FDAI
In response to my request for a list of FAQs, my colleague and pal Kurt Roeper sent this suggestion. It’s definitely a frequently asked question, but the tricky part is coming up with the answer. I’m a big fan of the old adage, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” That’s [...]
Sometimes I feel like a broken record. Like maybe people are sick of hearing me talk about fire and egress doors, how they protect us, and what happens when they are disabled or neglected. When I meet someone, I don’t immediately launch into a discussion about doors because I’m pretty sure they’ll think I’m a [...]
If you missed the New England Chapter DHI meeting last week…a Q&A presentation on codes, the question/answer document and the handout are now available on the chapter website. You can download them here: Q&A Document / Handout You also missed out on some great examples of why fire doors and egress doors should be inspected annually! [...]
For several months I’ve been working on a short presentation for code officials about Fire & Egress door Assembly Inspection. I really HAVE been working on it, just not continuously. In my defense, it’s really easy to get sidetracked when you get 100 emails per day. But there’s one sure-fire way to get me focused, [...]
I recently conducted a fire door assembly inspection and I noted that many of the existing frames had old holes that had been patched with Bondo filler putty. NFPA 80 requires that holes left by the removal of hardware must be filled with steel fasteners or with the same material as the door or frame. [...]
There was a 9-alarm fire last week in Boston, in a 10-story condominium building. Several residents had to be rescued by firefighters, because they didn’t evacuate the building immediately when the alarm sounded. One resident, who waited 10-15 minutes (by her estimate) to leave, found a stairwell full of smoke and a locked door to [...]
On Thursday, May 13th, the New England Chapter of the Door & Hardware Institute will be holding our meeting at a new location – Vinny T’s in Dedham, Massachusetts. The meeting topic is fire door assembly inspection (FDAI), and many of the local fire door inspectors will be participating in the presentations. The format is [...]
The instructors in my Fire Door Assembly Inspector (FDAI) class showed us a really handy gauge to measure clearances around fire rated doors, and since I’m going to do my first *official* inspection tomorrow I tracked one down. It can easily and accurately measure 1/16″, 1/8″, 3/16″, 1/4″, and 3/8″ gaps, and a 3/4″ undercut. For [...]
On January 19th, 2011, Firefighter Mark Falkenhan was killed in the line of duty while fighting an apartment fire at 30 Dowling Circle in the Hillendale section of Baltimore County, Maryland. The fire was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the videos below detail the events leading to this [...]
I’ve been doing some research for my FDAI presentation, looking for specific examples of how the inspection of fire doors and correction of deficiencies can have a direct impact on life safety as well as the protection of property. It’s not very often that you see fire doors in the news, but these two recent [...]
I spent most of today traveling to Connecticut to do a Code Jeopardy presentation for 31 building inspectors there. I’m pretty sure they thought I was crazy when I said that we were going to play a game, but they enjoyed it and learned something, and I was able to keep them awake even though [...]
The 2010 California Fire Code requires fire doors to be maintained in accordance with NFPA 80 and smoke doors to be maintained in accordance with NFPA 105. The code references the 2007 editions of NFPA 80 and NFPA 105 (Chapter 47 – Referenced Standards). The 2007 editions of these standards require the door assemblies to [...]
The 2010 Florida Fire Prevention Code, effective December 31, 2011, requires fire doors to be maintained in accordance with NFPA 80 and references the 2007 edition of that standard in Chapter 2 – Referenced Publications. The 2007 edition of NFPA 80 requires fire door assemblies to be inspected annually as part of the maintenance requirements, [...]
The 2010 Fire Code of New York State requires fire doors to be maintained in accordance with NFPA 80, and references the 2007 edition of that standard (Chapter 45 – Referenced Standards). The 2007 edition of NFPA 80 requires fire door assemblies to be inspected annually as part of the maintenance requirements, so by referencing [...]
UPDATE: I wanted to preserve this original post but the recommended specification section on fire and egress door assembly inspections has been updated and is available HERE. As states continue to adopt building and fire safety codes which reference the 2007 or 2010 editions of NFPA 80, the requirement for annual fire door assembly inspections [...]
You may have already noticed that I added a new tab at the top of the page that says “FDAI.” On this page I’ve collected some resources on Fire Door Assembly Inspection (FDAI). If you have comments about any of the documents or links there, or if you have ideas for other resources that should [...]
A while back, I posted some recommended specification language regarding the annual inspection of fire and egress door assemblies, and I have since revised it based on everyone’s comments. The original language and comments are still here, and the updated language is below. This should be inserted into the hardware specification for projects designed to [...]
Tonight I attended the local DHI chapter meeting, where I was one of the presenters in a “cracker barrel” style presentation on fire door assembly inspection. It was kind of like FDAI speed dating. We had 6 tables, each with a different topic and 1 or 2 presenters per table, and the attendees cycled through [...]
