Falling objects from high altitude: the pain hanging over the city of Bengbu

Pay attention to the "side effects" of high-rise residential buildings series ④

Falling objects from high altitude: the pain hanging over the city □ our reporter Li Jing

Not long ago, Sichuan A young child was hit by an iron ball dropped from the sky and died unfortunately. In fact, with the gradual popularization of high-rise residential buildings in today's cities, falling objects from heights, as a phenomenon that is both unsafe and uncivilized, have also appeared around us. Some buildings have safety hazards caused by falling objects, and some citizens engage in uncivilized behavior by throwing objects from high altitudes. Sometimes, residents living in high-rise buildings randomly throw debris from upstairs. Sometimes, debris such as flower pots placed on balconies are blown down by the wind. Falling objects from heights for whatever reason have become "pain hanging over the city", which not only troubles the lives of citizens, but also threatens the safety of their lives and property. How to eliminate the safety hazards hanging over our heads?

Moving to a new home is a happy event. However, for Ms. Zhang, who moved into Golden Domain City, something happened not long after her new residence.

One day, Ms. Zhang dried the quilt outside the balcony as usual. Unexpectedly, when she came home from get off work to collect the quilt, she was shocked by the sight in front of her. There was a lot of dirty garbage on the quilt. . The building where Ms. Zhang lives has 11 floors and dozens of households. Which household upstairs threw the person down? There's no way to know for sure. "I suspected which neighbor was throwing garbage, but the surveillance camera couldn't capture it, and there was no evidence." In anger, Ms. Zhang took the quilt to the property management company to report it. However, because she could not determine which household threw the garbage, the property management company also It's difficult.

The property management company of Deren Community in Qingda was also troubled by the garbage thrown away by unknown neighbors. Chen Ling, the Dacheng property manager in charge of the community, said that just upstairs next to the property office building, there are some people whose quality needs to be improved and they throw away household garbage. "It's hard to catch it on surveillance if it's thrown away at night. We can only clean it up immediately if we find it in the morning."

Chen Ling said that because the downstairs building is located in a green belt, the discarded garbage often falls out. There were no serious casualties or vehicle damage in the green belt.

In comparison, Ms. Mei, a citizen who lives in the Bund Gardens along the riverside, experienced a bit of a misfortune. Early in the morning on December 6, Ms. Mei went out to work as usual. When she arrived downstairs, she was shocked by the scene in front of her: her car, which had been parked in a temporary parking space in the community the night before, had its sunroof glass sucked by a metal door. smash. Seeing the glass of the new car shattered into pieces, Ms. Mei was distressed and angry, but she couldn't help but feel scared, "If someone happened to walk to this position at that time, the consequences would be really disastrous."

Ms. Mei immediately chose to take the Call the police. Police from Yan'an Police Station quickly arrived at the scene to collect evidence. The police officer surnamed Zhou who dispatched the police at the time said that based on the situation on the scene, it was initially determined that an object fell from a height. However, because the surveillance camera in the community did not capture the starting point of the fall of the "culprit", it was unclear which household it was from and whether it was a man-made object or debris. It's hard to tell for a while.

"I consulted a lawyer. If I want to be held accountable, I can go through legal procedures and sue the residents on the second floor and above of the entire building. However, weighing the cost of repairing the car and expending a lot of energy and litigation, I finally had to admit it myself. Unlucky." Miss Mei was extremely depressed.

The reporter learned from the judicial department that in recent years there have not been many cases in court due to falling objects from heights. However, for people like Ms. Mei and Ms. Zhang who encountered falling objects from heights and encountered obstructions, the reporter randomly visited In many communities, they have appeared more or less. Some residents told reporters that on July 20 this year, the exterior wall of Building 1 of Dingyuan Mansion in Baidu Tuoji Plaza fell from more than 30 floors, smashing several private cars parked on the roadside and also destroying the buildings. Some street trees had their branches broken.

Falling objects from high altitudes are really difficult to guard against, and the danger seems to be hanging over the heads of residents at all times.

Like an intractable knot

How much damage will falling objects cause?

Scientific research data shows that if a 30-gram egg is thrown from the 4th floor, it will cause swelling; if it is thrown from the 8th floor, it will damage the scalp; and if it is thrown from the 18th floor, it will be smashed. A human skull; being thrown from the 25th floor would kill someone instantly. A small stone as big as a thumb may hurt someone's scalp if it falls on the 4th floor, but it may cause immediate death if it falls on the 25th floor.

As urban space becomes increasingly compact, there are more and more high-rise buildings around us, and there are also an increase in high-altitude hanging objects such as billboards, air conditioners, flower pots, etc. Incidents of falling objects from high altitudes are not uncommon. Objects falling from high altitudes range from paper towels, fruit cores, toothpicks to large clothes drying racks and flower pots. Even more shocking are window sashes, steel plates, billboards, etc. They have become potential safety hazards for the public and affected the lives of citizens. Environment and life and property safety.

"If it results in serious personal injury, you will be held criminally responsible." Lawyer Cui said that in such cases, the provision of evidence is very important. "If the victim does suffer personal injuries and property losses, and can provide evidence such as surveillance video, eyewitness testimonials, etc., he will generally be able to obtain corresponding compensation."

