Monthly Archives: February 2014

WWYD: Accessible Access Control Credentials

I really enjoyed reading everyone's input on my post about emergency exit seals, and since I'm currently in a 3-day class for the NFPA Certified Fire Plan Examiner program and don't have a lot of time for blogging, here's another question for which I have no concrete answer but would love your insight...

By |2017-05-30T16:09:30-04:00February 20th, 2014|Accessibility, Locks & Keys, WWYD?|8 Comments

FF: Doors of Klemens Torggler

The design blogs and architectural sites are all abuzz about these doors designed by Austrian artist Klemens Torggler.  I agree - they are very cool and it's about time someone invented an alternative to the hinge, which has been around for thousands of years.  Let's not ruin the party by mentioning security, egress, durability, accessibility, fire resistance, or chopped off fingers, and just enjoy the innovation.  :D

By |2014-02-14T01:17:13-05:00February 14th, 2014|Beautiful Doors, Fixed-it Friday|5 Comments

The Inspector – by Phil Chandler, CampusFireSafety.org

Last month I wrote about a fatal fire in a Manhattan high-rise residential building, where non-compliant fire doors likely had an effect on the outcome.  There was initially a lot of publicity surrounding this tragedy and even a proposal for new legislation, but as I feared, within a couple of weeks the media was no longer reporting on the story.  I recently read the article below in the monthly newsletter from the Center for Campus Fire Safety, and I loved it so much that I asked them if I could share it with you.  It gives a different perspective on the same issues that I preach about all the time, from Phil Chandler, a firefighter and fire marshal.  Many thanks to the Center for Campus Fire Safety, and to Phil.

By |2014-02-27T13:54:39-05:00February 11th, 2014|FDAI, Fire Doors, News|3 Comments

FF: Rodless

Instead of maintaining the fire exit hardware on this pair of fire doors, the rods and most of the latches were removed and an exit alarm was installed.  The most disturbing part is that there are doors like this EVERYWHERE...fire doors and egress doors that will no longer perform as designed, tested, and required by code, because of lack of maintenance or improper modifications.  And without widespread adoption of the fire and egress door inspection requirements, we're left to address these problems one door at a time.  In each fatal fire the main focus seems to always be on sprinklers, but compartmentalization is key to preventing the spread of smoke and flames.  It goes without saying that code-compliant egress is a life safety feature which can't be compromised.

PSA – 9-volt Batteries

This is not door-related, but consider it a public service announcement that shows how much I care about you.  I don't know how common this is, but I did confirm that a 9-volt battery can be used to start a fire and improper storage has led to several residential fires.  If we proactively replace our smoke detector batteries and store the partially-used batteries until they are recycled, we need to take precautions to avoid the situation in the video below.

By |2014-02-03T14:10:31-05:00February 3rd, 2014|General Info, Videos|2 Comments
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