Paris Doors to Other Cities (video)
Several people have sent this video to me lately, so in case you're not one of the 10+ million people who have viewed it on Facebook, check it out! It's pretty cool.
WWYD? Fire Door Inspections
Will fire door inspections be enforced for health care facilities? NFPA 101-2012 clearly requires them, but it seems that more proof was needed...
FF: Access Control Alternative
According to Andy, this lock is on the exterior door of a school's bus garage. Inside the "bag" is a stack of large washers, and when it is attached to the lever it allows drivers to enter the garage without using the card reader. Even though it's Friday, I'm Wordless...
UCLA Students Unable to Lock Doors
During yesterday's shooting at UCLA, Brian Fochler tagged me in a photo tweeted from the engineering building where the shooting was taking place, which was my first indication that something lock-related was happening. Since then I've received many other emails...
WW: Cross-Corridor Door
Brian Lane of Allegion sent in the photos below (via Deputy Jeff Tock). This is a cross-corridor door in a health care facility. The wall behind the door MUST be temporary, but wow...
Oldest Panic Hardware Ever?
Deb Henson of DH Consulting sent me these photos of some REALLY old panic hardware. These doors were spotted at a home show, and were originally installed on a YMCA in Laurel, Mississippi, built in 1904. Do they look familiar to anyone?
FF: Pivot Problem
A reader from Armor Lock & Security sent me the first photo a couple of months ago. They had been called to a convenience store to work on the safe, and noticed that the top pivot on the front door was barely hanging on...
Classroom Security – Latch Prevention
Schools have been able to use magnets over locking mechanisms, allowing doors to be easily opened throughout the day and still lock quickly by simply removing the magnet. But by Jan. 1, 2018, that quick fix will no longer be enough...
WW: Gas Station Exit
I think we all know by now that egress doors are not allowed to be painted or covered in a way that would disguise them (except certain doors in health care occupancies where NFPA 101 allows murals)...
WWYD? Animal Research Facility
Last week, I was asked how I would handle the hardware for an animal research lab, where animals (particularly primates) may need to be prevented from eloping...
NFPA 101 – A few more changes…
Last week I posted my next Decoded article - about changes affecting door openings between the 2000 edition of NFPA 101 and the 2012 edition. Paul Dzurinda of Russell Phillips & Associates sent me a few more changes that we should be aware of...
FF: Kick-Up Holder
Tim Weller of Allegion sent me this Fixed-it Friday photo, which features a kick-down stop (holder) in the new and improved "kick-up" custom mounting configuration...
Decoded: Changes to the Life Safety Code for Health Care Occupancies (July 2016)
In case you haven't noticed, there is an interesting conversation happening on my post from earlier in the week about classroom barricade devices. If you have something informative to add in response to the manufacturers of these products...
WW: Kick-Down Stops
Nathan Burkhardt of Opening Technologies sent me this Wordless Wednesday photo of the kick-down stops (holders) they removed from the fire doors on one of their projects. Wow.
BBS Memo – Temporary Door Locking Devices
Here's the latest on classroom barricade devices...let me know what's happening in your state.
WWYD? MRI Room
I've never been able to get a good answer on this one, so hopefully someone out there has this information and is willing to share...
FF: 180-Degree Pair
Pete Schifferli of Expert Locksmith sent me these Fixed-it Friday photos (this is not his handiwork). These are new doors in a hospital corridor, and the closers are mounted to the wall on each side to allow the doors to open 180 degrees and engage the electromagnetic holders...
Locks for Multi-Stall Restrooms
According to the IBC Commentary, the purpose of this requirement is to prevent people from locking themselves in the toilet room to create a safe haven for illicit activities...
WW: Were you raised in a barn?
This Wordless Wednesday photo could have easily been a Fixed-it Friday photo, but since this "fix" is on an occupied Assembly space, it left me Wordless. Thank you to Dave Ilardi of Allegion for sending me photos from the family vacation. :D
School Crime Stats – The Good News and The Bad News
The National Center for Education Statistics has just published an updated report for Indicators of School Crime and Safety through 2015. The good news is...
conNextions 2016
Something exciting happened at the conference for me personally. A few days before I left for Orlando I got a call from my friend Sue Flowers of Cleveland-Vicon...
FF: Conference Center
In addition to yesterday's applied panels, which qualified as Fixed-it Friday photos, here are a few more applications from the conference center where I'm spending one more night. If you're in Orlando and saw any Fixed-it Friday doors during your stay, send them along!
Applied Panels
When panels or trim (AKA plant-ons) are applied to fire doors, manufacturers have specific limitations on size, material, and means of attachment. I just finished teaching 6 sessions of Code Jeopardy...
WW: Double-Trouble
Take a close look. There are 2 doors in this opening - one inswinging, one outswinging. Each has 2 surface bolts. The request was to add yet another lock to these doors. Yikes.
