This one’s going to be a tough fix…a wall magnet in a school corridor that is missing a crucial component. Without the electrified hold open to release the door during an intruder situation, the security of this wing of the school is compromised.
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At least in the short term, a surface mounted conduit for the electrified mag should be acceptable…until the mason is available.
Based on experience I’d say it was vandalism. 35 years ago while doing a final walkthrough, a student was observed trying to remove a lock set from an exterior hollow metal door. By the time we fetched the school’s Principal, the lockset was gone, completely pulled out of a heavy duty door. This same upper middle-class high school also survived a bonfire that was started in a restroom. Due to non-combustible materials, the fire did not spread. Schools must be as vandal resistance as possible but even with built-in hardware like the door mag it’s hard to prevent. I’m a big proponent of hiring security officers at schools both for security from violence and vandalism.
I don’t think the security will be compromised, or at least, it should not be compromised. That hold open device is there as a convenience to hold the door open. Without a working hold-open, that door should be closed and latched. That said, I was in a school district recently that has a number of magnetic hold opens on what I will call unnecessary doors. The doors are not required to close and latch on a fire alarm. Instead, these doors are held open to control access after hours. It is a benefit that these doors can be closed upon activation of a fire alarm, but it is not required.
Hi Joe –
In many schools, cross-corridor doors have levers that are kept locked at all times. If there is a security issue, a switch at the main office can cut power to the magnetic holders and the doors close and are locked on the access side. In past school shootings we have seen how important it is to limit the assailant’s passage through the school. With this magnetic holder missing, the door was propped open with a wedge, compromising the security.
– Lori