The fire that killed at least 80 people in London's Grenfell Tower in June, as well as similar apartment building blazes that recently occured in Dubai and Hawaii, has brought the world's attention to the issue of safety in high-rise residences.
Grenfell Tower was relatively old and it's been reported that the exterior materials used were inappropriate and directly caused the fire to spread upward along the outside of the 24-story building. Dubai's unfortunately named Torch Tower, however, is a brand-new luxury condo, and while no one died as a result of the fire, the fact that the conflagration so quickly raged out of control calls into question just how safe residents of skyscrapers are, even with all the knowledge we have of structures and fire prevention.
These questions are especially relevant in Tokyo, where construction of high-rise apartment buildings has been proceeding at a rapid pace for the last two decades. The local news media has shied away from examining the safety of Japan's so-called tower mansions, even as they breathlessly covered the London fire, but public broadcaster NHK did address the matter on its explanation series, "Jiron Koron," in early August. The mention was, however, mainly in relation to the Grenfell Tower fire.