People have often asked me what I recommend or what the model codes say about securing doors against elopement. The International Building Code (IBC), the International Fire Code (IFC), and NFPA 101 – Life Safety Code address acceptable methods to deter elopement from schools and health care facilities, but the International Residential Code (IRC) does not include prescriptive requirements to deter elopement from 1- and 2-family homes.
Families of children with autism and caretakers of adults with dementia often face difficulties while trying to keep their loved ones safe. Free egress is critical but could allow elopement, where the person leaves home unaccompanied. A Minnesota assistant state fire marshal who is also the father of a child with autism offers some good suggestions in this story from Fox9 News:
Have you ever specified or supplied hardware for a residential occupancy where elopement was a factor? WWYD?
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Great video. I have never specified secured egress for a residence but did recently complete both a special education wing at an elementary school. It was specifically designed for children with behavioral issues and elopement is a serious concern. The wing was designed with card-in-card-out secured egress. Only in the case of a card swipe or fire alarm would the doors unlock (actually there are more specific requirements in the IBC but you already knew that)
In addition to the card readers the fire alarm pull stations are equipped with an alarmed cover box. A loud local alarm (very similar to the door alarm in the video) goes off when the cover is raised but before the pull is activated. This was described by school staff as sufficient for a student in an “elevated state” to satisfy themselves that they had made their point, without actually triggering the real fire alarm for the rest of the school. It also allowed staff enough time to reach the child and start the next steps in calming them down.
Actually the biggest problem with the project was during the first week of occupancy a student literally ripped one of the card readers off the wall when they tried to run out and were not able to. The school is looking into retrofitting some steel protection but in hindsight a fully recessed product may have been a better idea.
Wow – interesting! I hadn’t thought about the local alarms satisfying the kids’ desire to make a point. Nor had I thought about the recessed readers. We’re always learning, right?
– Lori
We often recommend the Maranto Door Guardian mounted high up on inswingwing residential doors for both toddlers and dementia patients. An inexpensive solution that has worked well. We never install double cylinder deadbolts on residences, no exceptions. See video here:
https://youtu.be/0vdUjhGeSBQ