If you’re new to this blog, you have a little catching up to do. If you’ve been a loyal reader for a while, you know about “Chip Falcon.” In a nutshell, I had to take a Falcon 24/25 series exit device on my family’s annual summer road trip last year. During our travels the exit device became known as “Chip,” and I posted about the trip almost daily. To my surprise, people really seemed to enjoy reading about Chip’s adventures.
At the end of our trip we knew that Chip needed a special home, so when Bill Elliott started shopping for an exit device to be installed on his local public library, I knew that Chip’s months of living in a cardboard box under my desk were over. Chip was installed on the Freedom Public Library’s entrance door last month, along with an LCN closer.
Today, Bill called and told me to check out the library’s blog. Here’s what it says (written by librarian Elizabeth Rhymer):
“We have a new door closer and panic bar at the library’s main entrance thanks to Bill Elliott who used to work in the hardware business. In case you don’t know, a panic bar is a metal bar on a door that you push on to get out of a building — if there’s a fire and it’s smoky, you won’t have to grope for a door knob, you just push anywhere on the bar and you are out. Our Fire Chief said we needed to get one for the front door. The estimates we got to have one installed along with a pneumatic door closer were around $1,000. Thanks to the generosity of Bill Elliott and the great people at Falcon – the company which made the panic bar – we didn’t have to pay a dime!
The panic bar traveled with an employee of the Falcon company as it made its way to us. The woman’s children named it “Chip” and Chip was photographed in several places and his travels were posted on the Falcon blog. Many thanks to Bill Elliott for making this happen!”
And here’s a photo of Bill, Chip, and their friends from the library (L to R): Judy Johnson (Assistant Librarian), Elizabeth Rhymer (Librarian), Anne Cunningham (Library trustee), Bill Elliott, and Peg Scully (Library Trustee):
Read the first post on Chip Falcon’s Road Trip –>
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awesome story that chip has a home on a door now!
hello Lori, nice to see chip with Bill next to him at the door,
i found the blog to freedom public library and left a comment for them about their door, in their post they said that they got a pneumatic door closer, i know from knowing LCN, that their closer is the 1460 series LCN and is HYDRAULIC.
i see a sort of “pet peeve” here with their new LCN, its on the weather side of the door. i am aware that they do make the PA arm bracket for 1460’s, I guess the installer felt it was easier to just use the standard pull side arm template.
a closer installed on the outside of the building (exposed to the weather as well as vandalism) can shorten the lifespan of a closer.
I notice on the names of the people standing in the photo, Peg Scully, is she in any relation to Neil Scully (the guy who works for New England Door Closer)
and again, HOME SWEET HOME to Chip Falcon and I hope everyone appreciates him being there on the library.
-Jess
Hi Jess –
You’re right, installing the closer on the weather side of the door isn’t ideal, but because of the top rail height and the type of molding on the glass and the deep reveal on the frame, we didn’t have another good option. Believe me, we tried. The closer is not directly exposed to the weather, and the all-weather fluid keeps it working smoothly down to -30 degrees.
– Lori
I can’t believe I have learned so much about door closers and exit devices (pneumatic and hydraulic),their function and best location. I’m so thankful for your generosity, professionalism, and expertise. I’m also thankful for Bill Elliott who solved our problem so quickly. He and Maureen have helped Freedom in more ways than you can imagine.
And, no, no relation to Neil Scully. The only relatives with that name are my three kids, Jim and Tom and Sarah. Tell him I said “Hello”.
Peg