A few news stories hit my inbox this week, which all involved closed doors.  First, two articles that highlighted how closed bedroom doors helped prevent damage and injury in recent residential fires (click here for more info about UL’s Close Before You Doze campaign):

Mid-Michigan Now – Bedroom virtually untouched after fire, door was closed

Photos: City of Burton Fire Department

News8 WTNH – FD: Room with door closed ‘virtually untouched’ in Southington apartment fire

Photos: Southington Fire Department

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And lastly, a different type of article, written by Kristin Bigda of NFPA:

Don’t Compromise Fire Safety While Responding to Coronavirus: Keep Fire Doors Operable

The coronavirus is on the mind of everyone I know.  My oldest daughter’s university has gone to online classes for at least a few weeks, and she is headed home Saturday.  We’re taking precautions and making preparations, but to be honest, I hadn’t really thought about how fire doors might be affected.

Kristin wrote about concerns over facilities propping open fire doors to reduce the spread of germs:

“While it may seem more ‘convenient’ or in this case, a safer option from the perspective of spreading germs, interfering with fire door operation can have grave consequences during a fire. In addition, allowing fire doors to be held open runs a risk of this becoming an accepted practice in the building for any number of situations. Building residents and staff should be taught code-compliant solutions and should not get into a habit of overriding fire-safe practices.”

I agree wholeheartedly.  You can read the whole article here.

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