firetraps
Buildings awaiting disaster
Buildings or structures dangerously prone to catching fire or difficult to escape during a fire.
The term typically describes old buildings with inadequate fire exits, flammable materials, or code violations: The tenement was a firetrap with blocked stairwells.
A firetrap invites disaster—the word emphasizes vulnerability rather than actual burning.
Multi-unit urban dwelling
- slumImpoverished urban district
- flophouseCheap transient lodging
- tinderboxFire-starting kit holder
- deathtrapLethally unsafe location
walkup · rooming house · shanty · dilapidated · ramshackle · decrepit · substandard · condemned
Prone to ignition
- combustibleCapable of burning
- ignitionStarting combustion process
- smokeAirborne combustion byproduct
- flashpointIgnition temperature threshold
volatile · explosive · perilous · unsafe · hazardous · precarious · dangerous · menace
Flight from captivity
egress · flee · rescue · assembly · route · stairwell · blocked · overcrowded
Intense burning fire
- conflagrationLarge destructive blaze
- infernoDevastating, uncontrollable blaze
- flamesVisible burning combustion
- incinerationBurning waste to ash
combustion · embers · cinder · engulfed · gutted · charred · razed · devastation
tenement
Multi-unit urban dwelling
deathtrap · walkup · rooming house · shanty · dilapidated · ramshackle · decrepit · substandard · condemned · overcrowded
flammable
Prone to ignition
- combustibleCapable of burning
- ignitionStarting combustion process
- smokeAirborne combustion byproduct
flashpoint · volatile · explosive · perilous · unsafe · hazardous · precarious · dangerous · menace · liability
escape
Flight from captivity
drill · egress · flee · rescue · assembly · route · stairwell · blocked · overcrowded · panic
blaze
Intense burning fire
- conflagrationLarge destructive blaze
- infernoDevastating, uncontrollable blaze
- flamesVisible burning combustion
incineration · combustion · embers · cinder · engulfed · gutted · charred · razed · devastation · tragedy
firetrapssafe havens
Protected places from harm
shelters · refuges · fortresses · new construction · sanctuaries