I recently received a forwarded email from a medical school’s safety compliance officer to its faculty and staff, that made my little fire-door-loving heart skip a beat.  The email subject…Urgent Safety Notice: Unauthorized Modifications to Fire Doors (NFPA 80 Compliance).

The email was sent to address a “critical safety hazard on campus”, code violations related to fire doors.  What impressed me most was that the email did not simply order staff to stop attaching signs, personal items, etc., to their fire doors, the email was an educational masterpiece!  🙂

Beginning with “Why Fire Doors Matter” and stating their purpose, the email addressed the dangers of modifying fire doors and how the performance of the assembly could be impacted.  In addition to the possibility of damage leading to fire breakthrough and smoke leakage, the email mentioned failed fire door inspections.  I’ve been hearing from other locations around the US…fire door assembly inspections are being enforced in many jurisdictions!  These inspections are required after installation, after maintenance or repair work, and annually, and any deficiencies found must be repaired without delay.

The notice described locations where fire doors are found on campus and detailed the required immediate actions of all faculty and staff in order to protect the integrity and ensure the performance of their fire door assemblies.

I was wordless…in a wonderful way!  Let’s keep spreading the word about the importance of fire door assemblies!  If you want to learn more about fire door assemblies, check out the fire door page on iDigHardware.

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