Q59. A proposed regulation in a mega city in India requires with future effect the installation in commercial complexes, of sprinklers automatically triggered by the presence of a fire. However, an architect argued that because employees extinguish more than 85% of fires in commercial complexes, sprinklers would only marginally decrease property damage caused by fires.
Which of the following, if true, would most seriously weaken the architect's argument?
Q59. A proposed regulation in a mega city in India requires with future effect the installation in commercial complexes, of sprinklers automatically triggered by the presence of a fire. However, an architect argued that because employees extinguish more than 85% of fires in commercial complexes, sprinklers would only marginally decrease property damage caused by fires.
Which of the following, if true, would most seriously weaken the architect's argument?
The correct option is D (d) In financial terms the largest proportion of property damage that results from fires is caused by fires that start when no employee is present
The architect thinks that the proposed regulation would not bring substantial reduction in property damage because eighty-five percent of fires in commercial complexes are extinguished by employees working there. The positive impact of the proposed regulation would be confined at the most to the fifteen percent incidents of fire.
Answer choice (a) does not provide any counter to the architect's argument.
This point actually provides a new critique to the proposal in that only a very small subset of the commercial complexes would be positively affected. This point is valid but cannot be helped because a new regulation of this nature can apply only to new construction.
Answer choice (b) suggests an alternative which is cheaper but less efficacious. Smoke detectors would definitely alert people inside the complex but would not extinguish fire. Thus in substance (b) does not deal with the point raised by the architect. It is outside the box so to say.
Answer choice (c) is clearly out of the box.
Answer choice (d) tells us that largest proportion of property damage takes place from fires that start when no employee is present. Thus a smaller percentage (15 or less) of incidents causes the maximum damage. The proposed regulation would effectively address this category of incidents of fire that are most harmful. Thus the critique coming from the architect is addressed by (d).
Hence (d) weakens the argument of the architect.
(d) In financial terms the largest proportion of property damage that results from fires is caused by fires that start when no employee is present
The architect thinks that the proposed regulation would not bring substantial reduction in property damage because eighty-five percent of fires in commercial complexes are extinguished by employees working there. The positive impact of the proposed regulation would be confined at the most to the fifteen percent incidents of fire.
Answer choice (a) does not provide any counter to the architect's argument.
This point actually provides a new critique to the proposal in that only a very small subset of the commercial complexes would be positively affected. This point is valid but cannot be helped because a new regulation of this nature can apply only to new construction.
Answer choice (b) suggests an alternative which is cheaper but less efficacious. Smoke detectors would definitely alert people inside the complex but would not extinguish fire. Thus in substance (b) does not deal with the point raised by the architect. It is outside the box so to say.
Answer choice (c) is clearly out of the box.
Answer choice (d) tells us that largest proportion of property damage takes place from fires that start when no employee is present. Thus a smaller percentage (15 or less) of incidents causes the maximum damage. The proposed regulation would effectively address this category of incidents of fire that are most harmful. Thus the critique coming from the architect is addressed by (d).
Hence (d) weakens the argument of the architect.
