Today’s Wordless Wednesday photo was sent to me by Bryan Bontrager of Rand Construction. This photo was taken in a high school, while school was in session. The doors lead from an enclosed courtyard into the school – the egress path should pass through the interior of the school and out the main exit doors to the public way.
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They must be worried about someone scaling the walls or parachuting into the courtyard to gain access to the school.
Must be a really tight budget at that school district. They couldn’t even afford chains and padlocks.
I wonder which is more dangerous, the fact that the exit is blocked or the potential of someone using the boards as a spear.
These are the same people that are educating most of our children.
Unbelievable.
1.)workers on roof near the court yard
2.)fresh concrete/paint/pesticide etc.
3.)other unseen hazards- weak tree limb etc.
You’re on optimist. 🙂
– Lori
Here they just put deadbolts on the doors with exit devices. Architects spec it that way.
Maybe you will like this selection better!
1.)a swarm of killer bees
2.)Alfred Hitchkock’s “The Birds”- imminent attack
3.) preparing for the pending Zika virus attack
4.)Zombies spotted in the court yard
Darn, I would not even get to use my bolt cutters to embarrass the people responsible. We never carried a saw in the chief’s car.
Might be the work of a smart Janitor, while mopping the floors. He did not want anybody to dirty the floor while wet.
Funny enough, this is my lovely school and I have definitely considered the possibility of spearing someone with the boards. They certainly look sharp enough, haha
I have seen this “need” several times. Kidding aside, Bob is correct about scaling the walls. Such attack vectors are common in single story buildings with a courtyard condition. Kids in particular like this. The thing to look for is how they can get up on the roof, which is probably located far away from here. Look for foot prints, bent fencing and other evidence that would point to use and i would bet that you would find it. Motion lights, anticlimbing fencing or paint or just move the dumpster kids are climbing on. You should be worried about this method of entry as it is quite undetectable and vulnerable. There are a lot of things that can be done: delayed egress active when the building IDS is turned on; Video with IR in the courtyard triggered by motion will also work and should be used at night to detect IF the space has been violated– very important to note since contraband can be hidden during during closed hours. During the day, a video camera with a simple virtual trip wire analytic can be used to display a camera image to concerned parties.
There are a number of things that can be done; but the best is to think about this stuff when the building is designed.
We have had this situation in some of our schools. People climb over the roof and drop down into the courtyards to break into the buiding.
In one high school we have a large fully enclosed courtyard with panic bars leading from the courtyard into the school to allow exit from the courtyard in the event of a fire or other emergency. After repeated break ins we installed mag locks connected by relay to the fire alarm. They are normally operated by a key switch to allow daytime access to the courtyard. This was approved by the AHJ. Funny enough,this courtyard now also has an emergency call button to allow interlopers to call for help when they drop into the courtyard after hours only to find there is no means of escape. We get the police to come and let them out. 🙂
The wood is not going to stop someone from crashing into the building, push on both doors and the wood will break. I think some people may be missing the point of a panic exit device.
Fire emergencys are to exit the building even if its into an enclosed courtyard. Exit to the courtyard with the panic bar, entry when unlocked by the trim on the OUTSIDE courtyard to enter building. If the courtyard is being used then the trim should be left unlocked until the end of the school day.
It seems to me that the school is trying to limit the access to the courtyard by the students with out supervision.