Since Maine and Massachusetts have adopted the 2007 edition of NFPA 80 which requires the annual inspection of fire doors, we have received enough questions about it that I put together a list of frequently asked questions. Here they are: The 2007 Edition of NFPA 80 – Standard for Fire Doors and Other Opening Protectives [...]
In 2007, the annual inspection of fire door assemblies became a code requirement that is gradually being adopted across the U.S. Given the enormous quantity of fire doors and the relatively small number of qualified fire door inspectors, implementation of this change has been challenging, but because of the appalling condition of the fire doors [...]
Last week I posted some photos of a pair of 20-minute doors with some “issues,” and I want to thank everyone who left comments with their thoughts on the situation. Often, people tell me that they know something is required but aren’t sure where to find it written, so I thought it would be good [...]
Someone asked me a question recently that I had to stop and think about. In the old days, wire glass could only be used in fire doors. It could not be used in non-rated doors. The question was, “Can the wire glass that meets the impact resistance requirements be used in non-rated doors?” The answer [...]
What you’re looking at is an existing fire rated frame with a new door that I saw recently during a fire door inspection. Most of the other doors that I inspected that day had steel hinge fillers to fill the existing hinge preps before the continuous hinges were installed. So why were a half-dozen or [...]
Once again, failure to follow fire safety and egress code requirements in a nightclub has resulted in a fire with multiple fatalities. The death toll from the December 4th fire at the Lame Horse in Perm, Russia currently stands at 112 with more than 100 people severely injured. According to news reports, plastic sheeting decorated [...]
I know there have been a lot of posts this week and hopefully my subscribers aren’t getting sick of the email notifications, but I’ve got a couple of really important things to post so bear with me. I can take next week off if you’re sick of me. There has been a lot of discussion [...]
I have heard from some code officials that annual fire door assembly inspections aren’t feasible because there are too many fire doors, or aren’t necessary because the building inspectors and fire marshals already have it covered. The application below caught my eye on the way into my hotel the other other night. It’s the fire [...]
Judging from the photos, these doors may not have been code-compliant, but they were still able to hinder the spread of smoke and fire, at least to some extent. That does not mean that any old non-compliant door will be fine so we might as well stop worrying about them…one of the biggest issues with [...]
Holy cow…I am bone-weary. I feel like I ran on adrenaline the whole time I was in NYC, and the 5-hour ride home in the rain and snow was the icing on the cake. The days at the DHI Conference flew by, but what a great time! I caught up with a lot of my [...]
In the last 2 days, a certified fire door inspector and a hardware supplier have both asked me where it is stated that Maine and Massachusetts have adopted the 2007 edition of NFPA 80, which includes the requirement for the annual inspection of fire doors. In Maine, it’s pretty easy: Office of State Fire Marshal, State of [...]
I recently received my copy of the 2010 edition of NFPA 80 – Standard for Fire Doors & Other Opening Protectives, and I spent some time today perusing the changes (indicated by a vertical line to the left of the revised text). Many of the changes are related to glazing, and there are some updates [...]
There’s an article in the May/June 2009 issue of the NFPA Journal about the inspection of egress doors and fire doors. You can access the article here. It’s an excellent overview of the inspection requirements found in the 2009 Edition of NFPA 101 – The Life Safety Code. According to NFPA 101 – 2009, the [...]
The suit was in regard to the breach of security caused by wedging open the fire door, but I thought this was kind of interesting: From the Southwark News… ‘SHUT THAT DOOR!’ 26 January 2011 A Borough resident will have to learn to ‘shut that door’, otherwise she will be breaching a bail condition imposed [...]
Last Tuesday night, approximately fifty people were left homeless by a fire at the Parkside West Apartments in New London, Connecticut, which apparently began on a stove in a 3rd-story apartment. One of the newspaper accounts of the fire investigation reported that the fire marshal stated “in the third-floor apartment where the fire is believed [...]
It was bound to happen eventually. With the 7th edition of the Massachusetts State Building Code (780 CMR), Massachusetts has joined the rest of the New England states in the requirement for doors to be tested using the positive pressure testing requirements. We have all been hearing about positive pressure for at least 10 years [...]
Maybe I should have a new series called “Jeff Tock’s Photos.” Jeff is one of the Ingersoll Rand trainers who travels the world teaching people about hardware, and he sees a lot of “special applications.” Jeff sent me this group of photos recently (thanks Jeff!): This bank of doors is in a large convention [...]
A while back, I wrote a post about the requirement for fire doors to be self-closing, and I referenced a fire at the Rosepark Care Home in Uddington, Scotland. The fire occurred in 2004, but the results of the investigation are being reported now. I’ve been collecting news articles related to fire and egress doors [...]
