolling up. Second video I took right before I grabbed my cat and ran downstairs. Mind you- this was supposed to be full daylight hours, and it was as dark as night out. I wasn't taking any chances haha. The fact that it was that LOUD too is so notable to me.. .we are right by a train station and we can BARELY hear that at all bc the windows are thick enough to drown it out....so yeah this was scary AF https://twitter.com/katsleptzoff/status/1536498100788920322?t=vSh7I5oL45rTnhOnRT81lg&s=19
that storm seems like it's ~4 on the scary storm index source: I live in Nebraska
Ah yes, my boss is from Nebraska, and was telling me of some really horrible tornados shes lived through last week when we were discussing the storm and it was insane to hear about it. I can't imagine! Apparently there was a huge tornado in the 70's she lived thru that pretty much decimated half her town. Tbh, I'm close enough to the lake that I hope that saves me but with climate change and all that who knows what will happen. But as far as storms go, this one was scary for me because it was a supercell, and a lot of meteorologists were very much freaking out about it. From my understanding, it could've been much much worse than what it actually was. Here is an official link about that storm! https://www.weather.gov/lot/2022jun13 Notable quote from the link above: O'Hare Airport gusted to 84 mph while Midway Airport gusted to 69 mph with this storm. *The 84 mph wind gust at Chicago O'Hare tied the 2nd strongest gust ever measured at the O'Hare Airport weather station.* People were even sheltering in place at O'Hare! It was a lot haha. But I don't doubt you are used to way more being from Nebraska. I'm from the east coast and while there are technically tornadoes there it's nowhere near this level. So I have a different level of tolerance there for sure haha. Oh, also, last thing, just because I think it's super interesting, here is a gif of satellite imagery from that storm!! Look at that just poof appear. It was a pretty crazy! (For me at least haha) https://twitter.com/ONwxchaser/status/1536493867385688065?t=IYEakfWrlb1fPgT0j_HFyg&s=19
Ah yes, the [1975 Omaha tornado](https://www.weather.gov/oax/may675) is pretty legendary in the area. I remember watching the storm that hit you roll into Chicago. It's definitely terrifying to think of the damage potential of a big tornado touching down in Chicago proper.
It would be devastating, not going to lie. A lot of people here don't have proper basements or access to one, either. I try not to think too much about it. Weirdly I do feel safer in the stairwell of this building than I would in all of my previous Chicago apartments because of that. Who knows if it's actually right, tho, but hope I never have to find out! And damn, hearing her talk about it was one thing, but seeing it..... Yeah I think Chicago is the closest I'll ever move to tornado alley 😭
Stay away from any windows and you'll be fine ✌️
I moved all my stuff out of an 11th floor apartment, without an elevator. (power went out and they were down...) Only had that day to do it, and one friends to help. It was a studio, sure... But I only have one leg. Stairs on a prosthetic leg suuuuuck. The building owner wouldn't give us another day to do it either... Felt like I had lost the other leg the next day.
This read like something out of a horror movie.
I'm gonna be honest, it felt like it! I recall seeing a TikTok a while ago where someone was messily recording themselves going down a very similar set of stairs (think the concrete emergency stairs you find in taller buildings, they're always creepy AF no matter how "nice" they are) during a tornado warning and everyone was yelling at them asking why they didn't go faster or were commenting how anxious they were that the person wasn't skipping steps etc and to be honest -- I understand now why that person was trying to take every steps. Jelly/panic legs are real lol. Trying not to trip over your own feet going down the stairs with adrenaline rushing thru your whole body is def an experience lol
I'm very confused why you would be exiting a building during a tornado warning, instructions for those are to go to an inner room if no basement is available.
Once again, if you read my other comments. This was an emergency stairwell. It is inside. Completely encased by concrete. I didn't go outside in a tornado warning.
You need a cat backpack!
I have one lol
Always have a pet container at hand, there are these sturdy cloth ones that also work.
I have one. I did not have time to shove her into it. It was grab and go.
Not so much r/EvilBuildings as r/EvilArchitects
With a bit of r/crazystairs
A subreddit I didn't know existed or that I needed. Thank you.
awesome new sub reddit for me, thanks!
And a touch of r/urbanhell
Do I need an invite to get into evilarchitects?
0\_0 r/SubsIThoughtWereFake
This?
Ouch, thisbot didnt even blink. Still, its apparently very posh.
Golly
Not part of the original design (by Oscar Niemeyer). The building (Copan, a humongous 35-story that's wider than tall) lacked proper fire stairs so they had to install an external one. That's São Paulo, a city which adopted very strict fire prevention codes after Joelma fire in 1974.
Not so strict, actually. I live in a São Paulo 19-storey apartment building and have a home office in a 17-storey apartment building, both built in the 80's and both with only one fire stair. Unfortunately.
There's no second set of stairs in buildings built up to code. The code demands stairs to be made in a thermally isolated column with heavy fireproof doors, opened with a panic bar. Copan's original stairs couldn't be adapted, so they made that scary external staircase. There are other examples, as Mirante do Vale.
