When I receive a question about the NFPA 101 – Life Safety Code requirements for health care facilities, I need to know not just what the code says but how it will be enforced.  WWJCD?  (What would the Joint Commission do?)  🙂  For those answers I sometimes call on my friend Brad Keyes, of Keyes Life Safety Compliance.  Brad literally “wrote the book” on life safety – actually, he wrote several books.  He also has a website where he answers life safety questions, including dozens of questions involving doors!

This summer, Brad will be hosting a 2-day Life Safety Boot Camp in Des Plaines, Illinois, along with Alise Howlett of Codenity.  You can find more information about this class on KeyesLifeSafety.com.  While you’re there, you might want to read about emergency power for electrified locks, stairwell interruption gates, or why the Life Safety Code exists.  Or just check out the photos below from Brad’s series on Strange Observations.

As you can see, someone has decided that this door is no longer an exit even though the door has an exit sign.  A mag-lock has been installed without the required release devices, along with conflicting signage.  Removing a required exit from service is not quite this easy – this door is no longer code-compliant.  On a health care facility, this will usually come to light more quickly than it would on other types of buildings, with a higher potential for consequences.

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