I understand the need to match the decor and all, but does nothing else take precedence?
I suspect that keeping the fire hose behind a door disguised to blend into the wall does not help in an emergency, especially when that emergency involves smoke, to further obscure vision.
What do you think? Is the blue light above the door enough of a concession to safety?
How do we even know in the first place that the fire hose is behind there? I would never have made the connection with the blue light to think “Ah, there’s the hose.”
From country to country, public safety “colors / colours” vary and have different meanings… i.e. In the US – Volunteer Firefighters utilize “blue lights” in their vehicles to alert other drivers they are responding to an emergency — whereas in Europe, Police agencies use the same “blue lights” — and it would be illegal for a common citizen to brandish said blinkers…
In viewing the picture above – I would have NO CLUE that the small round blue light would identify a fire hose / standpipe / high rise hose pack. Would love to know where this picture was taken (what country, type of building)…
I too appreciate the architect’s desire to be inconspicuous – however in a true emergency, wonder if those prepared / trained to use it would KNOW the tools they desperately need were right in front of their face!
In point of fact, it is just an assumption that the blue light is meant to indicate the location of the fire response equipment. I have not seen it in use, but I figure it HAS to be there for this reason, because otherwise it is an even more absurd situation.
@ Bill, To let you know, this photo was taken in a very large academic building in the United States.
Ignoring the word ‘FIRE’ on the door handle, it could almost be the door to a confessional in a Catholic church, couldn’t it?
This same building has a sign that says “In case of fire, do not use elevators” out in front of the elevators. That’s pretty typical, but I wonder if they might just consider decorating the elevator doors the same way they did the fire hose cabinet. Then people could not even FIND the elevators in case of fire!