r/technology • u/efap1701 • 6h ago
Society Apple's 'Clean Design' Is Stupidity When It Comes To Hiding Fire Extinguishers
https://www.gadgetreview.com/apples-clean-design-is-stupidity-when-it-comes-to-hiding-fire-extinguishers247
u/BossKei 5h ago
This article openly admits it has not been fact-checked, please do journalism a favour and don’t read it.
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u/Synraak 5h ago
What's journalism, now, if not hundreds of social media pics and videos getting picked up by lazy outlets?
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u/AlarmingRope9624 4h ago
Don’t forget you have to have a random person holding a lapel mic in front of their mouth telling us with complete sincerity something they haven’t fact checked
I get all my news from complete randoms these days, don’t you?
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u/Boogie-Down 2h ago
Crazy that a quick vibe coded article copy ad site is considered an outlet today.
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u/TheNakedProgrammer 2h ago
since when do we apply journalism standards to opinion pieces about stupid designs on a gadget review website?
Your statement holds true for Reddit too.
So guys everyone leave, this page is not worth reading - no fact checks to be found.
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u/RealLavender 6h ago
Clearly they didn't actually read any of the laws regarding fire extinguishers and just clicked accept.
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u/CetaceanOps 4h ago
Clearly you didnt read the article stating there has been no confirmation of this actually being true.
Of course it might be true, but as it stands the article is worthless.
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u/Meatslinger 6h ago
Even when I worked for Apple the fire extinguishers were in plain sight. They were strategically placed so as not to affect overall presentation of a space, but then you turn a corner and there's one on the stainless steel wall just as it should be. I guess it varies between stores.
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u/Sir-Spork 2h ago
This article isn’t even verified and seems like they literally wrote it based entirely on what looks like a satire post
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u/0xsergy 6h ago
Couldn't you make a clean simple logo of a fire extinguisher to go ontop of the cover that would match the aesthetic while making it obvious? Or heck just make it transparent because it doesn't fuckin matter?
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u/Spez_is-a-nazi 5h ago
Ideally it would still be high contrast so it would remain visible even in a very smoky environment which would kind of defeat the aesthetic value of hiding it in the first place.
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u/TemporarySun314 5h ago edited 5h ago
No. They should use a standardized logo that doesn't fit the aesthetic but stands out.
So that people know what they have to look for and easily find it, even when they are in panic, there is bad sight, etc.
And then it should be easily accessible. Basically being able to get it out there without requiring any thought.
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u/MarvinLazer 5h ago
Yeah this really seems like a very clear problem stemming from lack of imagination, which I'm honestly not surprised by any time it comes to a multi-trillion dollar company.
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u/11Slip532 34m ago
My store had iconography and labeling to make it obvious that there was an extinguisher behind the panel.
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u/Imtherealwaffle 5h ago
extinguisher in a rounded acrylic window with some red lighting would be nice
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u/bailantilles 5h ago
Working in Apple stores previously the fire extinguishers were behind a steel plate but they were labeled and the lettering was fairly large.
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u/David-J 6h ago
I concur. Quite stupid, most likely illegal and worst of all, dangerous.
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u/AcctAlreadyTaken 6h ago
Apple designers won't understand words illegal or dangerous but they may understand words like lazy and expected. Hiding something in the wall is the lazy simple way of getting around the problem of the look they are going for. Could they not actually THINK of a way that would have used the fire extinguishers shape, color etc into the design of he wall that would have kept them visible and accessible. I say again they are lazy and have absolutely no vision so they took the easiest way out that anyone could have come up with.
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u/redditpilot 1h ago
Seems unlikely to be true. They would not have a certificate of occupancy if fire extinguishers weren’t properly installed and marked. The fire marshal doesn’t care about your esthetics.
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u/shorthairs 23m ago
I built apple stores for many years. I'd usually remove the lettering once we passed inspections. Depended on the jurisdiction. We also hated putting our address or space number on the storefront glass only only did so when inspectors demanded it.
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u/DZhuFaded 6h ago
I don’t think I’ve seen a fire extinguisher at ANY retail store I’ve ever been in. I don’t know how this is any different
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u/frocarter 5h ago
I have yet to be briefed on the fire rules and location of extinguishers at any retail location I shop at.
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u/keytotheboard 6h ago
Whether the article is factual or not (it says they didn’t verify anything), I think it’s a good reminder anyway. Safety items should always be obvious. Trying to play aesthetics with them is dangerous. Trying to match them with your environment is definitely a no-no. They’re supposed to stand out and matching expectations is also important. Any variation should be seriously considered with safety in mind.