Just when I was wondering what I should post about tonight, I received this photo from Brendan Daley of SURV. From an informational aspect, it’s a great sign…it tells the building occupants that it’s a fire door and how the door should be treated. Unfortunately, signs can’t be installed on fire doors using screws! Here [...]
I’ve obviously been slacking because this video was posted a month ago. It’s a follow-up to a report about the flawed fire safety system at the Staples Center, including problems with their fire doors. Here’s a link, in case you missed it too. Kudos to Robert Flores of Fire Door Consulting and Inspection Services for [...]
This building in Calcutta was involved in a fatal fire today, with 24 deaths reported so far and additional people still missing. The top floors of the building had been added illegally, but the building owner paid a fine and all was forgiven. The fire department reportedly had never inspected the building. Each section had [...]
This is the 2nd post in a series about fire doors and the results of a recent survey. ————————————————————————————————– “Fire protection-rated doors provide critical protection to protect exit enclosures and compartmentalize buildings and stop the spread of fire, smoke, and toxic gases. The proper installation and maintenance of these doors is a critical part of [...]
This is the 3rd post in a series about fire doors and the results of a recent (unscientific) survey. After filtering out the confessed “door experts” (49) and the people who skipped Question #3 (11), there were 647 responses to this question. Here are the most common answers to the question “How can you tell [...]
This is the 4th post in a series about fire doors and the results of a recent (unscientific) survey. The survey results included some pretty good answers as to what the rules for fire doors might be. Quite a few people knew that fire doors should be kept closed, but there’s an important clarification I [...]
Back to business after a brief vacation in Costa Rica… This is the 5th post in a series about fire doors and the results of a recent (unscientific) survey. Rule #2 – A fire door must be SELF-LATCHING. This means that when a fire door closes, it latches, typically with either a lockset/latchset or fire [...]
This is the 6th post in a series about fire doors and the results of a recent (unscientific) survey. For anyone who is just tuning in or has lost track of this series of posts, I conducted a survey about what the general public knows about fire doors and I learned 2 things – 1) [...]
This is the 7th post in a series about fire doors and the results of a recent (unscientific) survey. The real answer to this question is “it depends.” Stair doors are almost always fire doors, main entrance doors – almost never. Offices, bathrooms – rarely. Storage, corridors – sometimes. You get the picture. As a [...]
This is the 8th post in a series about fire doors and the results of a recent (unscientific) survey. I have kids in elementary school and preschool, and I know about the financial crisis most of our schools are facing. The school system in our town is trying to overcome a $10.3 million budget gap [...]
A couple of weeks ago I posted a survey to find out what people know about fire doors. The purpose was to test my theory that the reason fire doors are improperly modified and damaged hardware is left unrepaired is because people don’t realize a) which doors are fire doors or b) what can or [...]
My only hesitation in posting these photos is that they are probably the best photos of Doors Gone Wrong that I have ever seen, and any future photos will pale in comparison. These are the holy grail of bad door photos, which I received from Eyal Bedrik of Entry Systems Ltd. in Israel. According to [...]
The other day I posted some photos of a fire door that had done its job and prevented a fire from spreading. Several of you emailed me about the photos, because they’re SUCH a great illustration of what a fire door is for. It’s easy to imagine what would have happened if it was propped [...]
The fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City on March 25th, 1911, claimed 146 lives – mostly young immigrant women. Building owners locked the exit doors to keep the workers in and the union organizers out, so when a fire broke out on the 8th floor it was impossible for some of [...]
It’s tough enough to get anyone to pay attention to fire doors, but when a fire is a result of a “voodoo sex ceremony,” there’s little to no chance that anyone will take note of the role played by the propped-open fire door. In a 5-alarm fire in Brooklyn on February 20th, the door to [...]
I received the comment below on my post about the childrens’ museum doors with applied panels painted to look like stone. It’s a good question, so I’m turning it into a post of its own. “Lori – What do you do when you find these doors? Do you ever notify management/maintenance that these are a [...]
When I lived in a condominium complex in the mid-90′s, I don’t think I gave much thought to fire safety. I remember hearing the fire alarm in the middle of the night and going out to my balcony to see if I could smell smoke. If not, it must be a false alarm. That seems [...]
I saw both of these doors today, in two different facilities. Yes, they are both fire rated. One is a cross-corridor pair and one is a stair door.
Sent in by an anonymous fire marshal who is getting quite the education in fire door assemblies.
Photos posted with permission from Newcastle University.
UPDATE: This application was discussed at length on the Building Codes Forum, so go check it out to see what the AHJs had to say. The final decision was that the door should have been a 20-minute door, even if the contents of the electric room did not require a higher rating. As a 20-minute [...]
How many more fires is it going to take before people understand that closed and latched doors save lives, code-compliant fire doors are self-closing and self-latching, and annual fire door inspections will make sure they stay that way? It’s simple, really. But the message is not getting through, and people continue to die – this [...]
