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 are the NFPA 80 (2007) rules regarding signage on fire doors:

4.1.4 Signage. Informational signs shall be permitted to be installed on the surfaces of fire doors in accordance with
4.1.4.1 through 4.1.4.4 or in accordance with the manufacturer’s published listing.
4.1.4.1 The total area of all attached signs shall not exceed 5 percent of the area of the face of the fire door to which they are attached.
4.1.4.2 Means of Attachment.
4.1.4.2.1 Signs shall be attached to fire doors by use of an adhesive.
4.1.4.2.2 Mechanical attachments such as screws or nails shall not be permitted.
4.1.4.3 Signs shall not be installed on glazing material in fire doors.
4.1.4.4 Signs shall not be installed on the surface of fire doors so as to impair or otherwise interfere with the proper operation of the fire door.

It’s pretty sad that even with signage, fire doors get propped open.  Check out these photos of 4 stair doors all in the same building, tied open with string.  There are so many other issues with these fire doors that I may have to put on my FDAI cape and go over and talk some sense into the property manager!

And finally, speaking of signs…I saw this one on an exterior door (not a fire door) yesterday.  And yes, I pushed.

Stair door photos used with the permission of Chris Devers via Flickr.

You need to login or register to bookmark/favorite this content.