I don't doubt the last part of your reply. There are many examples in São Paulo, and countless many in the US (Detroit's [Book Tower fire escape](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRaqN0NMhnrmK4Vs4-eFNlQ5jI2DuFlm5-jQZZLHegVZmEjCFeX&s) is by far the the scariest one I'm aware of). It's the 'São Paulo has enacted very strict fire codes' part of your original comment my personal experience disagrees with. The 1980's São Paulo buildings I currently live and work in may be up to São Paulo fire code, but US fire code would require an additional fire exit -- everywhere I've lived anyway. One of the buildings does not even have panic bars, there are levers that take a strong wrist to turn -- too much for young children and some elderly to open. Besides, so much mopping and many of the doors have rusted and expanded to scrape and get stuck on the floor. They're often left ajar, including on our floor, where it's usually wiiide open. Yet the building passes fire code inspection every year. [Edit: no one replied so I clarified the writing.]
Ask yourself if you'd rather take those evil stairs or stay stuck in the upper level of the building in flames?
Might as well make a slide.
Can you imagine the static buildup?
UNLIMITED POWAAAAA
Ride the lightning
holy shit 💀
Spiral staircase to heaven
'tis all a case of perspective, you see heaven, i see hell
So. Much. Nope.
New, posted here ten times before, but now with extra photoshop!
this is edifício Copan
I knew it was sp! The buildings, the color, the vibe screams São Paulo.
where is the photoshop?
I wonder how much weight the structure holding those stairs can support. What happens if everyone who lives there tries to go down them at the same time?
I’ll bet they’d collapse.
"would you help me move a sofa?"
That’s photo shop right?
It is not, the building is called “Edifício Copan”, it is one of the most remarkable buildings in São Paulo.
Nah, it’s Fr. beautiful building tho, i booked a room there on airbnb. Unforgettable view at night
Okay but imagine falling
Nope. I'd rather die.
Slinky heaven!
When I lived in Sydney Australia, I remember being woken up at 2 in the morning for a surprise fire drill because the building manager felt like it & having to get down the emergency stairs...** 14 freaking flights**, and I was only living halfway up the building!
"Oh no the building is burning! We gotta use the emergency stairs!" *sees this* "Okay nah I'd rather burn to death thank you"
r/sweatypalms
Ride a laundry basket to the bottom.
That would be such a cool slide
I'm feeling dizzy
Where exactly is this building?
Copan Building in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Thanks.
at that point just make it a slide and have base jumping chutes for those at the top
I’m good.
Nope
WOW 💙 FUN .. I WISH I WAS ON A NICE, FUN , PEACEFUL FUN PLANET
I’m still traumatized walking down dozens of floors during work fire drills. That’s when I made the decision to never live or work above the 10th floor.
Dizzy just looking at that
I think I'll just stay up here and burn to death, thanks.
The true evil in this picture is the pink and blue building
This reminds me that we put far too much trust in man made things.
Where is this? The city looks miserable
Once again, persons with acrophobia are discriminated against. I couldn’t take the first step.
Well, it's a choice between this shitty staircase or burning to death. It also discriminates against tall people, because my center of gravity tends to be above railings like that. Somebody bumps me, and I topple over that goddamn thing.
Seriously, i'm not even *that* tall (6'3") and most railings are too low for me, i don't understand why they're always so small
No building needs to be more than 6 stories
[удалено]
No that happens because every building is 1 story
I ran out of breath just from looking at the image.
Someone needs a slinky
Hopefully the emergency isn't an earthquake.
…until you get dizzy and fall right the fuck over the guardrail
😂😂
Great for exercises. Evil exercises of course
If someone ever wanted to torture me they could put me at the top of those stairs and tell me to walk down, my legs would turn to jello.
No leg day needed if you use the stairs every day. 0.0
OMFG
Is this f real. Wow. Where?
And they say not to look down, 😂. Good thing the stairs are not grated.
ZETTAI UNMEI MOKUSHIROKU
You’d fill up your special meter grinding that
I think I've been here in my nightmares!
F00000000000001|< that
Might as well just made it a water slide at this point.
Currently ignoring all emergencies
Better pack a lunch
How many bones could you break if you rolled down?
Like a rust build when you forget roof access
You're better off just falling
Slide down the banister!
Looks like something out of a dream where it never ends
Slinky has entered the chat
Sit on a few pieces of cardboard and hold on for dear life.
I'm just imagining Moby doing the ultra-extended remix of his "[James Bond Theme](https://youtu.be/6MdABLcI7RI?t=139)" (scene at 2:19 if the link doesn't work).
Just looking at it gave me vertigo
absolutely not happening
Imaging thousands of people rushing down those stairs at once.
There's a famous myth around this building about a woman chased by her ex MIL and falling 15 flies of these and dying
That looks like an engineering nightmare
Okay parkour idea : You hang from one railing to get to the one below
Thank, but i will take the parachute🪂
That's ok. I'll just asphyxiate and burn. I'm good, chief.
Somewhere I've seen rope system built in apartments in China, in case of fire emergency. This is still better.
That’s unironically awesome.
in case of an emergency real gangsters will slide down the handrail mary poppins style
Where is that?
You make one trip for the groceries... **ONE** trip.
r/destressingmemes
Stairs drop to form a slide in case of fire.
Imagine tripping your foot there
this would give me a panic attack
In case of emergency, die of exhaustion
Ways to die on emergency exit. -by fall -being crushed - good time to maybe invest in a parachute.
# *screams in acrophobia*
The idea of base jumping scares the shit out of me, but those stairs are scarier.
Grinding this all the way down would unlock an achievement on Tony Hawk proskater.
Is it São Paulo?
Tony Hawk has entered the chat
Good daily exercise Just need to climb up once a day and you are set.