It is understood that the current law does not provide for falling from heights. The provisions of the infringement regulations are: “If objects are thrown from a building or objects fall from a building and cause damage to others, and it is difficult to identify the specific infringer, unless it can be proved that he is not the infringer, the user of the building who may cause harm shall be compensated. Compensation. "However, looking at the incidents of falling objects that have occurred across the country in recent years, only those that have caused serious consequences are dealt with and paid attention to, and most of the others are ignored.

Overhead safety has attracted more and more attention. However, it is difficult to obtain evidence, which often becomes a bottleneck in quickly solving the problem of falling objects from high altitude.

"We have also been suspicious of individual residents who have dropped objects from high altitude, especially objects thrown from high altitude. Sometimes security guards go upstairs to remind or knock on the door to warn, but there is no direct warning. Generally, the other party will not admit the evidence," said Wu Fanren, the security director of Golden Domain City.

Wu Fanren said that in order to catch people who throw away domestic garbage, they once adjusted the camera monitoring equipment in the community, but after the adjustment, they were unable to capture this behavior for a period of time. "Monitoring must ensure daily use. When the angle is adjusted back to the normal angle, something will suddenly appear again."

"With the lack of monitoring equipment, it is difficult to identify the perpetrator; no serious consequences have been caused. , it is often difficult to attract attention," said Dr. Lei Songlin, a researcher at the Anhui Community Research Institute of Anhui University of Finance and Economics.

Institutional punishment and neighborly care go hand in hand

On the afternoon of December 19, Wu Fang led several security team members to climb up to the platform of the second unit of a building in the community again and cleaned up the things scattered on it. mineral water bottles and other garbage. Lao Wu can no longer remember how many times he has led the security team members to perform high-altitude cleaning work. Every half a month or so, they will carry ladders and repeat such cleaning work.

In addition, they have posted warnings on each building that it is strictly forbidden to throw objects at high altitudes. During patrols every day, security guards will use loudspeakers to remind owners to pay attention to falling objects from high altitudes and not to throw objects carelessly in the building. Get rid of debris.

In order to prevent falling objects from heights, relevant management departments have also put forward a number of requirements for the management of property companies. Wang Hengchang, director of the Property Management Office of the Economic and Technological Development Zone, said property companies need to fulfill their obligation to provide warnings and precautions while eliminating potential safety hazards. "According to regulations, clothes drying racks installed outside the window are not allowed. However, in fact, a considerable number of property owners do not heed the prompts and dissuasion of the property management company, posing hidden dangers for falling objects."

As this has happened in many places across the country It is a common phenomenon, and falling objects from heights are not a local characteristic. Whether it is intentional throwing of objects from high altitude or unconscious falling objects, how to reduce falling objects and prevent accidents is the topic that citizens are most concerned about.

Chen Xiaojie, associate professor at the Marxist-Leninist Teaching and Research Department of the Municipal Party School, believes that Hong Kong can learn from Hong Kong in dealing with falling objects from high altitudes. Hong Kong stipulates that “if someone drops anything from a building, or allows anything to fall from a building, causing danger or injury to people in or near a public place, the person who drops the thing or allows the thing to fall will A person commits a crime and is liable to a fine of HK$10,000 and imprisonment for 6 months." In addition, in order to effectively implement the law, Hong Kong has also established a "Special Task Force to Detect High-altitude Throwing Objects" to monitor high-altitude littering.

"From the perspective of the community, first of all, the property management should increase supervision, do a good job in inspection and maintenance of building exterior walls, install cameras, and conduct all-round monitoring. Government departments should strengthen accountability." She suggested , while strengthening publicity and strict management, it is also necessary to improve the social compensation system, such as accident insurance, accident funds, no-fault compensation system, etc.

During the investigation, Wang Xiumei, a volunteer from Jinyu Community, told reporters that in the past two years, with the advancement of building a civilized city, the phenomenon of intentional throwing of objects has almost disappeared in Zhanggongshan Village Three. "It was true that there were more in the past. Now that our community is so clean and tidy, who would be willing to litter randomly? Besides, our neighbors have known each other for many years. Anyone who litters will be immediately discovered and stopped by the neighbors."

According to Zhang Huiqin, the person in charge of the Jinyu Community Volunteer Service Station, the magic weapon for solving the problem of "thrown objects" in old communities comes from harmonious and harmonious neighborhood relationships. "Neighborhood" is also one of the key points she currently promotes community volunteer activities. "Neighbors get along well with each other, and they understand each other's perspective, so they will naturally pay attention to details. For example, will the water dripping from the washed clothes wet the quilt downstairs? Will the flower pot be accidentally knocked off the window sill?" < /p>

"Don't do evil for small things. Each of us must develop good habits, be civilized and self-disciplined in current affairs and everywhere, and enhance citizens' sense of responsibility. This phenomenon will gradually be eliminated." Zhang Huiqin said.

Conclusion

Food, clothing, housing and transportation are topics that everyone cannot live without. On the road to comprehensive well-off society, housing is a key part of people's life emotions and expectations. When more and more high-rise buildings rise in the city, when we move to high-rise residences with elevators, and when the joy of moving in fades away, "side effects" such as safety management and neighborhood relations in high-rise residences gradually emerge. After more than 2 months since the beginning of October, our series of articles focusing on high-rise residential buildings is coming to an end. However, with the pace of urban development and changes, new changes, new problems, and new normals in any aspect of food, clothing, housing, and transportation need to be updated. More people and more departments need to calm down, think carefully, and solve the problem one by one. On the road of paying general attention to society, our eyes will never stop and our steps will never stop. (Editor Wang Baotong)