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u/Mephisto506 5h ago
Modern “journalism”. Treat a meme image as if it was real and don’t bother verifying anything. Could be from years ago, could be a joke, could be unrelated to Apple. Who knows? Who cares?
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u/Synraak 5h ago
Modern censorship: Convince the public to criticize down, not up.
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u/ALostTraveler24 4h ago
It is not censorship to disregard unverified articles that themselves admit they’ve not bothered verifying anything.
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u/GenericRedditor0405 5h ago
Reminds me of Tesla’s unintuitive manual door operation. People can abide a great deal of form over function, but never form over safety.
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u/ForceGhostVader 3h ago
Looks like this is in an at least a double height space, wouldn’t have the smoke build up that the article says would be a problem. Most likely there’s a red sign above that would let you know there’s a fire extinguisher in this panel. Common practice in these types of spaces like airports or stadiums where you could have a large influx of people. All those people would block that view to the extinguisher so you would have the sign above, usually somewhere between 7-10 feet up. The article clearly has no idea what it’s talking about and is just trying to get clicks by leaving out an image the full column wrap and trying to create controversy
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u/PoppingPillls 3h ago
Or just have no door as we can see a large portion of the surface and can't see a sign.
Fire extinguishers are suppose to be in the open for a reason because in a panic people can't always solve puzzles to find it.
Also there's fire extinguishers out in airports behind breakaway glass in brightly coloured boxes, it's not hidden in secret compartments.
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u/thetargazer 5h ago
They probably have ones up to code it the back. This one is right out in the middle of the floor which isn’t all that common in a store anyway, it’s probably an extra one.
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u/suboptimus_maximus 2h ago
The article doesn't even mention, or seem to consider, if there are also plenty of complaint extinguishers in plain sight. These could just be bonus.
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u/TheNakedProgrammer 2h ago
I assume those locations have build in fire detectors and distinguishing systems and a trained staff.
So not as stupid as my parents putting real candles on Christmas trees without a fire extinguisher in the house. Every year.
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u/davesoverhere 1h ago
Our store has one behind a nondescript stainless steel door. The white “fire extinguisher” lettering is the only thing indicating it’s there.
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u/11Slip532 35m ago
Worked at an Apple Store. Yes they were behind metal panels that matched the metal walls but they were marked with words and iconography. It was obvious.
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u/lyidaValkris 6h ago
all it needs is a fire extinguisher symbol and a "push" icon
not sure if that's sufficient to cover all relevant laws, but it would do the job. Not having any symbol is downright dumb.
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u/-_-Edit_Deleted-_- 5h ago
Just make the cover transparent if you absolutely must hide it away like this.
But ideally you’d just be normal about them.
Life happens. Fires happen.
Just keep the thing accessible.
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u/lekker-boterham 4h ago
You idiots just didn’t see the slightly darker gray label clearly stating “Fire Extinguisher” in Helvetica Neue Ultra Light font size 32
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u/BruteSentiment 4h ago
The article saying it hasn’t been fact-checked is one thing.
But the article says the image circulating shows “an Apple office or retail installation”…looking at the tweet, anyone who’s been in an Apple Store should identify that it is an Apple Store. What’s more, the tweet specifically says WHICH store it is, the 5th Avenue store in New York.
Why try to be so intentionally vague about what the image claims to be? I can understand says “it purports to be” the 5th Ave store, but why imply it could be an office location (which generally have different fire codes than retail spaces) when no one is suggesting it?
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u/Animal907 1h ago
Apple design is generally bad. Consumers just don't understand how it could be better, so Apple gets away with everything.
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u/TemporarySun314 5h ago
The world would be a much worse place if critical infrastructure and safety regulations would have been made by modern tech companies...
Just imagine if Railroads would be invented today... Instead of fail-safes and books full of regulations, you basically would have driving safety risks like musks hyperloops...
It's good that these things were designed and decided by boring engineers and pedantic bureaucrats. Yes it's boring, ugly, slow and it often blocks "innovations". But that is good when it comes to human lifes.
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u/cats_catz_kats_katz 6h ago
This is more big government oversight. Everyone knows that a perfectly clean and aesthetic facility can’t catch fire.
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u/Meat-Dimension 5h ago
Seems like this might have been important…
No official Apple statement, architectural document, or verified primary image has surfaced to confirm the specifics. No such source was identified in the research reviewed for this article