Mag-Lock Follow-Up
I posted these photos (below) yesterday to ask what problems you all saw. Here's what I see...
WWYD? Mag-Locks
I am assuming that the airport requested and received the proper code modifications for the pair of doors in the photos below - serving the airport terminal. Anybody know what the required code modifications would be?
FF: Broken Arm
This closer repair obviously qualifies as a Fixed-it Friday photo, but it also left me Wordless. Thanks to Jim Lenox of Allegion.
WWYD? Double-Egress Pairs
Here's a question for all of the distributors, fire door inspectors, AHJs, CDCs, and anyone else out there who has an opinion. When you're calculating the "prefit" door widths for a double-egress pair...
WW: Doors in the Corn
In addition to the fact that you're not supposed to disguise egress doors, those hinges are severely under-engineered for those doors. Photos sent in by Dave Ilardi of Allegion.
Code Jeopardy!
If you'll be attending the conference, I hope to see you in some of our sessions - 3 of the Code Jeopardy classes are more "basic" (but very educational!) questions, and 3 classes have "advanced" questions (on need-to-know topics!). This is a fun way to learn about codes - yes, I said "FUN!"
Interesting Antique Lock
Bill Elliott sent me these photos this morning. There's something interesting about this lock that he and I have not seen before. Can you figure it out?
FF: Preschool Exit
This Fixed-it Friday solution is ok for a preschool since the average height of the occupants is 26 inches, right? WRONG!
Architexts – Code Question
Code question...fake it till you make it?
WW: Stinger
I think this would discourage me from attempting any lock replacements! Thanks to Locksmith's Journal for this Wordless Wednesday photo!
Banned: Classroom Barricade Locks
In this age of classroom shootings, many are looking for barricade locks - a cheap and easy stopgap to bolster door security...
FF: Master-Keyed Gate
Here's how you master-key a gate without the complications of master-keying the padlocks...
WWYD? Old Fire Doors
When an old fire door needs to be modified, what precautions are taken to ensure that the door does not contain hazardous material?
WW: XpresSpa or Exit?
See any problems here? Thanks to Tim Weller of Allegion for this Wordless Wednesday photo! The fun never ends!
New Ohio school barricade rules concern disability group
If a school decides to buy all new doorknobs for their school, and only buy a lever handle for the one classroom with a teacher who has a disability, in my opinion that would not meet the intent of the ADA. What makes it ok to do the same thing with classroom barricade devices?
Fire Door Clearance / Continuous Hinge
Two paragraphs were added in the 2013 edition of NFPA 80 to address continuous hinges used on fire doors. I've seen these sections many times and never noticed a potential problem, until it came up twice in the last couple of weeks...
FF: Duct Tape Again
While I was at the BHMA meeting this week, my dinner companions pulled out their phones to compare photos of bad hardware and code problems (yes, this is the fun stuff we do at these meetings). Tim Weller of Allegion had these Fixed-it Friday photos...
Controlled Egress vs. Delayed Egress
While delayed egress locks must automatically unlock 15 seconds after a building occupant actuates the device, a controlled egress lock allows the egress doors serving certain areas to remain locked until they are unlocked by staff, the automatic fire protection system, or power failure...
WW: Courtyard Exit
This photo was taken in a high school, while school was in session. The doors lead from an enclosed courtyard into the school - the egress path should pass through the interior of the school and out the main exit doors to the public way...
Law allowing school barricade devices raises concerns in Portage
Safety officials are concerned a new state law that allows barricade devices on classroom doors could make a crisis situation worse. The idea sounds great...
Decoded 3 – Egress and Life Safety
I have finished the on-demand version of Class 3 in the Decoded series, so now 3 of the 4 classes are available - for free!
FF: Skewed
Today's Fixed-it Friday photo is not an April Fool's Day joke, the result of a bad camera angle, or an image that has been Photoshopped. The doors are skewed to the left, and it looks like the floor is sloped. The hardware is horizontal, as is the graphic on the wall...
Keyes Life Safety Boot Camp
When I receive a question about the NFPA 101 - Life Safety Code requirements for health care facilities, I need to know not just what the code says but how it will be enforced...
WW: Should you trust a robot in an emergency?
I was very surprised at research conducted by the Georgia Tech Research Institute, which found that people trusted a robot to guide them to safety, even when it made mistakes or experienced technical difficulties...
Stairwell Reentry
Most stairwells in commercial and institutional buildings are designed to protect the means of egress using fire-resistant construction and fire door assemblies as opening protectives. When building occupants are within a stair enclosure during a fire...
Keys and the ADA
Several people have asked me recently what the Americans with Disabilities Act says about keys. Although the ADA standards address operable parts of locks - like thumbturns, keypads, turn-buttons, and of course, knobs and levers, keys are not covered by the ADA...