Can you imagine hundreds of people trying to rapidly descend ladders. A good chuck of the population physically couldn’t do it. Not to mention mistakes from the rush. And to actually save space you would have to make these ladder decent zones very small which would be dangerous itself.
I can imagine larger people getting stuck and causing blockages. I just can’t see any system better than stairs for fire escape. Even if we did eliminate the second fire escape, that saves something like 1sqm per unit which is probably worth like $10,000. If we split this cost over the 50+ years the building is expected to last for, it isn’t much of a cost if it provides even a small amount of extra safety.
