Last week I wrote about the concept of issues that keep me up at night vs. those that don’t bother me quite as much. Today’s Wordless Wednesday photos definitely fall into the first category – this situation kept me awake while I pondered how to address it.
I have two kids in college, and they are both attending a university that is a campus in Querétaro, Mexico of two U.S. universities. It’s a cool concept, and a good way for the kids to be close to home but also to be “away” at school – living in a dorm.
Saturday was Move-In Day, and when we were lugging my daughter’s van-load of necessities into her room, I noticed that the corridor fire doors had been permanently held open. The floor stops had been removed and reinstalled with the doors in the open position – the doors could not even be closed manually without a screwdriver.
These fire doors are crucial as they protect each wing of dorm rooms that are connected by a 3-story atrium. The other issue is that the building codes in Mexico apparently don’t require fire doors on the individual dorm rooms. The International Building Code (IBC) and other model codes used in the US would mandate 20-minute self-closing fire doors on each dorm room, so if a fire occurred within a room the fire door would help to contain it.
I immediately contacted our admissions advisor to get the email addresses for the staff members responsible for the dorms. And while I was thinking about how I was going to convince them – in Spanish – that this was a bad idea, I took a breath and ask my daughter whether the doors were still open. She checked and said that they were now closed. Apparently the floor stop “fix” was only to make things easier on Move-In Day (phew!).
I still don’t like it, but at least I’m relieved that the situation has been resolved (for now). What would you recommend to the college, knowing that installing automatic-closing devices probably won’t fly?
You need to login or register to bookmark/favorite this content.
Has fire sprinklers!!!!
Any smoke detectors in the corridors?
Hopefully smoke alarm in the bedrooms
Are the bedroom doors solid core at least??? As in old time substitute for 20 min door??
Can parents outfit: decorate the room?? If so decorate it with some spring hinges?
Yes on the sprinklers and smoke detectors! The entry doors seem very light and have small hinges…the doors may not be solid core. But the windows do open all the way and the kids are both on the second floor. The school also has strict rules for what is allowed in rooms (no candles, no smoking, no extension cords, no cooking equipment), and they do periodic room inspections.
– Lori
Other countries sure love “traditional” panic exit devices.
You’re right! I see crossbar devices a lot here, although there was a Von Duprin 99 sighting at Costco the other day. 🙂
– Lori
Lori,
With the two universities in my town, I’ll be busy for the next couple of weeks. I schedule one campus in August and the other in September. I have to admit, I have not seen this situation, but I have spotted some things during move-in days that I have told the person who is taking me around, to make sure this is a temporary situation and to have it changed by the end of the day. We know why a situation is happening and they are pretty good about doing so. I have also had them put doors like that on a magnetic hold-open on the Fire Alarm…..and they have!!! It really does come down to a good working relationship with university staff and understanding on both sides.
Thanks for sharing your insight, Kevin! Unfortunately, I doubt that the university here would install magnetic hold-opens without an AHJ saying they had to, but at least they knew to go back at the end of the day and reverse the process. My son moved in a few days later and the doors in his dorm were not held open.
– Lori