Thanks, but I don’t really know what you mean by backstairs, as most apartments I know just open to the one staircase. It’s not way thin, but I’m just saying most of the ones in my city were wider and thicker. The ones which exist, that is. There’s only some of them left in the center and other apartment buildings are basic concrete shits.
My point is rather that it needn’t be a bank or anything like that to be somewhat fancy, that used to be in style… some time. Early 20th century, maybe?



















My apartment building caught fire once. Some drunk had been smoking in the cellars in winter.
Barely noticed it in the fourth floor, a bit of smell, that’s all.
The whole cellar floor burned. Fire department didn’t even get people from above the third floor to go out due to smoke inhalation.
It’s pretty much the same with all fires I can find in the news.
Finnish building regs are a bit different. For one you can’t get through apartment doors without powertools. They’re also good at isolating fire due two doors at the entrance, properly sealed.
So we don’t have two staircases.
We worry more about preventing the fire from spreading instead of what to do if gets uncontrollable. Philosophical difference, really, not saying one approach is better than the other.