Not a silly question at all.
This would be unacceptable by todays standards.
It does have some thin metal closing off the hole on the top side but it is not fire stopping.
Two major changes now would be totally enclosed bus duct and a fire stopping system would be required around the penetration.
This building has hundreds of open penetrations at water, waste, heating, cooling, electrical pipes and duct work.
It surprises me that as recently as 1964 a 120 unit apartment building could be built in a major city without,
1)Sprinklers
It still does not have sprinklers, it does have a standpipe in each stairway to run hoses from. The standpipe is dry, it must be supplied from a fire dept truck in the street.
2)Fire Alarm System.
It has a basic one now, no smoke control provisions. Even a three story apartment building near my house has smoke exhaust / hallway pressure fans controlled by the fire panel.
3)No fire stopping. (New work gets sealed)
The building is constructed of cement and steel I imagine that made it sound safe without the other items.
Sorry for ranting...Bob
[This message has been edited by iwire (edited 02-27-2005).]
