You know what amazes me about this Fixed-it Friday photo? It’s not the fact that someone used screws to dog the latch on this fire door in the stairwell of an apartment building. It’s that in the last 10 years, the number of people who actually notice these problems (and often do something to resolve them) has increased significantly. The photo came from Joe Hendry of the ALICE Training Institute, who was previously a university police lieutenant. I wonder how often Joe looked at hardware on fire doors 10 years ago. 🙂
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Gotta love how you can still see the pieces of the tape that was used prior to the screws to hold the hatch back…
This is a common surreptitious entry trick. Often people will exit this door not even looking to see if it’s latching as they push on the bar and it works. Later when the perpetrators return they just pull the unlatched door open. I had to investigate many so-called break-ins that employed this technique. However, this may simply be a bad device that someone just did not want to invest time or money to repair. So much for fire prevention.
Interesting use of screws. Though I always like it better when people use coins to hold the latch retracted. Many a time when one of us would get a call about a door not latching only to leave with some coin in our pocket.
Many years ago when removing screws like this on a very unhappy department that would now have to do more then just push or pull that to meet code they had to use lead screws so it counts as a fusible link. two months latter they told me they could not find anyone who sold lead screws that would fit. I hope to this day they are still searching. (a lead screw is a type the screw not a screw made of lead so you do get hits in google)
Haha – good one!
– Lori
Thanks for leading me down the garden path wasting too much time learning about lead screws
Yes, I googled it.
I even found one YT presentation using an ACME rod.
I never did see the roadrunner of coyote.
Lori, guess what was waiting for me when I got home Thursday night.
Thank you.
Hmmmm…a Yeti?? 😀
– Lori
Good guess and we’ll be going on a short road trip this weekend.
As my new driving partner, Yeti needs a name. Abby, for Abdominal Snowman.