Is the First-Floor Container House Safe?

There are certain safety hazards in using container houses on the first floor, and they are not entirely safe. The details are as follows:

Prominent Fire Safety Hazards

• Poor fire resistance of the building, prone to collapse: Container panel houses are mostly supported by steel structures. In a fire, the temperature in the fire scene can reach 800 - 1000℃, far exceeding the critical temperature of 500℃ at which the steel structure loses its static balance stability. Ordinary container panel houses generally lose their load-bearing capacity and collapse within about 10 minutes after a fire breaks out, hindering personnel evacuation and material rescue.
• Panel core materials are easy to ignite and spread rapidly: Some people, in pursuit of cheap prices, purchase container panel houses filled with flammable materials such as polyurethane and polystyrene for the panel cores. These materials have a low ignition point and poor flame retardancy. They will immediately catch fire when exposed to high-temperature sparks, short-circuited wire molten beads, or open flames. Moreover, the honeycomb structure of the materials increases the contact area with the air, causing more intense combustion.
• Narrow internal passages in the building, affecting evacuation: Some user units, in pursuit of usable area, do not leave safety passages and evacuation spaces that meet regulatory requirements. They even occupy safety evacuation passages to build container panel houses. Once a fire breaks out, personnel evacuation will be severely hindered.

Insufficient wind resistance

There is a case where a man in Haiyan, Zhejiang, bought a container online to build a two-story house. An Level 8 gale blew the house apart, with the roof blown away and the walls collapsed. The manufacturer said that although the container was marked with a wind resistance rating of Level 10, it was just a signboard for promotion purposes, and no Level 10 gale tests had been conducted on the house. For ordinary container models to withstand strong winds, the house needs to be reinforced, and the material requirements are relatively high.

Concerns related to living

• Space issues: Ordinary containers have a small space, and it will be inconvenient for a family to live in for a long time. If the insulation, sound insulation, and waterproofing details are not well done during renovation, it will be uncomfortable to live in.
• Property rights and other issues: In many places, issues such as the property rights, planning approval, and fire safety compliance of such houses are not clearly defined, making people feel uneasy about living in them.

Health hazards

New containers may contain certain toxic substances. For example, the polystyrene foam boards sandwiched in color-coated steel plates may have formaldehyde problems. Long-term exposure to a low-dose formaldehyde environment may trigger a series of respiratory diseases, such as asthma and tracheitis, and may even induce serious diseases such as nasopharyngeal cancer, colon cancer, and brain tumors. It can also lead to menstrual disorders and nuclear gene mutations. However, as far as the current residential containers are concerned, there have been no cases of substantial harm to the human body. As long as appropriate preventive measures are taken and ventilation is maintained, residential safety can be ensured.