#6010
#5
From: SFPalladin@aol.com (Greg Smith)
Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2002
Subject: RE: Getty Re: 6004 Hypothermia
Arch Getty's comment on the growing number of security devices is consistent with what I've found in visits over the past 4 years. An additional aspect of this development is the problem of emergency egress. So called "panic" hardware is not common in the older Russian buildings which comprise most of the housing stock. The deadbolts and code locks he describes often require some manipulation to exit.
I've had a bit of personal experience with this. On Christmas Day 1999 I was temporarily locked in a friend's Moscow apartment lobby because I couldn't remember where the electric door release was. In October, I stayed in an apartment where one had to use a skeleton key to unlock a deadbolt to get out.
While Russia has other priorities right now, I suspect the challenge of developing and enforcing a uniform building code and dealing with the decaying infrastructure generally will have to be addressed at some point down the line.
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