Yesterday I shared some photos from my recent trip to Colombia, pointing out the large gaps in the floor and how those would be addressed by the US accessibility standards. Today’s Wordless Wednesday photos were taken in the same apartment building lobby.
To the right is a security desk, which usually had a security person present (but not when I took the photos). The glass doors in the photo were equipped with a mag-lock, with absolutely no other releasing devices except a remote push button at the security desk. If no one was at the security desk, there was no way to exit.
In the US, these doors would have to comply with the code requirements for electrified locks with sensor release. The requirements include a sensor on the egress side to detect an approaching occupant and unlock the door, and an auxiliary push button beside the door that would unlock the door for 30 seconds. The lock would have to unlock upon power failure and fire alarm/sprinkler system activation. (Refer to the adopted code for specifics.)
For more information on the requirements for these locks, refer to Type 3 on the Special Locking Arrangements page.
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Not only lack of safety exit device. Some doors are very high and wide on a simple patch fitting. Doors are easily throwing down by wind
That’s true, Tim! And this building is near the coast!
– Lori
Hmmm, I need out! Oh yeah, tempered glass. Hmm, owner now needs a new set of doors because the originals are just a pile of pea sized glass pebbles. Gotta love tempered glass, so strong yet so weak!
I’m thinking what Bryan’s thinking
It may meet code! Maybe not today’s code because it could be a Grandfathered opening? Which codes were in effect at the time of construction or last major renovation? Darn difficult to determine.
But, if I install maglocks for an access control, then everything I do must meet the currently adopted code: “no prior knowledge” automatic unlocking; marked manual unlocking device within 5′ of doorway; fire dropped if building has a fire alarm system.
Hi Bill –
I’d have to go back to look at when the access controlled egress doors section was added, but it would be unusual in the US to find a mag-lock that was installed before that section was included in the model codes. The photos were taken in Colombia, so there may not even be code requirements for this application there.
– Lori
“The glass doors in the photo were equipped with a mag-lock, with absolutely no other releasing devices except a remote push button at the security desk. If no one was at the security desk, there was no way to exit.”
Are you sure that that was an apartment complex and not a jail? Was there some other way for people to exit without passing through the lobby if there was nobody there at the desk? That is crazy.
I didn’t see any other exits – there may have been another way out but it definitely was not obvious.
– Lori
In all seriousness, though, we may allow a setup like that in a place like a jail, or in a nursing home, or in a memory care facility, or in other situations where the clinical needs of the people require their containment (i.e. controlled egress)–but we would NEVER allow that kind of thing in an apartment building for regular people. And this is in an apartment building for regular people?! Gracious sakes.
Not just “regular people” – even short-term guests like us who have no familiarity with the exits!
– Lori